Expressions of Science Literacy in Reader Comments to Socio-Scientific Online Coverage

Studying ad-hoc communities of readers of online articles, we found that the most fruitful discussions were initiated in discussion threads, rather than in the articles themselves, indicating that in new media the audience serves as a “growth medium” in which designed seeds flourish by contributions from the ambient community.

Project Members

Esther Laslo, Ph.D.

Esther Laslo, Ph.D.

Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, Associate Professor

Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, Associate Professor

Relevant Publications

Baram-Tsabari, A. (2015).
How informed is the science-related discussion on social media?
A talk at the Department of Communication of the University of Illinois at Chicago (URL)

Laslo, E., Baram-Tsabari, A. and Lewenstein, B. V. (2011).
A Growth Medium for the Message: Online Science Journalism Affordances for Exploring Public Discourse of Science and Ethics.
Science Journalism in a Digital Age, a special Issue of Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism. 12(7), 847-870.
Abstract    PDF