Engaging the Public Through Featuring Diverse and International
Scientists on a Science Outreach Website
Abstract
It has become apparent in recent years that scientists need to find new
ways to communicate and connect with the public to increase science
literacy and trust of scientific results. To address these issues, the
Time Scavengers website (timescavengers.blog) was created. This website
is maintained and continuously added to by a team of collaborators
including graduate students, post docs, museum staff, professors,
avocational scientists, educators, and an editor. The website also
includes static pages on the scientific method, geology, and climate
science methods, as well as a number of resources for educators and
others interested in science. The collaborators contribute regular blog
posts on a variety of topics related to being a scientist, including the
work we do in the field, learning new methods, and various aspects of
our academic and career paths. One of our more popular blogs is called
‘Meet the Scientist’, which showcases diverse scientists in many
different fields, from graduate students to experienced professional
scientists, both U.S.-based and international. The website has reached
almost 63,000 unique visitors in the two years since it was created,
reaching folks speaking 155 languages in 196 countries. Using data from
Google Analytics and social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram, we examined some of the trends related to our broad
international reach, to determine if any specific posts or types of
posts attracted more international or non-English speaking visitors.
Besides examining the general geographic reach over time, a few more
specific comparisons were conducted. We examined whether or not Meet the
Scientist posts featuring international scientists attracted more
international visitors than those featuring U.S.-based scientists. We
also analyzed data forField Excursions posts that described places
people could visit to see if they attracted site visitors from those
areas described in the post or had a broader national and international
reach. Preliminary data indicate that posts about international
scientists reach more countries, on average, than those featuring U.S.
scientists, and geographic-specific posts reach a broad national and
international audience.