TY - JOUR
T1 - Creating a foundation for origin of life outreach
T2 - How scientists relate to their field, the public, and religion
AU - Wienand, Karl
AU - Kampschulte, Lorenz
AU - Heckl, Wolfgang M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2023 Wienand et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - Origins of life research is particularly challenging to communicate because of the tension between its many disciplines and its nearness to traditionally philosophical or religious questions. To authentically represent scientists’ perspective in a museum exhibition, we interviewed 46 researchers from diverse backgrounds. We investigated how they perceive their field, science communication, and the relation with religion. Results show that researchers actively participate in resolving the scientific debate, but delegate the resolution of controversies involving non-scientific institutions. Advocating for science is the foremost communication goal in all contexts. Career stage, research subject, religiosity, etc. influence the approach to controversies and communication.
AB - Origins of life research is particularly challenging to communicate because of the tension between its many disciplines and its nearness to traditionally philosophical or religious questions. To authentically represent scientists’ perspective in a museum exhibition, we interviewed 46 researchers from diverse backgrounds. We investigated how they perceive their field, science communication, and the relation with religion. Results show that researchers actively participate in resolving the scientific debate, but delegate the resolution of controversies involving non-scientific institutions. Advocating for science is the foremost communication goal in all contexts. Career stage, research subject, religiosity, etc. influence the approach to controversies and communication.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148884825&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0282243
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0282243
M3 - Article
C2 - 36827404
AN - SCOPUS:85148884825
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 18
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 2 February
M1 - e0282243
ER -