1st Edition
Essential Concepts of Science Communication An A-Z Guide
Introduction: Concepts in Science Communication
Declan Fahy and Todd P. Newman
1. Activism
Birte Fähnrich and Michelle Riedlinger
2. Anticipatory governance
Jack Stilgoe
3. Audience
Julia Metag
4. Basic science communication
Keegan Wesley, Lauren Budenholzer, Rick Borchelt, and Brooke Smith
5. Brand of science
Todd P. Newman
6. Citizen science
Alan Irwin
7. Co-creation
Anne M. Dijkstra
8. Cultural authority of science
Martin W. Bauer
9. Cultural representations of science
Declan Fahy
10. Decolonising Science Communication
Siddarth Kankaria
11. Deficit model and deficit model thinking
Dietram Scheufele
12. Dialogue and deliberation
Melanie Smallman
13. Dissemination
Declan Fahy
14. Empathy
Stephen Hughes
15. Ethical science communication
Fabien Medvecky
16. Evaluation
Ayelet Baram-Tsabari
17. Expertise
Declan Fahy
18. Gender
Nic Bennett
19. Humor
Sara K. Yeo
20. Inclusive science communication
Andrea Isabel López and Mónica I. Feliú Mójer
21. Indigenous knowledge systems and non-western science
Amanda D. Boyd and Cole Allick
22. Informal science learning
Mairéad Hurley and Joseph Roche
23. Journalism about science
Alice Fleerackers
24. Keji and science communication
Guoyan Wang
25. Lay expertise
Steven Epstein
26. Medialisation of science
Simone Rödder
27. Misinformation and disinformation about science
Niels G. Mede
28. Models of science communication
Brian Trench
29. Narratives
Todd P. Newman
30. News media coverage of science
Mike S. Schäfer
31. Popularisation
Felicity Mellor
32. Public and publics
Declan Fahy
33. Public engagement
Rick Holliman
34. Public opinion and media effects
Todd P. Newman
35. Public understanding of science
Bruce V. Lewenstein
36. Public trust in science
Lars Guenther
37. Responsible research and innovation (RRI)
Pádraig Murphy
38. Risk
Ashley Cate and Dominique Brossard
39. Science art
Julianne Renner and Nan Li
40. Science controversies
Declan Fahy
41. Science policy communication
K. L. Akerlof
42. Scientific culture
Jane Gregory
43. Scientific literacy
Declan Fahy
44. Social media and science communication
Reyhaneh Maktoufi
45. Strategic science communication
John C. Besley and Anthony Dudo
46. Technocracy tolerance
Martin W. Bauer
47. Training
Todd P. Newman
48. Uncertainty
Becca Beets
49. Underserved audiences
Emily Dawson, Kylo Thomas, and Ben Weil
50. Visible scientists
Marina Joubert
Biography
Declan Fahy is an Associate Professor at the School of Communications, Dublin City University, Ireland. He is the author of The New Celebrity Scientists: Out of the Lab and Into the Limelight (2015). He is Book Review Editor for the Public Understanding of Science journal.
Todd P. Newman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. He is co-author of Science Communication for Scientists: Linking Strategy with Creativity, Practice, and Respect (2025) and editor of Theory and Best Practices in Science Communication Training (2020).
"Examining both long-standing and more recently emerging issues and ideas in science communication, this collection of fifty short essays by authors, who are also a mix of established and early-career, is a valuable introduction and reference book for a continuously diversifying field."
Brian Trench, co-author of Science Communication: The Basics (2025) and co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology (2008, 2024, 2021)
"As science communication continues to grow as both a scholarly field and a professional practice, it’s more important than ever to make its core ideas accessible to the people doing the work. The A–Z guide is a wonderful contribution to this growing field. In bringing together key concepts grounded in practice, it will be an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and practitioners alike, helping to connect the rich scholarship of science communication with the everyday work of engaging people thoughtfully and effectively."
-Laura Lindenfeld, Executive Director, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science
