Our bare-bones budget will greatly increase the impact of this research project.

We will be able to purchase mobile devices for optimal participant viewing of Instagram accounts in lab-based experiments at LSU. Social media experiments are often limited by lack of conditions that simulate real-world media browsing experiences. Following our study, the 10 iPods will be donated to LSU’s CxC Science Studio, available via complimentary loans to scientists who may use them capture photos/videos in the lab/field, as a part of a future Instagram for Scientists online course!

Our largest budget item includes funds for a representative online survey experiment, to extend our sample to U.S. adults broadly. We'll be able to get robust data on how U.S. adults perceive scientists on Instagram!

Our budget includes subscription to a service to help us manage and track metrics on our experimental Instagram accounts.

SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN to see what you can get for backing this project!

Additional Information

Social media channels provide an exciting opportunity for scientists to improve their public image. An estimated 32% of Americans use Instagram, with use particularly high in younger adults (59% of adults ages 18-29) (Pew, 2016). Teens using Instagram are a promising demographic that can be otherwise difficult to engage with science in online environments. However, little research has explored how scientists are presenting themselves via emerging visual social media platforms such as Instagram or how viewers are engaging with them.

We wish to explore how scientists presenting themselves as human or relatable on Instagram impacts viewers’ perceptions of their warmth (related to perceptions of morality, honesty, sociability and openness) and competence, and whether the impact is the same depending on a scientist’s gender, for example, based on gender stereotypes. Both competence and warmth are critical constructs of trust, but perceived warmth often carries more weight in terms of attitudes and behaviors (Fiske, Cuddy & Glick, 2007).

The new National Academies of Sciences report on Communicating Science Effectively identifies many of the complexities of communicating science, including perceived trust and credibility of scientists. Among factors that affect trust and credibility are audience characteristics including gender, age, race/ethnicity, political ideology and scientific knowledge (National Science Board, 2016); perceptions about scientists’ expertise or competence (Lupia, 2013); and perceptions about scientists’ honesty, openness and morality (Renn and Levine, 1991), or scientists’ warmth (Fiske & Dupree, 2014). The report identifies a need for research to understand the factors that influence trust in science and scientific information depending on the communicator, the perceived intentions of the communicator, and the communication context. The report also identifies a need for more research to determine effective approaches for communicating science on social media platforms. We plan to address these needs.

We've already collected dozens of image series from over 50 real-life scientists to use in our lab-based and online experiments! Participants will randomly see images that differ only in particular variables of interest, such as the presence of a human element (e.g. a scientist's face, male or female, portrait or selfie, etc.) or interaction with followers in the form of replies to comments. Stimulus images will be combined into scientist "rocur" accounts on Instagram, and all information presented will be scientifically accurate.

What can I get for backing this project?

Good question!! Here are some of the perks we have for you if you back this project (with more on the way)! Once you pledge $ to our project, just message us through this platform to indicate your perk choice, or include it in a message when you submit your pledge! (Only 1 perk per person).

Update Aug. 30: New Perk today only! For 5 individuals who pledge $100 today, Bethann Garramon Merkle is offering a 1-hour "Sketching for Scientists" training for up to 5 people, to be taught remotely (via Skype or a conferencing system). She'll take you through a tool kit that will ensure you have basic drawing capacity, and she'll adjust the final portion of the training to your choice of the following: sketching practice, teaching students to draw, or using student drawings as formal and informal assessment.

For $5, you will receive a special shout-out on our team members' social media accounts!

For $15, you can be a featured scientist or science communicator on our project Instagram account! Just send us a few pictures and we will ask you a few Q&A questions for a highlight! (Unlimited!)

For $20, claim CV/resume editing assistance with our research team member Imogene Cancellare! (10 available).

For $35, you can claim 1 of 4 available complementary science fashion boxes created by Erin Winick of SciChicNews! The Science Fashion Box is ready for the STEMinistas of the world and will provide you with stylish science-inspired fashion focused on a different field of science each month. (0 available - all claimed!)

For $40, claim a 30 minute Skype session with our science educator and team member Dr. Becky Carmichael, to learn how to integrate social media and other communication mediums including Wikipedia into your classroom (10 available). Becky is LSU's resident expert on integrating communication-intensive practices into science classrooms. Becky is also a TEDxLSU Speaker coach, and can coach you through your next oral presentation instead if you prefer!

For $40, you may also claim a IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL SCIENCE IF I WANT TO t-shirt created by TD the science mom, Thomai Dion! There are 10 shirts available, and the first 5 come with a complementary copy of Thomai's science coloring book! (0 available - all claimed!)

For $45, you can claim 1 of 5 available custom illustrations by Echo Rivera, or one of 10 custom illustrations by Jaye Gardiner, Co-founder of @jkxcomics, for your Instagram or Twitter avatar! Just send us a photo you want converted to an illustration once you pledge!

For $50, you'll get a 15-20 minute personal one-on-one advice session via real-time chat (e.g. through Instagram/Twitter DM or Google+ chat) on using Instagram strategically from one of our team members (15 available)! Whether you communicate science on Instagram or you use the platform for something else, we'll help you think strategically about your audience, goals and strategies.

For $75, you can claim 1 of 5 available complimentary MavSocial Advanced Plan 1-year subscriptions! (That's a value of $228!) MavSocial is a platform that allows you to manage, create and promote your social content all in one place. You can access social tracking and analytics by network, content, time & day, and followers.

For $85, you can claim a 30-minute personalized Skype brainstorming session with the Research Whisperer Jonathan O'Donnell (@researchwhisper on Twitter) on how to find and procure funding for scientific research, including via crowd-funding!! (8 sessions available).

For $100, you can claim a 15% discount from Research Media on the creation of stylized scientific imagery, based on a scientific image or figure of your choice, for use on Instagram, valid until the end of the year (10 available)! (That's a $150 dollar value.) You will also get behind-the-scenes glimpses of our research project in progress and preliminary results e-mailed to you.

NEW! For a pledge of $199, you can get a microscope for your smartphone! uHandy has offered us 20 available new uHandy devices (not available publicly yet!) for our project! These look amazing, so claim them quickly! Check them out on IG.

For a pledge of $200, you can claim a set of Celestron binoculars donated by the Well-read Naturalist and Celestron http://www.celestron.com! 1 available!

For a pledge of $500, you can claim a high-resolution rendering of any molecule/protein of your choice created by Ella Maru!!! These illustrations are absolutely beautiful - claim them fast, because there are only 2 custom illustrations available!

For a pledge of $700, you can claim a custom Animate Science Video Abstract about your research or project!! Several science communication studies have highlighted the positive impact video abstracts can have on sharing and clicks/reading of research journal articles. ONLY 1 available - claim it fast!

Individuals, science labs and small (1-3 people) organizations:

For a pledge of $500, Paige Jarreau will work with you on an individual basis to create a full-fledged strategic social media plan for you, your research lab, or your organization. Paige has extensive social media consulting experience, and typically charges over $1,000 for strategic social media plans. Make yourself or your organization stand out with effective social media practices geared toward your target audiences and goals for only $500! (10 available).

Organizations with 3+ people:

For a pledge of $1,000, Paige Jarreau will work with you on an individual basis to create a full-fledged strategic social media plan for you and your organization. Paige has extensive social media consulting experience, and typically charges over $1,000 for strategic social media plans. Make your organization stand out with effective social media practices geared toward your target audiences and goals for only $1,000! (8 available).

Team member Paige Jarreau is also an aerialist - so for her aerial community, Be Be and the Suspendulum(R) Aerial Rig is sponsoring this research project with the donation of a free Suspendulum for one special backer! See @fromthelabbench on Instagram for details. (Claimed!)