#MySciBlog Part 2 - Surveying Science Blog READERS!

As of May 2015, the results #MySciBlog survey of science bloggers have been published in the form of my PhD dissertation at LSU! But I'm not stopping there. With the things I learned about science bloggers from this first study, including that most science bloggers say they write for a non-specialist audience, I'm preparing to ask science blog READERS what they think.

 

What motivates people to blog about science? The graphic above represents blogging motivations and goals revealed by the #MySciBlog survey of blogging practices last year.

The results of #MySciBlog survey revealed all kinds of interesting things about over 600 science bloggers. I found out that science bloggers determine what they are going to blog about primarily by what they are passionate about and what topics/stories they think they can add context to beyond what the traditional media is saying about these topics/stories. I found that a majority of science bloggers write for a science-interested but non-specialist audience.

I found that science bloggers largely see themselves filling an explainer role, translating science for broad audiences, but that science bloggers' self-perceived roles also vary depending on their primary occupation, gender and affiliation with media organizations or blogging networks (publication forthcoming in JCOM). After "explainer," science bloggers saw themselves engaging most often as public intellectuals in their blogging capacities. However, they saw themselves only sparingly engaging in the roles of media critic or watchdog.

But much of what I found out regarding science bloggers' practices begs the question: Who READS science blogs? Now that I know more about what motivates academics, science journalists and others to blog about science and who they are writing for when they do, I've started to wonder whether people READ science blogs for complimentary reasons. For bloggers who write to popularize science and make it fun, are their readers engaging with the content for entertainment and educational purposes? For bloggers who are writing to share research in their field, are their readers reading to say up with current research? In other words, is there match or mismatch between science bloggers' goals and their readers' motivations, and what does this mean?

This question, I think, couldn't be more important in an age when were are increasingly encouraging scientists and science communicators to get out there and produce science media content online. But for whom, and to what ends, and why would people read it anyway?!

To answer this question, I'm collaborating with a colleague at LSU to conduct a large-scale survey of science blog readers. We already have over 30 randomly selected science bloggers who have agreed to let us survey their blog readers, with their help. If this research sounds interesting to you, head on over to Experiment.com/mysciblogreaders to learn more!

Thank you for your continued support!

-Dr. Paige Jarreau