An emerging form of public engagement with science: Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on Reddit r/science.

ABSTRACT: Originally, online public engagement with science tended to be one directional-from experts to the general population via news media. Such an arrangement allowed for little to no direct interaction between the public and scientists. However, the emergence of social media has opened the door to meaningful engagement between scientists and the general public. The current study examines scientists' perspectives on the interactions between laypeople and scientists by asking questions and sharing information on social media platforms, specifically, through Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on Reddit's "Science" subreddit (r/science). By analyzing the content of six different r/science AMAs and surveying scientists who participated as r/science AMA hosts, our research attempts to gain a richer unde

SUBMITTER: Hara N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6519800 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature