This A–Z guide provides readers with a comprehensive overview of fifty core concepts in the global field of science communication. It explains the origins and research foundations of each essential concept, analyses how they have been applied in different scholarly and professional contexts, and demonstrates their use as guides to action.
When governments proclaim they want to improve scientific literacy and enhance public trust in science, when universities promise to promote public engagement with research, and when funders require scientists to demonstrate the impact of their research on society, they are all using core concepts from the field of science communication. Essential Concepts of Science Communication defines and explains these key concepts and terms in an accessible and easy-to-navigate overview. It illustrates how these concepts relate to each other and connect more broadly to other ideas and disciplines, as well as including extensive recommendations for further reading. The entries are written by a range of experts from around the world, ranging from eminent scholars who were instrumental in the foundation and development of the field, to early-career researchers advancing knowledge in the discipline, along with scholar-practitioners who bridge the divide between the university, and the world of practice.
Edited by two scholars who also have substantial experience of practical science communication, this book will be an invaluable resource for students studying degrees and modules on the subject, practitioners entering professional practice, and new entrants to the field - including scientists who seek a grounding in the conceptual basis of science communication.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Concepts in Science Communication 1. Activism 2. Anticipatory governance 3. Audience 4. Basic science communication 5. Brand of science 6. Citizen science 7. Co-creation 8. Cultural authority of science 9. Cultural representations of science 10. Decolonising Science Communication 11. Deficit model and deficit model thinking 12. Dialogue and deliberation 13. Dissemination 14. Empathy 15. Ethical science communication 16. Evaluation 17. Expertise 18. Gender 19. Humor 20. Inclusive science communication 21. Indigenous knowledge systems and non-western science 22. Informal science learning 23. Journalism about science 24. Keji and science communication 25. Lay expertise 26. Medialisation of science 27. Misinformation and disinformation about science 28. Models of science communication 29. Narratives 30. News media coverage of science 31. Popularisation 32. Public and publics 33. Public engagement 34. Public opinion and media effects 35. Public understanding of science 36. Public trust in science 37. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) 38. Risk 39. Science art 40. Science controversies 41. Science policy communication 42. Scientific culture 43. Scientific literacy 44. Social media and science communication 45. Strategic science communication 46. Technocracy tolerance 47. Training 48. Uncertainty 49. Underserved audiences 50. Visible scientists
About the Author :
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).
Review :
"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
