23/04/03

Communication should not be left to scientists

By: Steve Fuller

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<h1>Communication should not be left to scientists</h1>
<h4>By: Steve Fuller</h4>
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<p>The number of degree programmes in science communication is growing, and the rudiments of a professional code of conduct were published last year in the United Kingdom.<BR><BR>But, in a letter to <em>Nature</em>, Steve Fuller argues that current guidelines reduce science communication to a one-way transmission of information. More ambitious professional guidelines, he says, should involve an element of feedback, whether as letters to the editor, Internet chat rooms or interactive museum exhibits.<BR><BR>He calls for full-time science communicators to convene formally to draft professional codes of conduct, with the aim of not simply encouraging people to trust science, but making them feel part of it.<BR><BR>Reference: Nature 416, 475 (2002)<BR><BR><a href="http://www.nature.com/login/scidev_login.taf?ref=/nature/journal/v416/n6880/full/416475b_fs.html" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full text</A></p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/opinions/communication-should-not-be-left-to-scientists/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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The number of degree programmes in science communication is growing, and the rudiments of a professional code of conduct were published last year in the United Kingdom.

But, in a letter to Nature, Steve Fuller argues that current guidelines reduce science communication to a one-way transmission of information. More ambitious professional guidelines, he says, should involve an element of feedback, whether as letters to the editor, Internet chat rooms or interactive museum exhibits.

He calls for full-time science communicators to convene formally to draft professional codes of conduct, with the aim of not simply encouraging people to trust science, but making them feel part of it.

Reference: Nature 416, 475 (2002)

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