W monografii zaprezentowano wyniki jakościowego badania przeprowadzonego w projekcie H2020 CONCISE – Communication role on perception and beliefs of EU Citizens about Science, którego celem było zbadanie roli komunikacji naukowej w kształtowaniu wiedzy, opinii i przekonań obywateli Unii Europejskiej na tematy związane z nauką. W Polsce, Hiszpanii, Portugalii, na Słowacji i we Włoszech przeprowadzono jednodniowe konsultacje społeczne, w których brało udział stu odpowiednio dobranych mieszkańców danego kraju. W niniejszej publikacji przedstawione zostały wyniki konsultacji zrealizowanych w Polsce – we wrześniu 2019 roku w Łodzi. W trakcie moderowanej dyskusji uczestnicy konsultacji podzielili się swoimi opiniami na temat komunikacji naukowej, w tym szans i barier upowszechniania informacji naukowej.
Publikacja składa się z czterech rozdziałów odpowiadających czterem tematom konsultacji – zmiany klimatyczne, szczepionki, GMO, medycyna alternatywna – oraz z podsumowania. Na podstawie wypowiedzi uczestników konsultacji przeprowadzonych w ramach projektu CONCISE udało się wysnuć wnioski na temat komunikacji naukowej dla omawianych tematów, jednak nie było możliwości znalezienia standardu dla komunikacji naukowej w Polsce, który mógłby stanowić uniwersalny drogowskaz dla naukowców, popularyzatorów nauki czy dziennikarzy. Każdy temat naukowy wymaga właściwej mu strategii komunikacyjnej. Dla każdego z tematów odbiorcy sformułowali odmienne preferencje dotyczące tego, skąd i w jakiej formie chcieliby otrzymywać informacje. Dlatego wydaje się uzasadnioną rekomendacją, aby osoby komunikujące treści naukowe w danym obszarze tematycznym wnikliwie rozpoznały preferencje odbiorców w tym zakresie, zanim przystąpią do komunikacji naukowej.
The monograph Science Communication in Poland. Vaccines, alternative medicine, climate chan-
ge, GMOs under the magnifying glass presents the results of a qualitative study – analysis
of public consultation discussions – conducted in the CONCISE1 project, the aim of which
was to examine the role of science communication in shaping the knowledge, opinions
and beliefs of European Union citizens on issues related to science. A review and analysis
of other project research results can be found in the monograph Science communication
in Poland. Participation. Dialogue. Trust.
The CONCISE methodology was based on the World Wide Views (WWV) method, which
was first used in 2009 in a discussion on global warming organized by the Danish Tech-
nology Council. In the CONCISE project, the WWV methodology was adapted to the study
of science communication. One-day public consultations were carried out in Poland, Spain,
Portugal, Slovakia and Italy, involving one hundred appropriately selected residents of each
country. This publication presents the results of the consultation carried out in Poland.
The consultation took place on 21 September 2019 in Łódź, at the Faculty of Economics
and Sociology, University of Łódź. The selected sample was intended to be a “miniature”
of the Polish population in terms of several socio-demographic characteristics: gender,
age, education level, place of residence, disability and minority status.
Participants were divided into smaller subgroups, ensuring that they were internally homo-
geneous and externally heterogeneous. Discussions took place under the guidance of faci-
litators and observers. Each round of consultation followed a similar structure, regardless
of the discussion topic. Respondents began by listing the sources from which they deri-
ved their scientific knowledge on a given topic, followed by an assessment of their level
of confidence in the sources they had previously listed, and then presented their own ideas
about how scientific messages should be created and communicated to reach a broad au-
dience. The procedure was repeated four times using the same scenario in each group.
This publication consists of four chapters corresponding to the four consultation topics – cli-
mate change, vaccines, GMOs, CAM – and a summary.
On the one hand, it is encouraging to see that there is a growing knowledge of how
to communicate science content across science topics. On the other hand, there remains
a dissatisfaction that it is not possible to find a universal pattern for communicating scien -
ce in such a way as to ensure its wide public reception. On the basis of research conduc-
ted within the CONCISE project, it was possible to draw conclusions about science com-
munication for the discussed topics, however, it was not possible to find a standard for
science communication in Poland, which could constitute a universal signpost for scien-
tists, popularizers of science or journalists. Each science topic requires an appropriate
communication strategy. For each topic, the recipients formulated different preferences
as to where and in what form they would like to receive information. Therefore, it seems
reasonable to recommend that communicators of science content in a given topic area
identify the preferences of their audiences in this area before communicating science.
Discussions on climate change most prominently revealed a wealth of examples of in-
formation sources that show scientific reports using a variety of perspectives: individual,
local, national, and global. In terms of vaccines, knowledge was mainly obtained at the
national and local level – health clinics and dispensaries – from leaflets and posters. Wi-
despread trust in doctors was also evident. In discussions about CAM, the widespread re-
liance of citizens on non-scientific sources of information, obtaining information mainly
from family, friends and acquaintances, came to the foreground. The expectation that this
situation should change, that alternative medicine should be subject to the rigors of con-
ventional treatment, also resonated. The topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
was identified by the participants in the consultation with two areas: international scandals
related to the illegal production or sale of GMO products, and everyday shopping expe-
riences associated with noticing the information “GMO free” or “GMO free” on purchased
food products. The main sources of information on GMOs are television and the Internet,
where one looks for content supported by scientists and the results of their research.
Scientists and the scientific community, as well as professions based on scientific kno-
wledge (e.g. doctors), are the most frequently mentioned by Poles as reliable sources
of scientific information. At the same time, as the results of the survey showed, these so-
urces of information are – according to the participants of the consultation – insufficiently
used to communicate scientific content. In the era of systemic disinformation and mani-
pulation of facts, science communication can be a key element of the system of defense
against the flood of fake news and half-truths. It seems that an informed and in-depth
debate on this issue and an action plan are urgently needed.
This study is a contribution to the accumulation of knowledge about science communication
in Poland at the end of the second decade of the 21st century. Those involved in CONCISE
research see a great need for further research, allowing for in-depth exploration of this
area in relation to other topics than the ones covered in this study, and creating systemic
solutions to promote science communication development in Poland.
