TY - JOUR
T1 - Public engagement by researchers of different disciplines in Singapore
T2 - A qualitative comparison of macro- and meso-level concerns
AU - Ho, Shirley S.
AU - Looi, Jiemin
AU - Leung, Yan Wah
AU - Goh, Tong Jee
N1 - Funding information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education Tier 1 Grant (Grant Number M4011686).
Publisher copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2020/2
Y1 - 2020/2
N2 - Guided by neo-institutional theory, this study compares how researchers from science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines differ from researchers from the arts, humanities, and social sciences fields in terms of how macro- and meso-level concerns shaped their willingness to conduct public engagement. Focus group discussions conducted among researchers based in Singapore revealed that science, technology, engineering, and math and arts, humanities, and social sciences researchers held different macro-level concerns. Particularly, science, technology, engineering, and math researchers raised more concerns about media misrepresentation, while arts, humanities, and social sciences researchers were more concerned about receiving political repercussions and public backlash. With regard to meso-level considerations, researchers from all disciplines cited similar institutional constraints for public engagement; however they possessed varying public engagement competencies and held differing perceptions of their social duty to engage the public. Hence, researchers of different disciplines desired different kinds of media training. Policy and managerial implications as well as directions for future research were provided.
AB - Guided by neo-institutional theory, this study compares how researchers from science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines differ from researchers from the arts, humanities, and social sciences fields in terms of how macro- and meso-level concerns shaped their willingness to conduct public engagement. Focus group discussions conducted among researchers based in Singapore revealed that science, technology, engineering, and math and arts, humanities, and social sciences researchers held different macro-level concerns. Particularly, science, technology, engineering, and math researchers raised more concerns about media misrepresentation, while arts, humanities, and social sciences researchers were more concerned about receiving political repercussions and public backlash. With regard to meso-level considerations, researchers from all disciplines cited similar institutional constraints for public engagement; however they possessed varying public engagement competencies and held differing perceptions of their social duty to engage the public. Hence, researchers of different disciplines desired different kinds of media training. Policy and managerial implications as well as directions for future research were provided.
KW - art and science
KW - focus group discussions
KW - interaction experts/publics
KW - neo-institutional theory
KW - public engagement
UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85076172819&origin=resultslist&sort=plf-f&src=s&sid=2f888fe43d0cbff3ad495ce5510a29c0&sot=b&sdt=b&s=DOI%2810.1177%2F0963662519888761%29&sl=29&sessionSearchId=2f888fe43d0cbff3ad495ce5510a29c0
U2 - 10.1177/0963662519888761
DO - 10.1177/0963662519888761
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0963-6625
VL - 29
SP - 211
EP - 229
JO - Public Understanding of Science
JF - Public Understanding of Science
IS - 2
ER -
