Abstract:

This study examines the public communication activities that scientists in Türkiye perform, their frequency and the audiences that are targeted to determine how such activities are related to scientists’ motivations and their perceptions of society. This research aims to understand how academics’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (roles and rewards) and perceptions of society are associated with public communication activities. Data from 391 academic scientists were collected using quota sampling that considered criteria such as academic title, university type, gender and academic field. The study found that the main factors motivating academics to engage in public communication activities are intrinsic, and indeed a negative correlation was observed between external motivation(reward) and engagement in public communication. This research, which shows the importance of academics’ intrinsic motivation to engage in public communication activities, offers a direction for expanding the role of academics in helping the public to engage with science. Future studies may examine the causes of gender-based differences in public communication by academics.

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