Assessing Science Engagement Through Social Media - NOVA scienceNOW season 7

这一早期设计和开发、综合媒体和研究项目将通过探索与广播电视相结合的社交媒体上的科学参与，为非正式科学学习文献贡献重要的新理解。它将有助于回答一些问题，包括：这样的参与是什么样子的？谁参与了？它是如何发生的，为什么会发生？参与的程度或深度是什么？该项目建立在WGBH以前在全国发行电视连续剧Nova Science Now的成功工作和EDC的研究专长的基础上。WGBH的Nova Science enceNOW项目将与EDC合作开发新的指标，以了解学习者如何以及为什么在社交媒体上参与科学。交付内容将包括六集一小时的Nova Science Now、在线短视频、主持的在线讨论活动和在线电影节。一项新的社交媒体倡议将开发六个直播微博活动、六个播后在线讨论活动、每日社交媒体更新，以及一个以用户生成视频为特色的在线电影节。视频和在线帖子中的一系列STEM内容将围绕重大科学和工程问题展开，如动物通信和生存系统、睡眠生物学、气候变化、新技术、能源、遗传学和自然灾害。社交媒体渠道的不断创新和扩展为学习者提供了获得高质量科学内容、研究人员和参与科学的机会的重要新机会。在这项工作的第一阶段，为了加深对社交媒体如何支持非正式科学参与的循证理解，NOVA和EDC将合作开发新的衡量工具：(1)网络概况，以定量表示Nova社交媒体网络的规模和活动；(2)非正式科学参与度(ISE)指数，通过编码和分析对话和帖子来衡量参与度；(3)关注者概况，以评估活动程度和参与的性质；以及(4)科学社交媒体参与度调查工具。然后，他们将使用这些措施和数据收集协议来探索该倡议是否以及如何可能影响科学参与。具有内容和方法专长的外部专家审查员将在关键时刻审查项目的所有方面。该项目将贡献重要的新知识和研究工具和方法，以更好地了解如何最有效地实现社交媒体渠道的学习机会。这极有可能为社会带来广泛和持久的利益，并促进非正式科学学习领域。

This early-stage design and development, integrated media and research project will contribute important new understandings to the informal science learning literature by exploring science engagement on social media when integrated with broadcast television. It will help answer questions including: What does such engagement look like? Who participates? How and why does it happen? and What is the degree or depth of engagement? The project builds on the previous successful work by WGBH nationally distributing the television series NOVA scienceNOW and the research expertise of EDC. WGBH's NOVA scienceNOW program will collaborate with EDC to develop new metrics to understand how and why learners engage with science on social media. Deliverables will include six one-hour episodes of NOVA scienceNOW, short online videos, moderated online discussion events, and an online film festival. A new social Media Initiative will develop six live broadcast microblogging events, six post-broadcast online discussion events, daily social media updates, and an online film festival that will feature user generated videos. A range of STEM content in the videos and online posts will be framed around big science and engineering questions such as animal communication and survival systems, the biology of sleep, climate change, new technologies, energy, genetics, and natural disasters. The continued innovations and expansion of social media channels provides significant new opportunities for providing learner's access to high quality science content, researchers, and opportunities to participate in science. In the first phase of this work to deepen the evidence based understanding of how social media supports informal science engagement, NOVA and EDC will collaborate to develop new measurement instruments: (1) a Network Profile to quantitatively represent the size and activity of NOVA's social media network; (2) an Informal Science Engagement (ISE) index to measure the degree of engagement by coding and analyzing conversations and posts; (3) a Follower Profile to assess the degree of activity and the nature of the engagement; and (4) a Science Social Media Engagement survey instrument. They will then use these measures and data collection protocols to explore whether and how the initiative might influence science engagement. External expert reviewers with content and methodological expertise will review all aspects of the project at critical junctures. This project will contribute important new knowledge and research instruments and methods to better understand how the learning opportunities of social media channels can be realized most effectively. This has significant potential for broad and lasting benefits to society as well as advancing the informal science learning field.