Science Communication

The term science communication has a history of varied use within and beyond the field of communication studies. Historically, science communication has often been defined as the purposeful public communication of scientific information to non-experts. More recently, science communication has come to also signify an emerging field of study that has grown significantly in recent decades. Science Communication is also the title of a leading international, interdisciplinary academic journal that supports publication of recent findings within the academic field. This entry discusses these three distinct, yet related, definitions of science communication: the history of science communication as a process of scientific information transmission between people, science communication as an emerging field of study, and the academic journal Science Communication.