Money & society · 2025
How do researchers respond when community members share personal experiences in conversation?
Researchers generally did not take up these personal disclosures, though they sometimes asked follow-up questions. This pattern was observed in conversations between researchers from different disciplines and community members; it does not establish how common the response is in other settings.
Details
Building relationships with the public is an aim of science communication, but what that looks like in practice remains unclear. This observational study analyzed how conversations unfolded between researchers and community members, focusing on a recurring pattern: community members volunteered information about themselves without being asked. The analysis interpreted these disclosures as attempts to connect science with everyday life and build a relationship with researchers. Researchers usually did not engage with the disclosures, although they occasionally asked questions that explored them further. The finding concerns how people responded in these conversations, not whether sharing personal experiences actually produced stronger relationships. The abstract does not report the number of participants or the conversation settings.
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