The current questions for my capstone project are broad and undefined…
Framing Questions
- How do facts get transformed to give science volatility?
- What role does science play in the policy making process?
Focus Questions
- Who mediates communication between scientists and policymakers?
- What are the benefits and setback of this mediation?
- What is the effect of mediator’s a own science literacy on his or her coverage of science, selection of stories, choice of sources, and quality of reporting?
- How do the structure and set goals of an organization like the U.S. Geological Survey lead to disconnects between scientists and policymakers?
I’m not quite sure which direction I will be going in yet which makes focusing in on a methodology a bit shaky.
Up to this point, I have been thinking of focusing in on a particular policy-related issue in which the decisions being made are somehow being influenced by the work of USGS scientists. The methodology for this type of question involves close readings, studying the rhetoric used in policy decisions and scientific research, and informational interview about the topic being debated.
While this idea is still an option, I have become interested less in a particular issue but more in how the USGS works as an organization and how it facilitates or hinders the ability of scientists to communicate with policymakers throughout the policy making process. To address I question of this nature, I will likely have to rely more heavily on surveys in order to access a larger population of the Survey. Below are some links that could lead me somewhere…maybe…
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