Herausforderung Rezeptionsanalyse: zur Wahrnehmung von Wissenschaftskommunikation während der Coronapandemie

Abstract

Abstract More than ever before, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance and challenges of high-quality science communication. In various phases of the pandemic, the public voiced discontent about the way scientific results were communicated. This article is anchored in the field of media linguistic reception research. Its aim is less to shed light on the quality of science communication itself than to pursue the question which methods in reception research are most suitable for illuminating how recipients perceived the pandemic. To this end, we compare the results of a survey with the analysis of comments from the comment sections of four YouTube videos. The results imply that, for this specific case, the analysis of social media comments is more suitable as an addition to the survey rather than constituting an alternative because surveys can elicit targeted responses whereas comment sections contain a whole spectrum of topics addressed. The study also comes to the conclusion that, in addition to target-group-oriented, comprehensible communication, it is above all important to raise awareness for the kind of processes that shape an academic’s work.