Science Communication and Trust

This open access book presents groundbreaking research, offering new empirical findings, showcasing a range of different methods, and advancing theoretical perspectives relating to science communication and trust. The investigation of science communication and trust is enhanced by the many international scholars and disciplinary approaches featured. The book includes three thematic sections: the first focuses on the role of trustworthy science communicators, the second is concerned with the varying contexts of science communication for trust, while the third unpacks various features of trust in science. The volume thus provides the reader with invaluable insights into the highly salient topic of science communication and trust.

Antoinette Fage-Butler is an Associate Professor at Aarhus University whose research centres on the communication of science, risk and trust. She is Principal Investigator of the (Mis)trust of Scientific Expertise project, funded by Aarhus University Research Foundation. She wrote the book Risk and Responsibilisation in Public Communication of Contemporary Crises (Routledge, 2024) with funding from Carlsberg Foundation. Circle U. funding supported a project she led that explored students’ future narratives of sustainability.

Loni Ledderer is an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University. Her research encompasses organisational change processes in healthcare organisations with a specific focus on technologies, care practices and participation in healthcare from the perspectives of users and health professionals. She has extensive experience in interdisciplinary research and collaboration across organisations and is part of the (Mis)trust of Scientific Expertise group.

Kristian H. Nielsen, Associate Professor in Science Communication and Science Studies at Aarhus University, specializes in scientific expertise in public debate and science communication. He leads work packages in two EU projects on citizen science and open and responsible research and innovation, and is part of the (Mis)trust of Scientific Expertise group. In 2022, he co-organized the Engaging Citizen Science Conference and co-edited its proceedings. His recent work appears in journals like Public Understanding of Science and Science as Culture.