Positionality and Audience in Science Writing

Hayley Bricker (they/them)

Caitlyn Fick (she/her)

Michelle Rensel (she/her)

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What is science writing?

Participant Responses:

•Lab reports

•Concrete vs. abstract

•Technical jargon

•Quantitative methods

•”Clear”

•Data-driven

•Easily reproducible

•Charts and graphs

•Visuals

•IMRD – formulaic

•About science – popular news

•A form of storytelling about a question

•Hard

•Written in passive voice

•Uses “scientific method” – try to achieve objectivity

•Set of norms

•Potentially collaborative

Potentially competitive

What is science writing?

• Communication of science information, data, analysis, experimentation, and results through writing

Source: The Guardian

What is good science writing?

Participant Responses:

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•Accessible, readable by non-scientists

•Activist – action-oriented

•Depends on audience: e.g., impact factors for scientists

•Visuals that complement the text

•Does not start with a formula (or does??)

•Being a good host – knowing your audience/reader, setup is useful (maybe)

•Writing in a genre-specific fashion (writing for your audience)

•Justified – why does this matter?

•Builds on others’ work – accurate representation of past work; citation justice

•Publishing negative results

•Honesty about limitations

•Thoroughness for future work

•Suggestions for next steps that are realistic, helpful, not boilerplate

•Proper context, explanations of science in practice for public audiences

•Transparency – what are the motivations for the work? Who is funding the work (conflicts of interest; any sources of funding)

•Trustworthy, but astonishing

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What does good science writing do?

Some of our ideas:

• Communicates the science effectively
• Knows its audience and writes in a way that’s appropriate for them
• Scientific audience: jargon, other specific technical language, more details on experiments
• General audience: less jargon, general information
• Contributes to a larger conversation or public interest
• Gets the audience to care/engages the audience
• Is in conversation with previous work/science

Why is positionality and identity important to consider in science?

• Different backgrounds bring different ideas and experiences to the field (Steel et al. 2018)

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• Important to consider/remember the history of these fields and their exclusion of certain groups or use of science to oppress, such as with eugenics and scientific racism (Steltenpohl et al. 2022)

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• In marginalized groups & communities, it is important to foster self-efficacy and empowerment by emphasizing idea ownership (Carsten Conner et al. 2021)

Benefits of incorporating positionality in science writing

• For the writer: explicitly inviting personal identity-based reflection validates diversity of experiences and can foster interest in an assignment

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• For the reader: cues reader into the values and perspectives of the author - science is never neutral/objective and that’s okay; acknowledging positionality clarifies goals and reasoning (Harding 2009; Holmes 2020; Haraway)

3 Examples

1. Recognizing the importance of positionality statements in scholarly science writing

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1. Asking students to take on different roles in an interactive science game (with writing)

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1. Teaching writing for diverse audiences

Crafting a positionality statement

Human bias is real & measurable

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Acknowledging this bias through a positionality statement should:

• be comfortable with the fact that neutrality is not possible
• situate the locational context
• identify the philosophical framework & methodology employed
• plan for accountability

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Position in a research process should reflect & invite dialog towards a more robust knowledge production process

Morton et al. 2022

Morton et al. 2022

Multimodal Science Writing in the “GMO Game”

Biotechnology & Society Freshman Cluster activity:

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• quarter-long activity

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• based on unpublished Reacting to the Past game

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• context: real events in 2002 surrounding projected famine in southern Africa & US offer of GM corn

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• individual role sheets representing real or realistic people

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• Pro-GM aid, anti-GM aid roles grouped into factions that give persuasive speeches after conducting independent and group research

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• Leaders of 6 southern African countries share concerns and make decisions

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• Final papers are official position statement written in-role

Sample student feedback: open-ended questions about impact of the game on views on GMOs and understanding of complexity of debates

“I didn't really know anything about GMOs before the game. Doing research for my character helped me realize the nuance of the debate around them. “

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“I hadn't realized how the GMO debate went further than just safety and human health. It is actually intwined in many aspects of our society, especially politics and our economy which I recognized through the different characters in the game.”

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“i realized that different characters have very different perspectives, and there’s really no binary answer in the GMO Game”

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“The sheer number of roles present in the GMO game from either side (and the neutral faction) showed me the number of perspectives one could take. This illustrated the complexity of GMO debates.”

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“I feel like I largely held the same views as before. I had to do some economic research, which reinforced my views against aid, but I generally liked GMOs and my role made me argue against it, which was fun. However, it did not influence my opinions much.”

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“At the end of the day there were very valid arguments for both sides, but I definitely do believe some of the points of my role regarding how GMOs offer an effective long term solution as well as provide immediate relief. “

Alternative types of science writing/communication

• Science writing can take many forms and can be for any audience!

“In diversity, there is epistemic strength”

- Dr. Naomi Oreskes