Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 May 25;17(5):e0267697. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267697. eCollection 2022.
As the reach of science content in traditional media declines, many institutions and scientists are turning to YouTube as a powerful tool for communicating directly with non-expert publics. They do so with little empirical social science research guiding their efforts. This study explores how video characteristics and social endorsement cues provided by audience members might influence user engagement with online science videos. Shorter videos are more likely to be viewed. Social endorsement cues significantly relate to variations in user engagement, with likes having a consistent positive association with all types of engagement. Implications for science communication through YouTube are discussed.
随着传统媒体中科学内容的传播范围缩小，许多机构和科学家开始将 YouTube 作为与非专业公众直接沟通的有力工具。他们这样做的依据是缺乏经验的社会科学研究来指导他们的努力。本研究探讨了视频特征和观众提供的社会认可线索如何影响用户对在线科学视频的参与度。较短的视频更有可能被观看。社会认可线索与用户参与度的变化显著相关，喜欢与所有类型的参与度都呈一致的正相关。讨论了通过 YouTube 进行科学传播的意义。
