Science communication research in the German-speaking countries: A content analysis of conference abstracts

The study examines the state of science communication research in the German-speaking countries. Based on a standardized content analysis of all extended abstracts submitted to the annual conferences of the German Communication Association’s science communication division from 2014 to 2018 (N = 141), it describes the respective scholarly community, its research foci and objects. The results indicate that science communication has developed toward a well-established community and marks an institutionalization of the research field. Furthermore, the findings of the content analysis indicate that science communication research in the German-speaking countries shows parallels to international developments in terms of research foci, objects, and analytical models, but also differences regarding theories and methods.