Scientific Information Literacy: Adaption of Concepts and an Investigation Into the Chinese Public

Han Wang, Lina Li, Jing Wu and Hao Gao
Additional contact information
Han Wang: School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, China
Lina Li: Film–Television and Communication College, Shanghai Normal University, China
Jing Wu: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Hao Gao: School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, China

Media and Communication, 2023, vol. 11, issue 1, 335-248

Abstract: Many studies have developed the concepts and measurements of scientific and information literacy. However, the changes in the media environment, the complexity of scientific information, and low entry barriers have brought new challenges to scientific information communication. A single scientific or information literacy concept cannot provide a clear overview of the competencies and literacy required for individuals to access scientific information in new media contexts. This study aims to adapt the existing concepts and measurement frameworks related to information literacy in science communication and to investigate scientific information literacy and the demographic differences among the Chinese public through a cross-sectional survey ( N = 2,983). The results showed that compared to self-directed information acquisition, accurate information filtering, and information sharing and dissemination, the Chinese public has relatively lower levels of information credibility assessment and opinion expression. Besides, the scientific literacy levels among the Chinese public had significant differences according to gender, age, and education. This study argues that adapting current information literacy concepts into science communication can promote public understanding of scientific information. The concept of scientific information literacy should be considered as a means of understanding the impact of new media on scientific information communication. The contribution of this study is that it adapts existing concepts into a novel context, further enriching the empirical research on scientific literacy and the research perspective on science communication.

Keywords: information literacy; literacy investigation; new media; science communication; scientific literacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6077 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:335-248

DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6077

Access Statistics for this article

Media and Communication is currently edited by Raquel Silva

More articles in Media and Communication from Cogitatio Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by António Vieira () and IT Department ().