Together Alone: Going Online during COVID-19 Is Changing Scientific Conferences

Heather J. Bray, Jennifer Stone, Lillith Litchfield, Kara L. Britt, John L. Hopper and Wendy V. Ingman
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Heather J. Bray: School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Australia
Jennifer Stone: School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Australia
Lillith Litchfield: School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Australia
Kara L. Britt: Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne 3000, Australia
John L. Hopper: Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3051, Australia
Wendy V. Ingman: Discipline of Surgery, Adelaide Medical School and Robinson Research Institute, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville 5011, Australia

Challenges, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic caused many scientific conferences to move online, posing a great challenge for scientific communication. This change offers potential advantages and disadvantages for inclusion, diversity, and scientific advancement. Here, we analyse participants’ experiences of the Why Study Mammographic Density? Conference to explore some of these issues and identify key points of contention between different stakeholders. We found that while increasing participant diversity is facilitated by online conferencing, if the participants cannot interact informally with each other, there is value which is lost. In returning to in-person conferences, it will be important not to “shut the door” on those whose participation was enabled by the online format.

Keywords: COVID-19; conference; online; networking; diversity; scientific advancement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A00 C00 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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