Scientific Ideals Versus Action: American Scientists’ Perspectives on Communicating With Policymakers

Abstract

Despite increased scholarly attention to scientists’ role in policymaking, little is known about how scientists perceive and enact that role. We examine American scientists’ perspectives on and engagement with policymakers, recruitment into these roles, and possible influences of political ideology on these phenomena. We find that although both technical and advocacy-oriented communication were popular, scientists were more likely to engage in advocacy—possibly due to limited recruitment into technical roles relative to advocacy. Left-leaning scientists also endorsed a broader range of communication activities with policymakers, but political differences were less evident with respect to communication in practice.