Table Of ContentTHE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION
Given current science-related crises facing the world such as climate change, the targeting and
manipulation of DNA, GMO foods, and vaccine denial, the way in which we communicate science
matters is vital for current and future generations of scientists and publics.
The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Communication scrutinizes what we value, prioritize, and grapple
with in science as highlighted by the rhetorical choices of scientists, students, educators, science
gatekeepers, and lay commentators. Drawing on contributions from leading thinkers in the field, this
volume explores some of the most pressing questions in this growing field of study, including:
• How do issues such as ethics, gender, race, shifts in the publishing landscape, and English as the
lingua franca of science influence scientific communication practices?
• How have scientific genres evolved and adapted to current research and societal needs?
• How have scientific visuals developed in response to technological advances and communication
needs?
• How is scientific communication taught to a variety of audiences?
Offering a critical look at the complex relationships that characterize current scientific communication
practices in academia, industry, government, and elsewhere, this Handbook will be essential reading for
students, scholars, and professionals involved in the study, practice, and teaching of scientific, medical,
and technical communication.
Cristina Hanganu-Bresch is Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of the
Sciences, USA. She has authored a variety of books and articles in the area of the rhetoric of medicine,
in particular psychiatry, and in scientific communication. Among her books is Effective Scientific
Communication: The Other Half of Science, with Kelleen Flaherty (2020).
Michael J. Zerbe is Professor of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at York College of Pennsylvania, USA.
He is the author of Composition and the Rhetoric of Science: Engaging the Dominant Discourse, and his work
has also appeared in the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Configurations, and POROI.
Gabriel Cutrufello is Associate Professor of Composition and Rhetoric in the Department of
Communication and Writing at York College of Pennsylvania, USA. His research interests include the
rhetoric of science and the history of technical writing. His work has been published in Rhetoric Review
and Written Communication.
Stefania M. Maci is Professor of English Language and Translation at the University of Bergamo,
Italy. Her research is centered around ESP with a corpus linguistics approach, focusing, in particular,
on medical and popularized discourse across genres (research articles, research letters, posters) from an
intercultural perspective.
THE ROUTLEDGE
HANDBOOK OF SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNICATION
Edited by Cristina Hanganu-Bresch, Michael J. Zerbe,
Gabriel Cutrufello, and Stefania M. Maci
Cover image © Getty Images
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 selection and editorial matter, Cristina Hanganu-Bresch, Michael
J. Zerbe, Gabriel Cutrufello, and Stefania M. Maci; individual chapters, the
contributors
The right of Cristina Hanganu-Bresch, Michael J. Zerbe, Gabriel
Cutrufello, and Stefania M. Maci to be identified as the authors of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hanganu-Bresch, Christina, editor.
Title: The Routledge handbook of scientific communication / edited
by Christina Hanganu-Bresch, Michael J. Zerbe, Gabriel Cutrufello,
and Stefania M. Maci.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Series: Routledge international handbooks | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: LCSH: Communication in science—Handbooks, manuals, etc. |
Science—Language—Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Technical writing—
Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC Q223 .R668 2022 (print) | LCC Q223 (ebook) |
DDC 808.06/65—dc23/eng/20210927
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037531
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037532
ISBN: 978-0-367-48979-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-19053-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-04378-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003043782
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
List of figures ix
List of tables xii
List of contributors xiii
Acknowledgement xix
Introduction 1
Michael J. Zerbe, Gabriel Cutrufello, Cristina Hanganu-Bresch
and Stefania M. Maci
PART 1
Scientific research, writing, and publishing 13
1 The scholarly publishing landscape 15
Ken Hyland
2 The evolution of author functions in scientific communication 26
Sarah Tinker Perrault
3 The new norm: open access publishing and scientific research 36
Michelle Sidler
4 Ethical issues in scientific publication: rapidly evolving practices
in the global scientific community 47
Mya Poe
5 My testimony: Black Feminist Thought in scientific communication 58
Natasha N. Jones
v
Contents
6 Gender and scientific communication 69
Lillian Campbell
7 Peer review in scientific publishing 80
Brad Mehlenbacher and Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher
8 Editorial peer review at basic and applied sciences journals
in the semiperiphery context of Taiwan 90
Cheryl L. Sheridan
9 Why I should cite you? The evolving role of documentation
and citation in scholarly communication 102
Tomás Koch Ewertz
10 Measuring impact 112
Glenn Hampson
11 Collaborative models for scientific writing 124
Lisa DeTora and Sabrina Sobel
12 Expanding expertise in communicating science through public
and citizen science 135
Jennifer C. Mallette
13 Scientific communication in English as a second language 145
Maurizio Gotti
PART 2
Scientific communication genres 157
14 The scientific article: variation and change in knowledge
communication practices 159
Marina Bondi
15 Reviewing the scientific review article 170
Judy Noguchi
16 Grant proposals in the academic sphere: a historical review 180
Begoña Bellés-Fortuño
17 Searching for the “magic elixir”: uncertainty in developing specific
aims and broader impacts for NIH and NSF grants 189
Colleen A. Reilly
vi
Contents
18 Examining tensions between technical communication principles
and scientific practice: does jargon belong on scientific posters? 200
Kalie Leonard
19 The medical case report as genre and social practice 213
Chad Wickman
20 Scientific letters and commentaries in their historical and social contexts 224
Maureen A. Mathison
21 Scientist citizens: nontraditional and alternative approaches to
scientific communication 235
Justin Mando
PART 3
Scientific visuals and multimedia 245
22 Speaking to the eyes: a historical overview of data visualization
in the sciences 247
Danielle DeVasto
23 Statistics and data visualization 271
Vaclav Brezina and Raffaella Bottini
24 Graphical abstracts: visually circulating scientific arguments 290
Jonathan Buehl
25 Doing science digitally: the role of multimodal interactive
representations in scientific rhetoric 307
Lauren E. Cagle
26 Science communication, visual rhetoric, and eBird: the role of
participatory science communication in fostering empathy for species 324
Amy D. Propen
PART 4
Scientific communication pedagogy 335
27 Emerging practices in science communication pedagogy 337
Kate Maddalena
28 Pedagogies for supporting global scientists’ research writing 348
James N. Corcoran and Karen Englander
vii
Contents
29 Threshold concepts in scientific writing literacy: what citizens
and scientists need to know about scientific writing 359
Gwendolynne Reid
30 Language as a realization of scientific reasoning in scientific texts
and its importance for promoting secondary school students’
disciplinary literacy 370
Moriah Ariely and Anat Yarden
31 Professional development in science communication for practicing
scientists: the role of science communication training programs in
shaping participating scientists’ skills 381
Yael Barel-Ben David and Ayelet Baram-Tsabari
32 Grand challenges: a case study in the complications of and best
practices for writing across the curriculum in scientific and
technical communication classrooms 396
Jenna Morton-Aiken
33 Disciplinary expertise, writing centers, and STEM writers 408
Susanne Hall
Index 418
viii
FIGURES
10.1 The many stages of impact evaluation 119
10.2 Adaptation of the SAGE model of scientific impact 120
18.1 Respondent roles in science 203
18.2 Primary poster audience 204
18.3 Main purpose of a scientific poster presentation 205
18.4 Respondent definitions of jargon 205
18.5 How often respondents use jargon on their own posters 206
18.6 How often respondents notice jargon on others’ posters 207
18.7 How respondents make decisions about using (or not using) jargon
on a poster 208
18.8 Elements of “conventional” and “well designed and engaging” posters 209
22.1 Sample visualizations: infographic about obesity (left), data visualization
of annual mean temperatures (top right), scientific visualization of a large
simulation of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability problem (bottom right) 249
22.2 Re-creation of Anaximander’s world map, sixth century 250
22.3 Yu ji tu (“Map of the Tracks of Yu”), twelfth century 251
22.4 Arbor scientiae (“Tree of Science”), Ramon Llull, 1515 252
22.5 Visualization of planetary cycles, tenth century 253
22.6 Diagrams of the velocity of an accelerating object against time,
Nicole Oresme, fourteenth century 254
22.7 “History of Weather,” Robert Plot, 1685 255
22.8 Chart of the trade winds and monsoons, Edmond Halley, 1687 256
22.9 Graph of determinations of distance from Toledo to Rome, Michael van
Langren, 1644 257
22.10 Zebra pattern of magnetic stripes on the seafloor, Ronald Mason and
Arthur Raff, 1961 258
22.11 Delineation of the strata of England and Wales with part of Scotland,
William Smith, 1815 259
22.12 Weather chart, Francis Galton, 1875 260
22.13 “Chart Representing the Extent, Population, and Revenue of the
Principle Nations in Europe in 1804,” William Playfair, 1805 262
ix
