When facts are not enough: Science with social impact

Many researchers are familiar with the experience that even carefully reasoned, fact-based explanations of innovative scientific research have only limited impact in private or public settings. Social scientist and science communicator Anne Helen Toomey addresses this tension in her book Science with Impact and diagnoses a crisis of trust and communication in science.

Toomey argues that facts do not have the same meaning for everyone and that attitudes and behaviors related to science are subject to social dynamics. Using vivid examples from her own scientific career, she shows why empirical evidence can be perceived as irrelevant or even threatening by parts of the public. In doing so, she combines social science findings with practical observations and emphasizes the role of trust, identity, and experience in the reception of scientific information.

The book is aimed at researchers and science-related actors and offers concrete suggestions for dealing with uncertainty, strengthening social relevance, and incorporating science more effectively into political and social processes.

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