Popularization by argentine researchers: The activities and motivations of CONICET scientists

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a survey on popularization activities by 1700 scientists in Argentina. The tool used for this research was a questionnaire containing 21 questions on discipline, age, status in hierarchy, intensity of popularization activity, motives, difficulties and opinions on public issues and science policy. Our analysis of the data shows that patterns of public popularization in Argentina do not substantially differ from those found in two advanced countries, namely France and the United Kingdom. This situation contrasts with the strong differences found in research practices in "central" and "peripheral" countries.