Research of Strategic Communication
The strategic communication group investigates the role of communication in a high-choice, digitalised information environment. It has a key interest in societal issues and challenges in the realm of life sciences, such as climate, biodiversity, health, and food security and with a special focus on citizen engagement and (political) participation.
We are interested in the content of communication in a wide variety of forms and places, including (social) media, campaigns, and dialogues. We investigate how this communication comes about, is used strategically, and how it impacts individuals’ attitudes, opinions, knowledge and behaviour, collective actors like interest groups, political parties and government, as well as social practices and society at large.
Methodologically, we rely on a wide range of methods and encourage methodological diversity. We specialize in quantitative (computational) content analysis, new methods to collect and analyze digital data such as experience sampling, experimental, and survey research, as well as interventions and qualitative approaches, such as interviews, focus groups, discourse and narrative analyses.
Research themes
Our research relates to, and integrates four key themes:
Sustainability communication
Here, our research aims to understand how communication drives sustainability and to use these insights to make a difference. Research projects focus on the role of (persuasive) communication in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour, in individuals and networks. We look at sustainability from multiple domains, including (pro-environmental) consumer behavior, healthy lifestyles, climate change, and agriculture.
Science communication
We research the complex dynamics of how scientific knowledge is disseminated, received, and contested across various platforms and by different actors (e.g., journalists, politicians, citizens, scientists). We study the critical role of experts in public debates, the development and erosion of trust in science, the growing politicisation of scientific knowledge and the challenges posed by mis- and disinformation in relation to differing perspectives between the public and the scientific community. This includes exploring the influence of communication on policymaking, investigating online health and climate (mis)information, interpersonal communication between experts and non-experts, and the (mis)use and strategic communication of scientific knowledge in public debates.
Digitalisation and society
We study questions related to how digitalisation (e.g., data-driven communication and AI) influences processes of everyday life. Particular attention lies in how digitalisation might foster the spread of mis- and disinformation and how it has changed the role traditional media and journalism play in our society, but also how digitalisation offers opportunities for connection and cooperation between various actors in the realm of contested life science issues.
Polarisation and dialogue
We focus on how societal debates around important issues, such as climate change and public health, polarise and what role contested communication (e.g., incivility, (accusations of) mis- and disinformation, populist rhetoric) plays in those processes. We study these developments in interactions between political and societal actors, (social) media and citizens. Furthermore, we investigate citizen engagement through dialogue and civil society advocacy as a potential means to counter polarisation, exclusion and inequalities, and foster cooperation.
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