Article,
'Pandem-icons' - exploring the characteristics of highly visible scientists during the Covid-19 pandemic
Contributors
Metcalfe, Jenni
0000-0002-8765-2567
[3]
Riedlinger, Michelle
0000-0003-4402-4824
[4]
Chakraborty, Anwesha
0000-0002-1681-870X
[5]
Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet
0000-0002-8123-5519
[9]
Malkov, Dmitry
0000-0001-5504-6987
Fattorini, Eliana
0000-0002-9758-7578
[10]
Revuelta, Gema
0000-0002-0701-2026
[11]
Barata, Germana
0000-0001-6064-6952
Riise, Jan
0000-0002-9224-7101
[12]
Horst, Maja
0000-0002-9641-5213
[13]
Kaseje, M.
0000-0001-9789-1927
Kirsten, Marnell
0000-0002-4440-6403
[1]
Affiliations
- [1] Stellenbosch Univ, Ctr Res Evaluat Sci & Technol CREST, Stellenbosch, South Africa [NORA names: South Africa; Africa];
- [2] Univ Hamburg, Cluster Excellence Climate Climat Change & Soc CLI, Hamburg, Germany [NORA names: Germany; Europe, EU; OECD];
- [3] Australian Natl Univ, Canberra, Australia [NORA names: Australia; Oceania; OECD];
- [4] Queensland Univ Technol, Digital Media Res Ctr, Brisbane, Australia [NORA names: Australia; Oceania; OECD];
- [5] Univ Bologna, Dept Polit & Social Sci, Bologna, Italy [NORA names: Italy; Europe, EU; OECD];
(... more)
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic escalated demand for scientific explanations and guidance, creating opportunities for scientists to become publicly visible. In this study, we compared characteristics of visible scientists during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (January to December 2020) across 16 countries. We find that the scientists who became visible largely matched socio-cultural criteria that have characterised visible scientists in the past (e.g., age, gender, credibility, public image, involvement in controversies). However, there were limited tendencies that scientists commented outside their areas of expertise. We conclude that the unusual circumstances created by Covid-19 did not change the phenomenon of visible scientists in significant ways.
