The #scicomm Phenomenon: Using and Analysing Big Data to Track Science Communication on Czech Research Institutional Websites

This study focused on science communication on the websites of Czech research institutions. Particularly, we inquired to what extent Czech science is shared with the public on the Internet and what differences can be found between the websites of social and natural science institutions. Textual analysis revealed that on the scientific websites, terms like 'science' and 'popularization' occurred together with references to scientific institutions, study, and research. In the case of natural sciences, the term 'popularization' was more often linked to receiving science awards for science popularization and promotion. Structural web analysis showed that most scientific webs contained hyperlinks to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Similarly, they often referred to online news outlets such as ceskatelevize.cz, novinky.cz, lidovky.cz, and rozhlas.cz. On the other side, they much less often referred to institutional and government websites. The results suggested that Czech science communication can be characterised as more interactive than canonical.