Wi4impact: Influence of Science Blogs and Podcasts on Knowledge Transfer

The study on the influence of science blogs and podcasts on knowledge transfer was conducted by GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. The basic population consisted of science blogs and podcasts from German state universities, universities of applied sciences and non-university research institutions, which were examined using various methods. In the run-up to the survey, a web search was carried out between September 2022 and February 2023 with the aim of characterizing the population of blogs and podcasts from German state universities, colleges and research institutions. Basic data such as media type, institution type and start year were recorded. In the survey period from 19.07.2023 to 18.08.2023, a standardized online survey was conducted among those responsible on the following topics Creation, concept, thematic focus (discipline), target group, objectives, formatting, use of resources, partnership, distribution, social media strategy and socio-demographics. Finally, the parameters of the offer and usage of the blogs and podcasts examined were collected for a performance analysis. In addition, followers of the social media accounts of the blogs and podcasts studied, interactions with social media posts and accounts that share links to the blogs and podcasts studied, the number and length of episodes of the podcasts studied and the ratings and length of blog posts were surveyed.<br>Web research (variables from upstream web-based research): Medium (blog, podcast); type of institution of the blog/podcast (university, college, non-university research institution); start year of the first blog post/podcast episode.

Survey (variables from online survey): Overall concept for the production of the blog/podcast; content defined in the overall concept (e.g. thematic focus, unique selling point, objectives, etc.); alignment of the overall concept for the blog/podcast) with a cross-organizational strategy (transfer concept); discipline (humanities and social sciences, life sciences, natural sciences, engineering sciences); assignment of the blog to other sub-disciplines; subject of the respective discipline where the blog is typically located; use of search engine optimization methods (e.g. keywords for the blog). e.g. keywords) for the blog/web presence of the podcast; target group of the blog/podcast (actors of the science system, public, political actors, practitioners (e.g. teachers), economic actors, students, others); specific target groups in the public sphere; objectives of the blog/podcast (e.g. insight into research processes, research topics, increasing visibility, etc.); frequency of publication of new blog posts/new podcast episodes; size of the core team of the blog/podcast; paid working hours in blog production of the core team; type of financial resources for the blog/podcast (e.g. budget funds, third-party funds, advertising funds, donations, etc.); production partnerships (e.g. with research institutions, infrastructure facilities, etc.); creation of the blog/podcast as part of an external or internal scientific cooperation; participation channels for readers, podcasters, etc. ); production partnerships (e.g. with research institutions, infrastructure facilities); creation of the blog/podcast as part of an external or internal academic cooperation; participation channels for readers and listeners; media for information about the blog/podcast (e.g. social media, newsletters, printed matter, etc.); evaluation of the blog/podcast.

Demography: Activity at an academic institution; field of activity; academic career stage.

Performance survey (variables from performance analysis): Total number of blog posts/ podcast episodes; average number of words of blog posts or duration of podcast episodes in 2023; reach: number of page views of the blog or plays of the podcast in 2023.

Social media survey (manual): Number of followers on social media;
Social media survey (automated): Interaction rate of posts from the provider´s own accounts on social platforms; Interaction rate of posts from institutional accounts on social platforms; Network: Number of accounts that post links to the blog/podcast on social platforms; Ratings of podcasts on streaming platforms.