Science popularization on Facebook: statistical analysis of posts from a Brazilian university

Silva, Ana Eliza Ferreira Alvim da; Moraes, Gláucia da Silva Mendes; Antonialli, Luiz Marcelo

doi:10.1590/1809-58442023108en

Ana Eliza Ferreira Alvim da Silva

funding acquisition

project administration

conceptualization

formal analysis

writing – original draft

writing – review and editing

(Universidade Federal de Lavras, Gabinete, Coordenadoria de Divulgação Científica. Lavras – MG, Brasil)

Ana Eliza Ferreira Alvim da Silva Ph.D. in Administration from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Master’s degree in Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), specialized in Corporate Communication, and Bachelor’s degree in Social Communication, also from UFJF. As a journalist in the permanent staff of UFLA, she carries out organizational communication activities, including the production of institutional and educational journalistic articles. She is a member of the Minas Gerais Network for Scientific Communication (RMCC) and coordinates science popularization projects at the University. She is the editor of the scientific journalism magazine “Ciência em Prosa,” in the children’s section. E-mail: anaeliza.alvim@ufla.br.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8602-6946

Gláucia da Silva Mendes Moraes

conceptualization

writing – original draft

writing – review and editing

(Universidade Federal de Lavras, Gabinete, Coordenadoria de Comunicação Social. Lavras – MG, Brasil)

Gláucia da Silva Mendes Moraes She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2006), a master’s degree in Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2009), and a Ph.D. in Communication from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2015). She is currently a journalist at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). E-mail: glaucia.moraes@ufla.br.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0563-008X

Luiz Marcelo Antonialli

Supervision

Methodology

writing – review and editing

(Universidade Federal de Lavras, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração. Lavras – MG, Brasil)

Luiz Marcelo Antonialli He graduated in Agronomy from the former Escola Superior de Agricultura de Lavras - ESAL (1982), currently known as the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). He holds a master’s degree in Rural Administration from ESAL (1988) and a Ph.D. in Administration from the Faculty of Economics, Administration, and Accounting - FEA/USP (2000). He is a Full Professor in the Department of Administration and Economics at UFLA. He has experience in the fields of Strategic Administration and Quantitative Research Methodology. E-mail: lmantonialli@ufla.br.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1220-6164

Ana Eliza Ferreira Alvim da Silva

Ph.D. in Administration from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Master’s degree in Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), specialized in Corporate Communication, and Bachelor’s degree in Social Communication, also from UFJF. As a journalist in the permanent staff of UFLA, she carries out organizational communication activities, including the production of institutional and educational journalistic articles. She is a member of the Minas Gerais Network for Scientific Communication (RMCC) and coordinates science popularization projects at the University. She is the editor of the scientific journalism magazine “Ciência em Prosa,” in the children’s section. E-mail: anaeliza.alvim@ufla.br.

Gláucia da Silva Mendes Moraes

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2006), a master’s degree in Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2009), and a Ph.D. in Communication from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2015). She is currently a journalist at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). E-mail: glaucia.moraes@ufla.br.

Luiz Marcelo Antonialli

He graduated in Agronomy from the former Escola Superior de Agricultura de Lavras - ESAL (1982), currently known as the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). He holds a master’s degree in Rural Administration from ESAL (1988) and a Ph.D. in Administration from the Faculty of Economics, Administration, and Accounting - FEA/USP (2000). He is a Full Professor in the Department of Administration and Economics at UFLA. He has experience in the fields of Strategic Administration and Quantitative Research Methodology. E-mail: lmantonialli@ufla.br.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Editor: Maria Ataide Malcher

Editorial assistant: Weverton Raiol

Indicator	Relevance
Number of people reached	It reveals the number of people for whom the publication appeared in their timeline. In other words, the number of people who likely saw the publication. This reach increases due to different factors determined by Facebook itself, but the more interest and engagement the publication generates, the greater the reach.
Number of video views per person	It counts the number of times the video was viewed by different profiles, taking into account that a person may view the video multiple times.
Average video viewing time	It measures the duration of time that the viewer stayed watching the video. The higher the average duration, the greater the likelihood that it generated interest.
Number of positive reactions	It tallies the clicks on “like,” “love,” and other positive reactions.
Number of negative reactions	It tallies the clicks on “sad” and “angry” reactions (expressing irritation).
Number of shares	It counts the number of times users shared the publication on their own profiles. This action is significant because it indicates a higher willingness to interact and a willingness to become a propagator of that content to a wider audience.
Number of comments (divided into tags, criticism, praise, and questions)	This counting was done manually by reading all the comments and categorizing them. Comments, compared to the act of liking or clicking on another reaction, indicate an additional step taken by the user in relation to the post: if they take the trouble to engage in dialogue and express themselves, it means they have been mobilized to a greater extent by some factor. “Tagging” refers to those comments in which the user simply mentions the name of another person they want to see the publication. They are significant because they denote that the audience wants to establish a more private communication based on that post (KAPLAN; HAENLEIN, 2010KAPLAN, A. M.; HAENLEIN, M. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, n. 1, v. 53, p. 59-68, 2010., p. 60), unlike sharing, which occurs when they want multiple people to see it.
% of male audience participation	It allows evaluating audience profiles.
% of female audience participation	It allows evaluating audience profiles.
% of audience aged 13-17	They allow evaluating audience profiles. Age groups are a specification provided by Facebook itself.
% of audience aged 18-24
% of audience aged 25-34
% of audience aged 35-44
% of audience aged 45-54
% of audience aged 55-64
% of audience aged 65 and above
% of accesses in Minas Gerais (MG)	They allow evaluating audience profiles.
% of accesses in other states
% of accesses in other countries

Indicator	Minimum	Maximum	Mean Standard	Deviation
Number of people reached	1,840	501,058	19,847	54,506
Number of video views per person	298	138,999	4,679	14,469
Average video viewing time (seconds)	3	19	9	3,14
Positive reactions	10	8,424	389.97	928.78
Negative reactions	0	24	0.56	2.55
Shares	0	2,957	74.21	303.98
Mentions	0	323	13.22	41.59
Critiques	0	32	0.51	3.33
Compliments/Praises	0	117	5.38	13.44
Questions	0	9	0.24	1.10
% of Men	20	70	48.40	11.23
% of Women	30	80	51.45	11.14
% of Audience aged 13-17	0.20	7.50	1.05	1.04
% of Audience aged 18-24	9.20	54.10	30.76	9.47
% of Audience aged 25-34	16.70	51.80	34.43	6.46
% of Audience aged 35-44	6.60	35	16.59	5.10
% of Audience aged 45-54	1.8	18.10	8.89	3.31
% of Audience aged 55-64	0.90	13.90	5.10	2.82
% of Audience aged 65 and older	0.50	7.60	2.17	1.21
% of Audience from MG	35.50	93.70	76.09	11.43
% of Audience from other states	6.30	63.80	20.90	10,05
% of Audience from other countries	0.00	45.30	0.84	4.71

Field of knowledge frequency
Areas	%
Exact and Earth Sciences	14.7
Biological Sciences	10.5
Engineering	9.5
Health Sciences	20
Agricultural Sciences	33.7
Applied Social Sciences	6.3
Humanities	5.3

Number of Cases According to Cluster Generation Possibilities
Clusters	2 clusters	3 clusters	4 clusters	5 clusters	Label
1	94	90	84	38	Reasonable performance
2	1	1	6	46	Low performance
3		4	1	6	High performance by interaction
4			4	1	Record repercussion
5				4	High performance by reach

[1] Ana Eliza Ferreira Alvim da Silva

Ph.D. in Administration from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Master’s degree in Communication from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), specialized in Corporate Communication, and Bachelor’s degree in Social Communication, also from UFJF. As a journalist in the permanent staff of UFLA, she carries out organizational communication activities, including the production of institutional and educational journalistic articles. She is a member of the Minas Gerais Network for Scientific Communication (RMCC) and coordinates science popularization projects at the University. She is the editor of the scientific journalism magazine “Ciência em Prosa,” in the children’s section. E-mail: anaeliza.alvim@ufla.br.

Brasil

Brasil

Science popularization on Facebook: statistical analysis of posts from a Brazilian university

Abstract