Promoting Science on the Web

Today, universities and research organizations are expected to present themselves as service enterprises that cater to the needs of the customer and give a modern impression to compete internationally. Realizing that scientists have to step out of the “arcanum” of the ivory tower has led to an intensified dialogue between science, the economy, the state, and society. Has the Internet provided new possibilities for global science communication? Answering that question is the main objective of the research project titled “Science Communication Online,” which was carried out at the Free University of Berlin. This article summarizes the results of a content analysis made in the early summer of 2000. As the empirical basis of the study, Web pages of German universities and non-university-based research institutions were examined. The selected institutions are among the most renowned research centers worldwide, according to the Science Citation Index.