Table 1 Identified roles in science... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Identified roles in science communication practices

Role (professional group)	Role description	Codes	Illustrative quotes
The Gatekeeper (communicator)	Prioritizes what research is communicated and how, based on efficiency, mandate and organizational goals. Aims to safeguard resources, competence and reputation by critically assessing communication efforts	- Deprioritize - Knowledge advantage - Power - Organizational goals	We do have a mission to present the university as some kind of whole and to make sure that the recipients understand how we use taxpayers’ money and things like that. (Quote 1, Communicator O) And then I’ve gathered them and emailed Communications and said, “Do you want to post this?” Then they’ve said, “We don’t post it on the website, we put it in Pure, in the research portal.” Yeah, but no one bloody looks there. I mean externally. We want it to be visible externally. (Quote 2, Researcher F)
The Supporter (communicator)	Provides practical and professional support in communication, including writing and advising, often with a focus on relationship-building and the social side of the work. Acts with caution to avoid critique, while maintaining professionalism	- Fear - Justice - Support - Structure/Incentives - Humbleness	So then you can support in some way. Now it didn’t turn out that way. Help! How do you talk on the radio? Then you can support with that part. (Quote 3, Communicator N) I do want to get the core message across, but at the same time I can understand today that the communicator has a different competence, which is about capturing the reader’s interest, about getting the message out. (Quote 4, Researcher B)
The Personal brand builder (researcher)	Engages in communication to build visibility and advance personal career goals. Navigates the evolving science communication landscape independently, often taking opportunities to stand out and strengthen their individual academic profile	- Individual goals - Taking responsibility	I can’t sit in my room and expect everyone to keep track of my specific research area, or what I do, but rather it’s about me being clear outwardly, that I inform when something new is published or when I do new things. I can’t sit and expect them to be able to keep track of everything going on at the university. (Quote 5, Researcher C) For Alex’s [researcher] part, maybe he wants to communicate to colleagues in the industry or to researchers. The research community where this narrow field is actually very big for them. (Quote 6, Researcher F)
The Networker (communicator and researcher)	Builds and maintains personal and professional relationships to facilitate effective communication. Focuses on mapping contacts and strives to be inclusive	- Building internal networks - Being accommodating - Nurturing relationships	It’s really about building relationships with your communicators, so that you talk regularly, so that you have an established contact. (Quote 7, Researcher H) That’s also my end goal. To know, like, to be able to map out all the research being done. To know who does what and who can be contacted in which matter. (Quote 8, Communicator K)
The Partner (communicator and researcher)	Works across boundaries to build mutual trust and collaboration. Emphasizes curiosity and relationship-building as a path to better results and workplace wellbeing. Values others’ contributions and believes that we are stronger together	- Mutual understanding - Competence/Expertise - Mutual trust - Getting to know each other - Respect - Mutual interdependence	We need to see them as a partner. Not a servant, you know. We need to treat them as team. Not our … support staff. I think that's super important. And that can only happen, I think through interaction relationship, which is hard there are only a few of them. And there is tons of us. (Quote 9, Researcher I) I think it’s really important to have a dialog and collaboration between the researcher and the communicator. Because of course we want to communicate the research that we have. So it’s kind of win-win-win for both, really. And then you can look at, how do you do that in the best possible way so that we find out what’s going on, and so that the researcher maybe becomes aware of or knows when should I contact the communicator, at what stage, and what happens when I contact the communicator? And that they. Yeah, well, it’s really important to have a dialog. It can make both of their work easier. (Quote 10, Communicator M)
The Coach (communicator and researcher)	Supports learning and development by asking questions, sharing knowledge, informing and offering guidance. Wants to educate and shape understanding. Balances self-development with helping others grow	- Learning - Educate	Yes, I mean, I’ve learned in connection with … well, I think I’ve sort of been trained by the communicators I’ve met, that they see a greater news value when we highlight our students and our junior researchers. (Quote 11, Researcher E) Educating researchers to become better at learning the craft of science communication themselves is one of my goals. Or my ambition. (Quote 12, Communicator K)
The Co-opetitor (communicator and researcher)	Navigates the complex science communication landscape by balancing collaboration and competition. Prioritizes getting the job done while preserving relationships and is open for compromises	- Different worlds - Reasoning/Negotiation	So it’s incredibly important to be methodologically correct, to have results that are one hundred percent solid, and not to promise anything beyond what you can actually show. The communicator Sam maybe doesn’t think in quite the same way, it’s more about creating interest and pushing things to the limit. Like journalism. (Quote 13, Researcher A) Because then the researcher might have, well, if you think about this scenario, the researcher has a view on what’s newsworthy. Who’s of course passionate about their own thing. Yeah, this award, of course. And then we think from the perspective of [name omitted] University and what’s newsworthy from that point of view. How we should reason and think. And there you kind of have to find a middle ground when you’re not really in sync. (Quote 14, Communicator M)

Role (professional group)	Role description	Codes	Illustrative quotes
The Gatekeeper (communicator)	Prioritizes what research is communicated and how, based on efficiency, mandate and organizational goals. Aims to safeguard resources, competence and reputation by critically assessing communication efforts	- Deprioritize - Knowledge advantage - Power - Organizational goals	We do have a mission to present the university as some kind of whole and to make sure that the recipients understand how we use taxpayers’ money and things like that. (Quote 1, Communicator O)And then I’ve gathered them and emailed Communications and said, “Do you want to post this?” Then they’ve said, “We don’t post it on the website, we put it in Pure, in the research portal.” Yeah, but no one bloody looks there. I mean externally. We want it to be visible externally. (Quote 2, Researcher F)
The Supporter (communicator)	Provides practical and professional support in communication, including writing and advising, often with a focus on relationship-building and the social side of the work. Acts with caution to avoid critique, while maintaining professionalism	- Fear - Justice - Support - Structure/Incentives - Humbleness	So then you can support in some way. Now it didn’t turn out that way. Help! How do you talk on the radio? Then you can support with that part. (Quote 3, Communicator N)I do want to get the core message across, but at the same time I can understand today that the communicator has a different competence, which is about capturing the reader’s interest, about getting the message out. (Quote 4, Researcher B)
The Personal brand builder (researcher)	Engages in communication to build visibility and advance personal career goals. Navigates the evolving science communication landscape independently, often taking opportunities to stand out and strengthen their individual academic profile	- Individual goals - Taking responsibility	I can’t sit in my room and expect everyone to keep track of my specific research area, or what I do, but rather it’s about me being clear outwardly, that I inform when something new is published or when I do new things. I can’t sit and expect them to be able to keep track of everything going on at the university. (Quote 5, Researcher C)For Alex’s [researcher] part, maybe he wants to communicate to colleagues in the industry or to researchers. The research community where this narrow field is actually very big for them. (Quote 6, Researcher F)
The Networker (communicator and researcher)	Builds and maintains personal and professional relationships to facilitate effective communication. Focuses on mapping contacts and strives to be inclusive	- Building internal networks - Being accommodating - Nurturing relationships	It’s really about building relationships with your communicators, so that you talk regularly, so that you have an established contact. (Quote 7, Researcher H)That’s also my end goal. To know, like, to be able to map out all the research being done. To know who does what and who can be contacted in which matter. (Quote 8, Communicator K)
The Partner (communicator and researcher)	Works across boundaries to build mutual trust and collaboration. Emphasizes curiosity and relationship-building as a path to better results and workplace wellbeing. Values others’ contributions and believes that we are stronger together	- Mutual understanding - Competence/Expertise - Mutual trust - Getting to know each other - Respect - Mutual interdependence	We need to see them as a partner. Not a servant, you know. We need to treat them as team. Not our … support staff. I think that's super important. And that can only happen, I think through interaction relationship, which is hard there are only a few of them. And there is tons of us. (Quote 9, Researcher I) I think it’s really important to have a dialog and collaboration between the researcher and the communicator. Because of course we want to communicate the research that we have. So it’s kind of win-win-win for both, really. And then you can look at, how do you do that in the best possible way so that we find out what’s going on, and so that the researcher maybe becomes aware of or knows when should I contact the communicator, at what stage, and what happens when I contact the communicator? And that they. Yeah, well, it’s really important to have a dialog. It can make both of their work easier. (Quote 10, Communicator M)
The Coach (communicator and researcher)	Supports learning and development by asking questions, sharing knowledge, informing and offering guidance. Wants to educate and shape understanding. Balances self-development with helping others grow	- Learning - Educate	Yes, I mean, I’ve learned in connection with … well, I think I’ve sort of been trained by the communicators I’ve met, that they see a greater news value when we highlight our students and our junior researchers. (Quote 11, Researcher E)Educating researchers to become better at learning the craft of science communication themselves is one of my goals. Or my ambition. (Quote 12, Communicator K)
The Co-opetitor (communicator and researcher)	Navigates the complex science communication landscape by balancing collaboration and competition. Prioritizes getting the job done while preserving relationships and is open for compromises	- Different worlds - Reasoning/Negotiation	So it’s incredibly important to be methodologically correct, to have results that are one hundred percent solid, and not to promise anything beyond what you can actually show. The communicator Sam maybe doesn’t think in quite the same way, it’s more about creating interest and pushing things to the limit. Like journalism. (Quote 13, Researcher A)Because then the researcher might have, well, if you think about this scenario, the researcher has a view on what’s newsworthy. Who’s of course passionate about their own thing. Yeah, this award, of course. And then we think from the perspective of [name omitted] University and what’s newsworthy from that point of view. How we should reason and think. And there you kind of have to find a middle ground when you’re not really in sync. (Quote 14, Communicator M)