ArticleJournal of microbiology & biology education2018
On the Problem and Promise of Metaphor Use in Science and Science Communication.
Article in Journal of microbiology & biology education, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The light at the end of the tunnel? A systematic review of higher education student experiences of hope.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Metaphorically speaking: considerations in applying metaphor to your research higher degree.Journal of research in nursing : JRN · 2026Article
- Aesthetic sustainability: relational understanding in conservation research environments.European journal for philosophy of science · 2026Article
- From signal overload to shared insight: creating and structuring scientific visuals for comprehension and dialogue.Frontiers in bioinformatics · 2026Article
- Article
- Is explaining more like showing or more like building?-Agency in metaphors of explaining.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Teaching teen titans: An anatomy curriculum using superheroes for middle- and high school students in health professions outreach programs.Anatomical sciences education · 2024Article
- Language matters for biodiversity.Bioscience · 2024Article
- Blood-brain borders: a proposal to address limitations of historical blood-brain barrier terminology.Fluids and barriers of the CNS · 2024Review
- The iceberg of dementia risk: empirical and conceptual arguments in favor of structural interventions for brain health.Cerebral circulation - cognition and behavior · 2024Article
- 'Vaccine as aFrontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Metaphor production in the bilingual acquisition of English and Polish.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Using the Research Domain Criteria as a framework to integrate psychophysiological findings into stress management and psychotherapy interventions.Frontiers in neuroergonomics · 2023Article
- The history of natural history and race: Decolonizing human dimensions of ecology.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2023Observational
- As soon as there was life, there was danger: the deep history of survival behaviours and the shallower history of consciousness.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Gene drive communication: exploring experts' lived experience of metaphor use.New genetics and society · 2022Article
- Testing Emphasis Message Frames and Metaphors on Social Media to Engage Boaters to Learn about Preventing the Spread of Zebra Mussels.Environmental management · 2021Article
- "Here comes Bio-me": An analysis of a biobank campaign targeted at children.Public understanding of science (Bristol, England) · 2021Article
- Title: "Labels Matter: Is it stress or is it Trauma?"Translational psychiatry · 2021Review
- Digital Feast and Physical Famine: The Altered Ecosystem of Anatomy Education due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.Anatomical sciences education · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The language of science is largely metaphorical. Scientists rely on metaphor and analogy to make sense of scientific phenomena and communicate their findings to each other and to the public. Yet, despite their utility, metaphors can also constrain scientific reasoning, contribute to public misunderstandings, and, at times, inadvertently reinforce stereotypes and messages that undermine the goals of inclusive science. This paper 1) examines the generative potential of metaphors to the advancement of scientific knowledge and science communication, 2) highlights the ways in which outdated metaphors may limit scientific inquiry and contribute to public misunderstandings, and 3) critically analyzes the implications of cryptic social and political messages embedded in common metaphors in the life sciences.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.