About

Jean Goodwin is the SAS Institute Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric & Technical Communication in the Department of Communication at NC State University. She joined the university in August 2016 as part of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in Leadership in Public Science. Her research focuses on how scientists can communicate effectively and appropriately to non-expert audiences, especially in controversial contexts such as GMOs and climate change. Goodwin employs discourse analysis to examine how outstanding scientist-communicators address difficult audiences and uses conceptual analysis to connect these practices to broader theories of scientists' responsibilities and roles in civic life. She has translated communication theory into practical resources for scientists and has led numerous workshops and lectures on science communication. Her NSF-funded project, Teaching Responsible Communication of Science, develops case studies for STEM graduate students to address real-world communication challenges. Goodwin has also facilitated scholarly collaboration by organizing conferences and helping communication graduate students find research opportunities in large science projects. Her academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a J.D. from the University of Chicago, as well as a Ph.D. in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With over 25 years of experience, she has mentored graduate students across various communication subfields and published essays in international journals.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Political Science
• Engineering
• Epistemology
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Public relations
• Philosophy
• Pedagogy
• Ecology
• Law
• Social psychology
• Internet privacy
• Engineering ethics
• Literature
• Geography
• Linguistics
• Media studies
• Art

Selected publications

• Normative Pragmatic Approaches to Argumentation

  2025-11-24 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Normative pragmatic approaches to argumentation investigate the ordinary capacity to argue, examining how arguers manage their interactions without outside intervention or explicit rules. In particular, normative pragmatics explores what arguers are doing, how they are doing it, and why they are reasonable when they expect what they do will work. Normative pragmatics is empirically oriented, often building theories from case studies in order to articulate arguers’ tacit practical knowledge. But, as its name suggests, normative pragmatics also embraces the normativity of argumentative practices, focusing attention on how arguers achieve argumentation-relevant ideals even in the midst of real-world challenges.

  PublisherDOI

• Toward net-zero farming systems using diversity, integration, and perenniality in the Black Soil Zone of the Canadian prairies: A co-design approach

  Soil Security · 2025-11-21

  articleOpen access

  • Transdisciplinary approach links soil, crop, and social research pillars • Peri-perennial practices will enhance soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience • Landscape studies assess trade-offs in productivity, well-being, and biodiversity • Modelling connects farm data and GHG emissions for future farm scenario planning • Multi-metric data will inform policy supporting long-term agricultural resiliency Agricultural production in Canada’s Black Soil Zone is highly productive but dependent on simplified monoculture systems that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. The “Leveraging Ecosystems to transform Agriculture on the Prairies” (LEAP) Project addresses these challenges through an interdisciplinary, co-design approach focused on enhancing diversity, integration, and perenniality in cropping systems. LEAP integrates biophysical research with farmer and Indigenous community perspectives to evaluate both ecological and social dimensions of agricultural transformation. The project is organized around five interconnected Pillars: (1) farmer leadership, emphasizing co-learning and mental health in sustainable decision-making; (2) First Nations self-determined farming systems, elevating Indigenous knowledge and governance; (3) landscape analyses of farmer-led annual, peri-perennial and perennial practices; (4) experimental field studies testing novel integrations of cover crops, intercropping, pollinator habitats, and livestock; and (5) scenario modelling using the Holos platform to assess system-level GHG outcomes and trade-offs. Together, these Pillars aim to identify strategies that support climate resilience, soil health, biodiversity, and farmer well-being while addressing economic and policy realities. This multi-metric, co-design approach also includes program and policy development which is essential to impacting long-term resiliency in the Canadian Black Soil Zone and the greater agricultural landscape.

  PublisherDOI

• Fun Surveys? Developing an Innovative Approach to Assessing Learning Through Citizen Science

  Citizen Science Theory and Practice · 2025-09-18

  articleOpen access

  Assessing the impact of citizen science participation on volunteers is increasingly important. However, traditional methods for evaluating volunteer experiences—such as quantitative surveying—have drawbacks. Response rates are often low, pre- and post-tests provide a coarse metric for assessing learning, and static evaluation techniques have failed to align with the participatory spirit of citizen science, where volunteers are involved in understanding their role in scientific inquiry. In response to these problems, we developed a more engaging type of longitudinal survey aimed at achieving higher response rates and better involving volunteers in understanding the scientific value of their survey efforts. We first reviewed the literature on “fun” and found that fun activities embody six characteristics: autonomy, social connection, playfulness, challenge, transport, and curiosity. We used this “fun heuristic” to design “SciQuest,” an exploratory survey tool that evaluated volunteers’ pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors across citizen science projects hosted on the platform SciStarter.org. SciQuest proved to be a reliable instrument that captured common learning outcome–related constructs measured by conventional, validated instruments. Although most beta-testers had no preference between SciQuest and a conventional survey, among those expressing a preference, nearly twice as many favored SciQuest. SciQuest also achieved much higher retention rates (49–67%) than past conventional surveys on SciStarter (19%). Embedded, creative approaches to citizen science evaluation are thus a viable, and perhaps preferable, complement to traditional surveys, particularly on citizen science platforms. Citizen science facilitators should extend their volunteer-centric perspectives to include participant evaluation and seek evidence-based strategies for enriching the citizen science experience.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Incorporate ethics into US public health plans

  Science · 2024-03-07 · 3 citations

  letterOpen access

  Article MetricsDownloadsCitationsNo data available.020406010 Mar 202417 Mar 202424 Mar 202431 Mar 20245920TotalFirst 30 Days6 MonthsTotal number of downloads for the first 30 days after content publication

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An Iterative Approach toward Development of Ensemble Visualization Techniques for High-Impact Winter Weather Hazards: Part I: Product Development

  Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society · 2023-08-17 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract We applied social science research principles to develop a suite of probabilistic winter weather forecasting visualizations for High-Resolution Ensemble Forecast (HREF) system output. This was achieved through an iterative, dialogic process with U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters to design nine new web-based, interactive products aimed toward improving visualizations of winter weather event magnitudes, characteristics, and timing. These products were influenced by feedback from a preliminary focus group, which emphasized the importance of product credibility, contextualization, and scalability. In a follow-up discussion, winter weather forecasting experts found the event timing products to have the greatest utility due to their association with impact-decision support services (IDSS). Furthermore, forecasters assessed snowfall rates as the most impactful variable rather than snowfall totals and radar reflectivity. The timing products include plots of probabilistic snowfall onset time and duration, rush hour intersection probabilities, and a combination meteogram. The onset and duration plots visualize the ensemble-average onset time and duration of a specified snowfall rate, as demonstrated in previous works, but with the addition of uncertainty information by visualizing the earliest, most likely, and latest potential onset times as well as the shortest, most likely, and longest potential durations. The rush hour product visualizes the probability of exceeding a specified snowfall rate during local commutes, and the combination meteogram allows rapid identification of high-impact periods by encoding probabilities of precipitation, precipitation-type probabilities, and average rates into one graphical tool. Examples of these interactive products are maintained on our companion website: www.visweather.com/bams2023 .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An Iterative Approach toward Development of Ensemble Visualization Techniques for High-Impact Winter Weather Hazards: Part II: Product Evaluation

  Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society · 2023-07-13 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract We developed five prototype convection-allowing model ensemble visualization products with the goal of improving depictions of the timing of winter weather hazards. These products are interactive, web-based plots visualizing probabilistic onset times and durations of intense snowfall rates, probabilities of heavy snow at rush hour, periods of heightened impacts, and mesoscale snowband probabilities. Prototypes were evaluated in three experimental groups coordinated by the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT), with a total of 53 National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters. Forecasters were asked to complete a simple forecast exercise for a snowfall event, with a control group using the Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) High-Resolution Ensemble Forecast (HREF) system viewer, and an experimental group using both the HREF viewer and the five experimental graphics. Forecast accuracy was similar between the groups, but the experimental group exhibited smaller mean absolute error for snowfall duration forecasts. A series of Likert-scale questions saw participants respond favorably to all of the products and indicated that they would use them in operational forecasts and in communicating information to core partners. Forecasters also felt that the new products improved their comprehension of ensemble spread and reduced the time required to complete the forecasting exercise. Follow-up plenary discussions reiterated that there is a high demand for ensemble products of this type, though a number of potential improvements, such as greater customizability, were suggested. Ultimately, we demonstrated that social science methods can be effectively employed in the atmospheric sciences to yield improved visualization products.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Critical Questions About Scientific Research Publications in the Online Mask Debate

  Argumentation library · 2022-01-01 · 3 citations

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Successful management of sociotechnical issues like those raised by the COVID-19 pandemic requires members of the public to use scientific research in their reasoning. In this study, we explore the nature and extent of the public’s abilities to assess research publications through analyzing a corpus of close to 5 K tweets from the early months of the pandemic which mentioned one of six key studies on the then-uncertain topic of the efficacy of face masks. We find that arguers relied on a variety of critical questions to test the adequacy of the research publications to serve as premises in reasoning, their relevance to the issues at hand, and their sufficiency in justifying conclusions. In particular, arguers showed more skill in assessing the authoritativeness of the sources of the publications than in assessing the epistemic qualities of the studies being reported. These results indicate specific areas for interventions to improve reasoning about research publications. Moreover, this study suggests the potential of studying argumentation at the system level in order to document collective preparedness to address sociotechnical issues, i.e., community science literacy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• What is community-level environmental literacy, and how can we measure it? A report of a convening to conceptualize and operationalize CLEL

  Environmental Education Research · 2022 · 13 citations

  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Sociology

  Environmental education research often emphasizes the importance of community context, but conceptualization and measurement of environmental literacy has mostly occurred at the individual level, often focusing on individual behaviors. The environmental problems facing the world today require collective action—communities coming together to address large-scale problems. Accordingly, understanding and encouraging collective action requires a shift in focus from individual to community-level environmental literacy (CLEL). Despite its importance, CLEL has been left largely undefined and unmentioned in environmental education literature. To understand the field’s current conceptualizations and measurement strategies around CLEL, the authors held a convening of 24 researchers to discuss the topic. Here, we report the findings of this convening and present a series of tensions that emerged in conceptualizing and measuring CLEL. We see this area of research as rich with opportunity for innovation and offer considerations for researchers engaging in this work.

  PublisherDOI

• Extreme arguments: Anwar al-Awlaki's radicalizing discourse

  Journal of Pragmatics · 2022-09-01 · 2 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A Digital Communication Twin for Addressing Misinformation: Vision, Challenges, Opportunities

  IEEE Internet Computing · 2022-03-01 · 1 citations

  article

  In this article, we propose a novel approach to address the major ethical and societal problem of misinformation on social media. Specifically, how can we identify misinformation, understand how it spreads, and produce effective interventions? Our envisioned solution is sociotechnical in that it relies upon people (specifically community leaders) to push back against the ravages of misinformation but incorporates novel computational support for doing so. Specifically, we envision a digital communication twin platform for misinformation flow in social networks. We present the motivation, components, challenges, and opportunities in the development of this platform. We illustrate the potential for this approach via misinformation about healthcare, which has flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Cases for Teaching Responsible Communication of Science

  NSF · $254k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• James Correia

  NOAA Weather Prediction Center

  10 shared

• James S. Goodwin

  The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

  9 shared

• Kirstin Harnos

  NOAA Weather Prediction Center

  6 shared

• Michael F. Dahlstrom

  Iowa State University

  6 shared

• Philip J. Garry

  University of New Mexico

  5 shared

• Jacob T. Radford

  4 shared

• Teresita McCarty

  University of New Mexico

  4 shared

• Paula D. Thomas

  Medical College of Wisconsin

  4 shared

Education

• Ph.D., History

  North Carolina State University

  2002

• M.A., History

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  1996

• B.A., History

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  1993

Awards & honors

• SAS Institute Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric & Technica…