Sara K. Yeo
Connect with Sara
About Sara
Yeo's research interests include science and risk communication with a focus on information seeking and processing. Her work has been published in Public Understanding of Science; Risk Analysis; Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; and Materials Today; among others. Dr. Yeo is trained as a bench and field scientist with a M.S. in Oceanography (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Her training in the life sciences has been invaluable to her research at the intersection of science; media; and politics.
Contributions
Adapting Science Communication to the Changing Media Landscape
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
Publications
Uses an experiment with a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population to examine how political partisans consume and process media reports about nanotechnology—a scientific issue that is unfamiliar to most Americans. Results provide insights into patterns of media use and how media use differs among people with varying political ideologies.
Examines risk perceptions toward nuclear power before and after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster using nationally representative survey samples of American adults. We find that ideological groups respond very differently to the events in Japan. In particular, risk perceptions among conservatives in our sample decreased following the incident. Moreover, we find media use exacerbates these effects
Examines research relevant to reciprocal interactions between scientists and media and synthesizes studies on factors that influence the willingness and ability of scientists to engage with broad audiences.