On November 27 to 28, 2025, the conference “Wissenschaftskommunikation auf TikTok: Forschung und Praxis” (EN: Science Communication on TikTok: Research and Practice) takes place at the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences, Germany. As part of the event, Birte Kuhle, research associate within the CAIS research department “Research Data & Methods,” presents her contribution titled “Public Online Engagement mit Wissenschaft auf TikTok: Ein Überblick über Kommunikator*innen, Themen und formale Merkmale wissenschaftlicher Kurzvideos im Zusammenhang mit Publikumsinteraktionen” (EN: Public Online Engagement with Science on TikTok: An Overview of Communicators, Topics, and Formal Characteristics of Short Scientific Videos in the Context of Audience Interactions). In her presentation, she examines how audiences on TikTok respond to scientific content and which content and design features of short videos lead to higher user engagement.
Abstract
TikTok is increasingly being used for the communication and reception of scientific information. In the sense of interaction between science and the public, the platform offers low-threshold opportunities for public online engagement with science (Taddicken & Krämer, 2021). This paper examines the extent to which a public audience on TikTok interacts with scientific content and which content-related and formal features of scientific short videos are associated with higher engagement. An additional focus is on the question of how science communication adapts to the platform’s logics and whether this adaptation is decisive for engagement. The study is based on a sample of 586 scientific short videos on TikTok, published between 2020 and 2024 under the hashtags #forschung and #wissenschaft. Through semi-automated and manual coding, communicators, topics, and formal features of the videos were identified and analyzed with regard to three engagement levels: consuming (views), participating (likes), and generating (comments). The aim of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of engagement with scientific information on TikTok and of how science communication activities can be adapted to platform logics.
Further information about the conference can be found on the website:
https://www.th-koeln.de/hochschule/wissenschaftskommunikation-auf-tiktok-forschung-und-praxis–call-for-presentations–papers_124224.php