SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: NEW CONNECTIONS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD. A NEW SCHOLAR FIELD TO BE RESEARCHED

The relation between science and society has radically changed in the last 30 years from the deficit model - in which the general public is defined negatively due to its lack of knowledge - to the participative model. A transformation encouraged by the Internet irruption, which not only has improved a better role of society in scientific development but also it has created a new research field focused on the analysis of democratization of scientific process and its social and cultural impact. However, this research area is yet emerging, it just exists a strong academic framework aiming attention at this new field of humanistic research. These scholars indicate, among their conclusions, that open access and public engagement in science enhanced by web 2.0 tools promote the socialization of the scientific process and contribute to the consolidation of responsible research and innovation. The present article claims for the importance to develop a new framework from social sciences and digital humanities to study the Internet impact on the implementation of RRI and to analyze the quality, the effectivity and the characteristics of the digital connections between science and society.