I study the political and social foundations of the legitimacy of scientific authority
My research program examines the legitimacy of scientific authority in democratic societies. It is guided by two overarching questions:
How is scientific authority negotiated, challenged, and maintained in democratic societies?
Why do some individuals and groups view scientific authority as more legitimate than others?
To address these questions, I investigate how political identities, social status, cultural values, and media environments shape the legitimacy of scientific authority.
Drawing on theories from science communication, political communication, and political psychology, I employ quantitative methods, survey research, and psychometric measurement to examine public attitudes toward science and scientific expertise.
The publications and projects below reflect different dimensions of this broader research agenda.
Pei, J., Vu, H. T., Wu, Y., & Maswood, M. H. (2026). Hoax, Fraud, Scam, or Lie: A Corpus Analysis of Framing Strategies Used by Fox News to Dismiss Climate Change Over 24 Years. Journalism Studies, 1-22. Article link
Beyond Partisan Identity: How Anti-establishment Orientations and Information Sources Correlate with Measles Concern and Support for Public Health Responses [as lead author]
Public Understanding of Science: How Identities and Media Attention Shape Brand Concepts of Science in a Polarized Landscape [as lead author]
Measuring Inequality-Based Science Mistrust: A Psychometric Validation and Racial Comparative Analysis [as lead author]
Beyond Partisan Identity: The Science Brand as a Psychological Bridge for Environmental Communication? [as lead author]
...
...
...
...
Maswood, M. H. & Newman, T. P. (2026). Public Understanding of Science: How Identities and Media Attention Shape Brand Perceptions of Science in a Polarized Landscape [Poster Refereed Research Paper presentation]. 109th Annual Conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 5-8, 2026, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Maswood, M. H. (2026). Polarized science: How identities and media exposure shape brand concepts of science [Paper presentation]. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference 2026, March 6-7, 2026, Norman, OK, United States.
Maswood, M. H. (2024). What strategies media take to politicize science? [Paper presentation] Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference 2024, March 1-2, 2024, Norman, Oklahoma.
Pei, J., Vu, H. T., Maswood, M. H., & Wu, Y. (2023). Hoax, fraud, scam, or lie: A corpus analysis of strategies used by Fox News to dismiss climate change in the last two decades [Paper presentation] 73rd Annual Conference of International Communication Association, May 25-29, Toronto, Canada.
Maswood, M. H. (2022). “Journalists as salesmen”: How the use of web analytics changes the newsroom environment in Bangladesh [Poster presentation]. 106th Annual Conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 3-6, 2022, Detroit, Michigan.
Maswood, M. H. (2022). Is there a relationship between covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and the perception of the development of vaccines? [Paper presentation] Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference 2022, March 4-5, Norman, Oklahoma.
Islam, M. K., Alam, A. S., & Maswood, M. H. (2020). What is wrong with Bangladesh Coronavirus Task Force briefings? [Paper presentation] 106th Annual Convention of National Communication Association, October 26–November 17, 2020, Indianapolis, Indiana.