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Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR) AIHR

Dr A.L. (Alice) Fleerackers

Faculty of Humanities
Capaciteitsgroep Media & Cultuur
Photographer: Alfred Hermida
Visiting address
  • Turfdraagsterpad 1
Postal address
  • Postbus 94550
    1090 GN Amsterdam
Contact details
Social media
  • Profile

    Alice Fleerackers (she/her) is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Civic Engagement in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her research examines the intersections of journalism, health and science communication, and scholarly communication. She is a member of the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis and the Taal en Cultuur sector plan programme. 

    Beyond her work at UvA, Alice is also an (occasional) freelance writer, researcher at the ScholCommLab, Vice President of the Public Communication of Science and Technology Network (PCST), and co-founder and co-chair of PCST’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee.

  • Publications

    2025

    • Benson Marshall, M. T., Pinfield, S., Abbott, P., Cox, A., Alperin, J. P., Chtena, N., & Fleerackers, A. L. (2025). “It’s messy and it’s massive”: How has the open science debate developed in the post-COVID era? F1000Research. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.162577.1
    • Chtena, N., Alperin, J. P., Morales, E., Fleerackers, A. L., Dorsch, I., Pinfield, S., & Simard, M.-A. (2025). Towards an inclusive Open Science: examining EDI and public participation in policy documents across Europe and the Americas. Royal Society Open Science, 12. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240857
    • Chtena, N., Alperin, J. P., Pinfield, S., Fleerackers, A. L., & Pasquetto, I. (2025). Preprint servers and journals: Rivals or allies? Journal of Documentation, 81(4). https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2024-0215
    • Fleerackers, A. L., Engelmann, I., Riedlinger, M., Osman, K., Vodden, L., Esau, K., Srinivas, A., & Bruns, A. (2025). Amplifying the news: An analysis of the factors driving republication and Facebook engagement with news. Journalism Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2545440
    • Fleerackers, A., Moorhead, L. L., & Alperin, J. P. (2025). “I’d like to think I’d be able to spot one if I saw one”: How science journalists navigate predatory journals. Journalism Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2551984
    • Fleerackers, A., Moorhead, L. L., Alperin, J. P., Riedlinger, M., & Maggio, L. A. (2025). From impact metrics and open science to communicating research: Journalists’ awareness of academic controversies. PLoS ONE, 20, Article e0309274. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309274
    • Fleerackers, A., Ratcliff, C. L., Wicke, R., King, A. J., & Jensen, J. D. (2025). Public understanding of preprints: How audiences make sense of unreviewed research in the news. Public Understanding of Science, 34(2), 154-171. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625241268881
    • Ratcliff, C. L., Fleerackers, A. L., Wicke, R., King, A. J., & Jensen, J. D. (2025). Using preprint sources in science news: Do transparent disclosures enhance credibility? Science Communication. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/4u2z7_v2, https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470251363191
    • Wicke, R., Ratcliff, C. L., Fleerackers, A. L., Wang, Y., King, A. J., & Jensen, J. D. (2025). Preprints in COVID-19 news coverage: Comparing student and general population perceptions of preliminary science about booster vaccination. Risk Analysis. Advance online publication. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/https://osf.io/preprints/osf/g3rm9_v1, https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.70071

    2024

    • Alperin, J. P., Fleerackers, A. L., Riedlinger, M., & Haustein, S. (2024). Second-order citations in altmetrics: A case study analyzing the audiences of COVID-19 research in the news and on social media. Quantitative Science Studies. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00298
    • Benson Marshall, M., Pinfield, S., Abbott, P., Cox, A., Alperin, J. P., Barata, G., Chtena, N., Dorsch, I., Fleerackers, A. L., Oliveira, M., & Peters, I. (2024). The impact of COVID-19 on the debate on open science: A qualitative analysis of published materials from the period of the pandemic. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03804-w
    • Céspedes, L., Fleerackers, A. L., & Maggio, L. A. (2024). “Giving them the best information I could with whatever I had at hand”. Physicians’ online health communication practices in a post-normal science context. JCOM, Journal of Science Communication, 23(06). https://doi.org/10.22323/2.23060204
    • Fleerackers, A. L., Chtena, N., Pinfield, S., Alperin, J. P., Barata, G., Oliveira, M., & Peters, I. (2024). Making science public: A review of journalists’ use of Open Access research. F1000Research. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.133710.1
    • Fleerackers, A. L., Shores, K., Chtena, N., & Alperin, J. P. (2024). Unreviewed science in the news: The evolution of preprint media coverage from 2014–2021. Quantitative Science Studies. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00282
    • Kankaria, S., Fleerackers, A. L., Escalón, E., Stengler, E., Wilkinson, C., & Kreutzer, T. (2024). Teaching to bridge research and practice: Perspectives from science communication educators across the world. JCOM, Journal of Science Communication, 23(2), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.23020803
    • Maggio, L. A., Céspedes, L., & Fleerackers, A. L. (2024). “My doctor self and my human self”: A qualitative study of physicians' presentation of self on social media. Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.15384
    • Oliveira, M., Barata, G., Fleerackers, A. L., Alperin, J. P., Falade, B., & Bauer, M. (2024). Bridging science communication and open science—Working inclusively toward the common good. Frontiers in Communication. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1473268

    2023

    • Atef, N., Fleerackers, A. L., & Alperin, J. P. (2023). Why do health professionals create content on social media? uses and gratifications of Egyptian “physician vloggers” on YouTube. Journal of Social Media in Society. https://www.thejsms.org/index.php/JSMS/article/view/1287

    2024

    • Alperin, J. P., Shores, K., Fleerackers, A. L., & Chtena, N. (2024). Stark decline in journalists’ use of preprints postpandemic [commentary]. Science Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470241285405
    • Fleerackers, A. L., Nguyen, A., McKinnon, M. (Ed.), & Walsh-Childers, K. (Ed.) (2024). Treading waters: The many socio-ethical challenges of science and health journalism. In Handbook of science and health journalism Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49084-2_22

    2025

    This list of publications is extracted from the UvA-Current Research Information System. Questions? Ask the library or the Pure staff of your faculty / institute. Log in to Pure to edit your publications. Log in to Personal Page Publication Selection tool to manage the visibility of your publications on this list.
  • Ancillary activities
    • Freelance writer
      See alicefleerackers.com/portfolio
    • PCST Network
      Vice President + Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility Committee
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