Il web-documentary come nuova frontiera della comunicazione della scienza: stato attuale e prospettive

This work explores the potentiality of the web documentary, a new form of audio visual that is rapidly spreading on the web, as new instrument f or Science Communication, relative to both its format and its possible placing on the Italian market. Several research methods were adopted: the focus on two case studies two web docs of scientific topic , Profiles from the Arctic on current researches i n the Arctic, and Becoming Human , on human being from a palaeonthropologic point of view by means of both a descriptive analysis, according to certain categories, and observing a group of test subjects while exploring the web docs; and interviews to diff erent stakeholders: managers of educational publishing houses, assignment editors of scientific magazines, heads of press offices of international research institutions. Among the obtained results, hypotheses on the possible development of the scientific web doc in Italy and some rules for designing effective web docs.