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Research Article Volume 9 Issue 3
Scientific and popular texts: revealing principles of legitimation in Astronomy
Guillermo Cutrera
Received: May 30, 2025 | Published: July 15, 2025
Citation: Cutrera G. Scientific and popular texts: revealing principles of legitimation in Astronomy. Phys Astron Int J. 2025;9(2):174-183. DOI: 10.15406/paij.2025.09.00383
Abstract
The communication of astronomical scientific knowledge is carried out through diverse discourses, each with its basis of legitimation. This article explores how these bases are constructed in different types of texts by applying the Specialization dimension of Maton’s Theory of Legitimation Codes (TLC). Contrastive analysis is performed on two textual excerpts that address the concept of black holes: one from a university textbook (OpenStax) and the other from a textbook (OpenStax Astronomy) and another from a popular science material (NASA Science). The analysis reveals that the academic text predominantly operates under a Knowledge Code (RE+, RS-), where validity is based on the mastery of disciplinary knowledge and procedures. In contrast, the popular science text employs an Elite Code (RE+, RS+), legitimizing a tailored version of knowledge through source authority and strategies for connecting with a general audience. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of CLT in uncovering the tacit principles that shape communication in astronomy, offering implications for teaching, materials design, and the promotion of a critical understanding of science.
Keywords: Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), Specialization dimension, scientific texts, scientific communication, legitimation codes
©2025 Cutrera. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.