This chapter argues that most current research in public engagement has weak ecological validity. Surveys fail to capture how publics encounter, utilize, synthesize, or otherwise engage with information. Media studies often infer characteristics of a public, when what they actually capture is the ecology of journalistic practices. Oral, curatorial, and digital engagements are more suited for engagement research, yet current research on these spaces either focuses on narrow spaces or timeframes, or is primarily concerned with the number of participants. Deliberative engagements are by far the most popular, novel, and widely researched sites for understanding public engagement; however, these events usually utilize artificially constructed spaces of engagement and therefore studies that infer public opinions or beliefs from these events have weak ecological validity.