science communication

Dear Research Advocate, Our guest author this week is Robert Shalett, Research!America’s Director of Communications. Critical to Research!America’s mission is to encourage researchers to talk about their work. It is important for non-scientists to know how research and scientific discovery support all Americans in our daily lives, from professional settings to at home. Our survey data indicates that the public thinks it is important for scientists to discuss their research and its impact. But that is only part of it. Effective advocacy campaigns require focused, sustained effort. This is why your voice is needed right now. As my colleague Ellie mentioned last week, the hard-fought lifting...

Last year, I attended the Houston March for Science as a Ph.D. student at Baylor College of Medicine. I marched to stand with my community and fellow scientists to foster support for research and scientific funding. I watched as thousands marched toward city hall, nerdy signs in hand, to demonstrate how scientific research has improved our medical care and shaped our understanding of the world. It was a watershed moment for researchers, making it apparent that a public voice for the scientific community was needed. I remember distinctly on that day: our message was heard loud and clear. Since the march, there has been an influx of scientists getting involved in local elections, and advocacy...

A new report has found that a one-size fits all approach is not the best strategy to engage and educate non-scientists. The National Academy of Sciences’ report, Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda was the subject of a public discussion hosted by the Academy on January 10 in Washington, D.C. Research!America board member and AAAS CEO emeritus Alan Leshner, Ph.D., moderated the discussion, which included representatives from academia, government and news organizations. He noted that science communication is “an acquired skill, not innate.” The report concludes that it is time to leave the “deficit model” of communication behind. This model suggests that people do not accept...

Scientists go through rigorous training to learn skills necessary to perform quality research. We learn to properly create an experiment, analyze the data, and prepare it to be presented. Those data are often presented to other researchers who possess a similar knowledge base and technical lexicon. Unfortunately, little time and effort is devoted to teaching budding scientists how to deliver scientific messages to other audiences: a population larger than those within the academy. I was fortunate to attend a two-day workshop hosted by Research!America and George Washington University titled “Connecting the Dots: Effectively Communicating Science to Non-Scientists” on April 13 and 14. I...