![The ABC of Science Communication
•Who are you addressing? Scientists who are specialists in
your field of research, a wider group of scientists, fellow
students, or public audiences? [Audience]
•Why is your message important? Why are you
communicating it? For credit, to add to the pool of
knowledge, to teach, to inform, to persuade or for
development [Purpose]
•What are your main findings? Or “take-home” message?
What are you gong to present? New research results or a
review of a topic? What prior knowledge, expectation and
question might your audiences have? What technical
language do they understand? [Content]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/theabcofsciencecommunication-230122094435-9d9a86ee/85/The-ABC-of-Science-Communication-ppt-15-320.jpg)
![The ABC of Science Communication
•How can you best deliver your message and
satisfy the audience’s need?
•How will the audience use its new knowledge?
[Methods and Approaches, Results Implications]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/theabcofsciencecommunication-230122094435-9d9a86ee/85/The-ABC-of-Science-Communication-ppt-16-320.jpg)
The ABC of Science Communication.ppt
- 1. COMMUNICATION IN RESEARCH Tesfaye Assebe College of health and medical science Haramaya University 27 October 2019
- 2. Outline • The Learning Objectives • Why Research • The Research Process • The ABC of Science Communication • Avenues of Communication in Science • Scientific versus Popular Science Writings • Sections of a Scientific Paper
- 3. The Learning Objectives 1. Understand whys and hows of science communication 2. strengthen scientific communication capabilities 3. Encourage and promote scientific publications 4. Recognize the different avenues of communication within the scientific research 5. Recognize the contents of a scientific article 6. Aware issues related to publication
- 4. Why Research and Writing Articles? • A journal article refers to a scholarly article written by academics or professionals in a particular field of study based on original research or analysis that the author(s) did. • The research might include experimental work, observational studies, case studies, critical reviews, meta-analysis, and theoretical work.
- 5. Why Research and Writing Articles? •Economic and social development is highly dependent on knowledge information, and technology. •Research is a process through which problems are systematically addressed to find solutions and truth. •It basically aims to create knowledge, and develop technology and information. These forms basis for new thinking and interpretation, new implication of needs for further research and development.
- 6. Why Research and Writing Articles? •Research is also a long-term public and private investment for three products: knowledge, technology and information. •The investment to be effective, profitable and rewarding needs to be carefully planned, organized and executed.
- 7. Why Research and Writing Articles? •The results of research also help to guide appropriate economic development, science and technology creation polices at different levels.
- 8. The Research Process Research is exciting dealing with something unknown, a search for an answer initiated by a question. We want to know what is happening, and how? Why things happen? Why there are differences? What relationship there are among independent and dependent (response) variables/factors/determinants? How things can be explained? Research is like looking for a missing piece to help solve a puzzle (problem/dillema).
- 9. The Research Process S1: To find out what is already known about the topic by reading updated scientific literature and by using other sources of information. Formulate a specific problem S2: Set hypothesis S3: Collect data by making observation, doing an experiment, survey, or a simulation study, using field data or interviewing people. This requires a plan or experimental design, so that you know which materials and methods to use, and how the study should be structured to avid confounding different effects in the interpretation of results.
- 10. The Research Process S4: The results of the study are analysed, usually by statistical methods, and then interpreted and discussed in view of the previous knowledge, the hypothesis and the formulated problem. Conclusions are drawn, and a new piece is added to knowledge puzzle. This piece might make the picture more complete or help to revise it. The outcome could be new recommendation and implementation as well as identification of questions for future research. Each of these steps need to be documented and communicated to contribute to knowledge. The basis for this documentation is scientific paper
- 11. The Research Process Research results , however, do not contribute to knowledge and development unless they are communicated effectively. Effective communication of science to scientists and other audiences, is an important component of the research process. Communication is needed not only to spread results but also to articulate results (presenting to conference and commented by scientists then you can articulate your result) Producing the scientific paper is an integral part of a research process. It is obvious, therefore, that thinking, planning and getting started in writing your paper can and should be initiated early in the process because it helps to clarify your thoughts.
- 12. The Research Process Question ? What is known & not known? Formulate problem Hypothesis Project plan Experiment Collect data Analyse results Interpretetion & conclusion New knowledge Scientific paper Other forms of publication
- 13. 3. The ABC of Science Communication •Communicating science means communicating new knowledge, information or summarising state of knowledge. •It is important that what is written or said is unambiguous, so that the audience understands the message. •The ABC of science communication is that it should be Accurate, and Audience adapted, Brief and Clear. •This emphasize the need for clarity and for the presentation to be logical, consistent and coherent. •Communication is a two-way process. Information can not merely delivered. It must be received and understood as well. What is written and presented should be adapted to the frames of the references of the audience.
- 14. The ABC of Science Communication •In scientific process you pose a question and hypothetical answer. Questions and answers are the basis for communication as well. •Consider your question and the question of audience. •When preparing to write a paper or a report, or to make an oral or poster presentation, start by asking your self the questions: Who? Why? What? How?
- 15. The ABC of Science Communication •Who are you addressing? Scientists who are specialists in your field of research, a wider group of scientists, fellow students, or public audiences? [Audience] •Why is your message important? Why are you communicating it? For credit, to add to the pool of knowledge, to teach, to inform, to persuade or for development [Purpose] •What are your main findings? Or “take-home” message? What are you gong to present? New research results or a review of a topic? What prior knowledge, expectation and question might your audiences have? What technical language do they understand? [Content]
- 16. The ABC of Science Communication •How can you best deliver your message and satisfy the audience’s need? •How will the audience use its new knowledge? [Methods and Approaches, Results Implications]
- 17. Avenues of Communication in Science Many avenues of communication are open to scientists who want to deliver information on their research results. Vehicles for addressing scientific and general audiences include the following: Research communication Extension and popular communication • Research journals • Research reviews • Conference papers • Theses/Dissertations • Book chapters •Annual reports • Newsletters • Project proposals • Lectures/ Seminars • Leaflets, and posters • Extension manuals • Newspaper reports • Magazine articles • Radio broadcasts • Films and video • Audiovisual shows • Practical demonestrations • Photographs • Cartoons
- 18. Avenues of Communication in Science •Each of these vehicles has specific uses. e.g., showing a cartoon strip would probably be inappropriate at an international conference and delivering a research paper would be useless to most farmers. • Effective communication depends on delivering the right message in the right way to the right audience. •Every research scientists should expect to have to write for each kind of research communication listed above sometime during their career. •The extension and popular material, on the other hand, is more often produced by extension or media professionals.
- 19. Avenues of Communication in Science Research Journal •The chief purpose of a research journal is to publish scientific papers that communicate new and original information to other scientists. •The research paper takes a hypothesis that has been tested by experimental methods to come to conclusions. • Research journals are the most common organ of communication in science. • There are two main types of readers of research papers. The specialist in the field who will want to read the entire paper to understand all of its information. • The other is the casual reader, who will be interested mainly in the results, or perhaps the experimental methodology used, as background to the readers own work.
- 20. Avenues (means of approach)of Communication in Science Research Review • A review article is like an extended version of the discussion in the research article. • An essential feature of a research review is that the reader is led to the cutting edge of a given area of research. • A good review gathers all important work on a topic, but it is not simply a catalogue of facts. • It synthesizes work done; it analyses and interprets existing facts and theories within a particular field. • Identifies what is known and what is not known (the missing piece), and indicates how the missing piece be researched, and how the known be used in development interventions.
- 21. Avenues of Communication in Science Conference Paper • A paper presented orally at a conference is necessarily short. • It confines itself to brief presentation of the objectives, methods of the work and the results, the interpretation of which may be preliminary. • Its clearly stated points can be brought out in the discussion. • A revised version of the oral presentation, made for publication of the proceedings, can be more thorough.
- 22. Avenues of Communication in Science Thesis/Dissertation •The telling characteristics of a thesis or dissertation is its length. • A work of this type is the written evidence of sustained research done over a considerable period, usually 2-4 years. •It generally contains an extensive review of the literature as well as the results of several experiments, all of which were aimed at testing a hypothesis (hypotheses)
- 23. Avenues of Communication in Science Book Chapter •Chapters of scientific works tend to synthesize information about a particular subject. A book chapter rarely sets a fundamental hypothesis. Annual Report •An annual report describes work completed in any 12-months period. The intent is not so much to conclusively prove a hypothesis but rather to spell out objectives, describe activities and justify budget expenditure for a piece of research undertaken in the year.
- 24. Avenues of Communication in Science Newsletter • The purpose of scientific newsletter is to disseminate information of interest to its readers quickly in a readily digestible format. • The content of most contributions carries little emphasis on justification or methodology. • Most newsletters address a general readership and should not be used as a substitute for publication of research results in refereed journals. Project Proposal • A project proposal justifies a program of work and states the expected outputs and clearly defined objectives of the program.
- 25. Avenues of Communication in Science • Before you start planning an article for publication, you should target a journal for your paper. • Your choice of journal will often influence the format and style of your article. • Different journals have different styles and different rules of presentation for the material they publish. Following are tips for selecting journals. 1. What are the scope and aims of the journal? 2. How often is the journal published? Frequency 3. What types of articles does the journal publish? 4. Are there any conditions to submitting to the journal? 5. Does your paper have any special requirements? 6. Journal style?
- 26. Avenues of Communication in Science Knowing different avenues for publication will help to • Recognize the different avenues of communication within scientific research • Choose the avenues most suitable for the audience they are addressing • Aware any adjustment of writing style to suits the needs of audience Choosing a journal will help to • Evaluate a journal’s policy, scope and content • Define the special requirements for producing an article for publication
- 27. Scientific versus Popular Science Writing • Scientists usually communicate the same topic in various ways and to different audiences • New research results are often first communicated to other scientists at a conference both in written form or (sometimes just an abstract) as an oral or poster presentation. • The main method for communication of new research results is a paper published in a scientific journal. • The common practice for journals is to have the scientific paper reviewed by peer scientists, anonymous to the author, before it is accepted for publication. • New findings in research also need to be communicated to public audiences through publishing and presenting in popular science writings.
- 28. Scientific versus Popular Science Writing Scientific Paper Popular Science Article Different target group Different organization, Language and layout • New knowledge • Enables others to repeat • Experiments and check info • Logical and clear • Follows IMRAD format • Uses technical terms • Tables and figures • Knowledge review • Arouse interest • Teach or influence the reader • Illustrations and headings as a tool to facilitate reading and understanding • Examples
- 29. Scientific versus Popular Science Writing • In popular science writing, you first need to think about what in your research area might interest the reader, and second about how to explain things so they are understood, even without previous knowledge in this area. • In both writings, awakening interest and helping the reader, reliable information should be a central feature.