Thanks to everyone who attended our science communication event!
In a time when "fake news" and distrust towards science is rampant, it is especially important that scientists use effective scientific communication to share their work with diverse audiences.
Our May WNN webinar welcomed Jo Filshie Browning and Dr. Daniel Quintana, who shared their knowledge and experiences disseminating science in impactful ways. Please click here for their full bios.
In her talk, Jo touched upon several reasons why we should insert ourselves into the community dialogue and represent our research:
It is important to combat the current climate of “fake news”, where science is not only controversial but politicized for personal gains.
The public makes decisions based on what they learn from science, so this information should be conveyed accurately.
Women and marginalized groups are often underrepresented in many of the environments where science dissemination occurs (e.g., ‘manels’). Representation from diverse scientists is essential to effectively deliver messages to diverse audiences.
Jo shared with us the "PHD" (i.e., Plan, Headlines, Dress Rehearsal) framework that we could use to increase the impact of our science communication:
To learn more, please see the following resources:
In the second part of the webinar, Dan shared his knowledge of disseminating science through social media.
Before the rise of social media, scientists typically relied on journals and conferences to publish and present their work. Now with access to social media platforms, we can all share our work at different stages of the scientific process. Although the prevailing publication system is slow and risky, social media can accelerate the speed of feedback and allow scientists to improve their work through several iterations.
Some examples of platforms that enable scientists to share their work before the final journal publication stage include:
Preprints/open code
Twitter threads
YouTube. Consider recording the next Zoom research talk and repurposing your talk as a YouTube video for further dissemination.
Blog posts
Podcasts
Having an informative social media bio can also help attract scientists and the public towards your work. For example, this template is a quick and easy way to allow others to learn about you:
[TYPE OF SCIENTIST] researching [RESEARCH AREA] at [INSTITUTION] using [RESEARCH TOOL]. I like to [PERSONAL INTERESTS].
How to start your own podcast: https://www.dsquintana.blog/podcast-guide/
Twitter for scientists: A guide to boosting your academic career. Free online book
The event recording is always available for our members, please sign up here, or get in touch with us if you're interested in receiving the link.
Thank you Jo and Dan for informative and engaging talks, and thank you all for attending and contributing to an interesting discussion!
Kind regards, The WNN Team
We appreciate your feedback, so please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments! womensneuronetwork@gmail.com
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