The Science of Communicating Science The Ultimate Guide

About this book

Are you wishing you knew all you need to know about how to better communicate science, without having to read several hundred academic papers and blogs and books? Luckily Dr Craig Cormick has done this for you! This highly readable and entertaining book captures the breadth of research into best practice science communications and has distilled it into accessible chapters that take you through both the how and the why of science communication, supported with case studies and examples.

Contents

1: THE GROUND RULES
1: What makes good science communication? (in fewer than 280 characters)
2: Why we need to communicate science better
3: Burying the deficit model
4: Objective! Your honour!
5: What do the public really think about science?
6: There is no one public: Making sense of segmentation

2: COMMUNICATION TOOLS
7: Messages and metaphors
8: Once upon a time: Storytelling
9: Trust me, I’m a scientist
10: Media matters
11: Being a social media superstar
12: I’ve been framed! The art of framing
13: Who’s afraid of public speaking?
14: Getting engaged
15: P-values: Policy and politics
16: Evaluation: Metrics, damn metrics and statistics

3: WHEN THINGS GET HARD
17: I’m a believer! Understanding different beliefs
18: The risky business of communicating risk
19: Valuing values
20: Can you really change behaviours?
21: Communicating controversies: The good, the bad and the ugly

4: SCIENCE COMMUNICATION ISSUES
22: Debunking bunkum
23: Fantastic ethics and where to find them
24: Why we don’t actually know what we think we know
25: Last words: Sermon on the Endnote

Customer Reviews

Biography

Dr Craig Cormick has been a science communicator for over 25 years, working with organisations such as CSIRO, Questacon and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. He has been widely published on science communication issues in key journals and the popular media, including ABC Radio National's The Science Show, the Conversation, and has twice appeared in Best Australian Science Writing. He is a popular speaker on science communication issues at conferences in Australia and overseas. In 2013 he was awarded the Unsung Hero of Science Communication by the Australian Science Communicators (ASC) and is currently the President of the ASC.

He has published over 25 books, including having edited the award-winning book published with CSIRO Publications, Ned Kelly Under the Microscope (2014), and his writing awards include a Queensland Premier's Literary Award (2006), The ACT Book of the Year Award (1999), the Tasmanian Writers Prize (2016) and an ACT Writing and Publishing Award (2015).