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Explaining Research is the first comprehensive communications guidebook for scientists, engineers, and physicians. Drawing on knowledge gleaned from a forty-year career in research communications, Dennis Meredith maps out how scientists can utilize sophisticated tools and techniques to disseminate their discoveries to important audiences. He explains how to use websites, blogs, videos, webinars, old-fashioned lectures, news releases, and lay-level articles to reach key audiences, emphasizing along the way that a strong understanding of the audience in question will allow a more effective communication tailored to a unique background and set of needs. In addition to drawing on the experience of the author, Explaining Research also includes excerpts from interviews with 45 of the country's leading science communications experts, including academics, authors, journalists, and public information officers.
As the "information age" places new demands on scientists, Explaining Research will be a valuable resource not only for current professional scientists, but also for students who are the voice of the science community's next generation.
This authoritative guide shows how to:
- Develop a "strategy of synergy" that makes research communication efficient and effective
- Give compelling talks
- Build a professional Web site
- Create quality posters, photos, animations, videos, e-newsletters, blogs, podcasts, and Webinars
- Write popular articles and books
- Persuade donors, administrators and other key funding decision-makers
- Produce news releases that attract media coverage
- Give clear media interviews
- Serve as a public educator in schools and science centers
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Explaining Your Research is a Professional Necessity
Section I: Learning a New Communications Paradigm
1: Understand Your Audiences
2: Plan Your Research Communication Strategy
Section II: Effectively Reaching Your Peers
3: Give Compelling Talks
4: Develop Informative Visuals
5: Create Effective Poster Presentations
6: Write Clear Research Explanations
7: Build a Quality Web Site
Section III: Engaging Lay Audiences
8: Forge Your Research Communications Strategy
9: The Essential News Release
10: Craft Releases That Tell Your Research Story
11: Target Releases to Key Audiences
12: Produce Effective Research Photography
13: Produce Informative Research Videos
14: Organize Dynamic Multimedia Presentations
15: Create E-Newsletters, Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts, Social Networks, and Webinars
16: Write Popular Articles, Op-Eds, and Essays
17: Author Popular Books
18: Become a Public Educator
19: Persuade Administrators, Donors, and Legislators
Section IV: Explaining Your Research Through the Media
20: Parse Publicity's Pros and Cons
21: Understand Journalists
22: Meet Journalists' Needs
23: Prepare for Media Interviews
24: Make the Interview Work For You
25: Protect Yourself from Communication Traps
26: Manage Media Communications at Scientific Meetings
27: Should You Be a Public Scientist?
Dennis Meredith's career as a science communicator has included service at some of the country's leading research universities, including MIT, Caltech, Cornell, Duke and the University of Wisconsin. He has worked with science journalists at all the nation's major newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV networks and has written thousands of news releases and magazine articles on science and engineering over his career.
"Meredith delivers an avalanche of guidance on every facet of explaining research, from giving compelling Powerpoint presentations to advising museum exhibits, shooting videos, writing press releases, and talking with the media and with policymakers. Explaining Resarch includes some astonishing and useful minutiae: When writing for print or the Web, one should revise sentences that contain too many short letters such as a, c and n, because its easier to read text that combines short letters with tall ones. Readers are reminded to go to the bathroom before participating in Web conferences, and to wear tall socks for television interviews, lest their calves peek out below their pant legs." -- American Scientist
"Research Explainer Meredith provides more than an expression of opinion regarding the urgent need to reach the public and bridge the gap in science. He provides data and information on the trends that will be quite surprising to most scientists in his "Introduction: Exp
