Science Communications

Reducing the complexity of research on ocean ecosystems does not mean dumbing down your science, it means delivering science in a series of short chapters. If you can get the readers hooked, and don’t confuse them, you can tell a complex story. But that takes work and training that many scientists don’t have, writes Fellow Linwood Pendleton.

Many scientists fear repercussions from engaging around contentious subjects like climate change—anything from losing connections and opportunities, to jeopardizing their careers and credibility. But there are still productive conversations to be had, even in highly politicized environments. This interview by our communications training partner, COMPASS, provides insight into how to prepare to share science around politicized subjects.

Fellow Ryan Carle recently posted a request on our listserv for advice about crowdsourcing fundraising for conservation. Below is his original post and the responses he received from other Fellows. We are republishing them here because we thought the exchange might be useful to other Fellows in the future and invite you to add ideas or resources in the comments section.

A job in SciComm involves you communicating science, typically to laypeople but sometimes even to other scientists. Examples include formal science education in a classroom, informal education in a setting like a museum, outreach to various populations and science writing.

As schools let out and the days grow longer and hotter in the Northern Hemisphere, the busy buzz of the summer field season is often punctuated by a flurry of scientific conferences. Conferences are great places to work on your communication, share your science, and connect with new people.

At this year’s AAAS annual meeting, the volume of sessions and workshops about science communications clearly reflected the community’s growing appetite and interest. We’re notably moving past conversations about why scientists need to engage, and into conversations around how we can best support scientists to do so. Research shows that scientists do want to engage, but that they don’t have the time or resources to do it.

John Besley (Michigan State) and Anthony Dudo (University of Texas at Austin) are social scientists interested in the intersection of science, public engagement and communications. Their recent PLOS One paper described how scientists prioritize their communications objectives for public engagement.

On September 29, Rush Holt, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and former U.S. Representative, spoke during an interview about the state of science in the U.S., how to communicate science to the public and policymakers, and how scientists and others can engage effectively with policymakers to be better advocates for science. Holt’s main theme, to which he returned repeatedly, was the need to empower the public and policymakers with the idea that they are capable of understanding and evaluating scientific evidence on their own.