Download a glossary of terms used in this course.
Effective communication plays a role in almost every aspect of the research process. 'Research communication' might mean:
You can find out more about peer review in this 'explainer' article from The Conversation.
Communicating effectively can help to maximise the positive outcomes of research both for you as a researcher and for the diverse communities who contribute to research. These communities often depend on the new insights, information and knowledge that researchers generate. Creating a
As a first step in developing your communication strategy, it is important to reflect on your broader research goals. Why do you think research is important? What do you hope your research will change? How will the insights that your research generates make a difference in the world?
Click 'Play' to learn more about the role that effective communication plays in research. Then reflect on the question and select the three responses that most accurately represent your opinion. Click 'Vote' to register your response and then continue on for feedback.
Continue on to learn more about the role that effective communication plays in research. Then reflect on the question, select the three responses that most accurately represent your opinion and consider the feedback.
Research publications play an important role in validating research, as well as in signalling the quality and prestige of your work in academic contexts. This form of publication can be especially important if you are applying for competitive research funding, looking for an academic job or applying for promotion within a university.
Equally, creating social change and delivering impact to the industries and communities that use research are important achievements, and increasingly recognised and encouraged by funders and universities. The communication approaches most likely to connect with communities beyond the university might include publishing reports in formats that will be useful to policymakers, blogging, talking about your work on social media, translating your work into news articles, working with your university's media team to develop press releases and messaging for broadcast media, or working with an art gallery or exhibition space to deliver creative research outputs.
Now think about your own research. What are the three main reasons that effective research communication is important to you?
Research publications play an important role in validating research, as well as in signalling the quality and prestige of your work in academic contexts. This form of publication can be especially important if you are applying for competitive research funding, looking for an academic job or applying for promotion within a university.
Equally, creating social change and delivering impact to the industries and communities that use research are important achievements, and increasingly recognised and encouraged by funders and universities. The communication approaches most likely to connect with communities beyond the university might include publishing reports in formats that will be useful to policymakers, blogging, talking about your work on social media, translating your work into news articles, working with your university's media team to develop press releases and messaging for broadcast media, or working with an art gallery or exhibition space to deliver creative research outputs.
When deciding how to share your research, it is essential to think about the needs of different audiences. Some examples of people who might want to know about your research are:
By creating a research communication strategy, you will have a practical plan of action for communicating effectively with the different audiences who need to know about your work. Taking the time to plan can help you to successfully manage the time and effort involved in research communication.
Click on the tabs for an overview of the steps involved in developing a communication strategy that connects with your research values, vision and goals. You can find more information and advice to help you develop your strategy on the next screens.
Continue on for an overview of the steps involved in developing a communication strategy that connects with your research values, vision and goals. You can find more information and advice to help you develop your strategy on the next screens.
Consider your overarching vision for how you want your research to make a difference in the world. What types of audience will your research need to connect with in order to achieve this vision? Will they be colleagues within your discipline, researchers from other disciplines, policymakers, practitioners, consumers, patient communities, parents, students or people who care about a particular topic or place?
Which key audiences are most important to you? If time is limited and you need to choose where to invest your energy, who will you prioritise? Talk to your supervisors and co-authors: it is important that you are all in agreement and comfortable with how your research will be communicated.
Identify the forms of communication that will help you to connect with your target audiences. Possibilities could include a conference paper, a scholarly journal article, a published data set, a press release, research reports intended for specific audiences (for example, research white papers or policy briefs), a blog, talks or guest presentations to specific communities, targeted emails, a website, sharing slides or making your research open access.
What do you want to communicate and how will you do it? Summarising your work in a few words, a few lines and a few paragraphs can make it easier to respond quickly to enquiries about your research and help you to deliver consistent, high-impact messages. Depositing slide decks and project summaries in a free research repository such as Zenodo can make it easy to provide links to more detailed information, making it easier to communicate concisely.
Create a plan and timeline for your research communication. Be specific about what you want to achieve and include lots of detail about how you will achieve your goals. Who will you connect with, how and when? What will your messages be? Give your supervisors and co-authors the opportunity to comment on and contribute to the plan.
Now you can implement your communication strategy. However, remember to be flexible. Be prepared to update your plan if things do not go as expected, and keep collaborators updated. Remember to note down your research communication activities and achievements. Capturing evidence of your engagement and impact activities will make it easier for you to report to research funders. You can also provide evidence of your achievements in your CV, performance appraisals and promotion applications.
The time that researchers have to devote to research communication is limited, so adopting a strategic approach can make the most of the time that you are able to invest. Thinking about your goals in communicating your research and the audience you are hoping to connect with are key first steps in developing an effective research communication strategy.