As STEM fields are increasingly aware of the value of sharing scientific innovations and research with the general public, effective communication skills have become a valued skill-set for STEM professionals. Science communication is often used to describe a growing sub-field and efforts by the scientific community to increase public understanding of science. However, effective communication skills can benefit scientists in all aspects of their work beyond just public outreach efforts.
This guide highlights key resources for communicating science with both the public and scientific community. Resources in this guide are intended to support STEM students, faculty, and researchers in both improving their communication skills and broadening the impact of their research.
Guide Contents
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From climate to vaccination, stem-cell research to evolution, scientific work is often the subject of public controversies in which scientists and science communicators find themselves enmeshed. Gathering together the work of a multidisciplinary, international collection of scholars, the editors of Ethics and Practice in Science Communication present an enlightening dialogue involving these communities, one that articulates the often differing objectives and ethical responsibilities communicators face in bringing a range of scientific knowledge to the wider world.
Many of us have implemented oral communication instruction in our design courses, lab courses, and other courses where students give presentations. Others have students give presentations without instruction on how to become a better presenter. Many of us, then, could use a concise book that guides us on what instruction on oral communication should include, based on input from executives from different settings.
This is a book for scientists and other experts who need to explain the significance and potential of their work to colleagues, committees, funding bodies or the general public. It details how to harness story-telling principles to make complex or technical content easier to communicate and fulfilling for audiences.
Designing Science Presentations guides researchers and graduate students of virtually any discipline in the creation of compelling science communication. Most scientists never receive formal training in the creation, delivery, and evaluation of such material, yet it is essential for publishing in high-quality journals, soliciting funding, attracting lab personnel, and advancing a career.
Poor presentation of data is everywhere; basic principles are forgotten or ignored. As a result, audiences are presented with confusing tables and charts that do not make immediate sense. This book is intended to be read by all who present data in any form.
The overall aim of the book is to introduce students to the typical course followed by a data analysis project in earth sciences. A project usually involves searching relevant literature, reviewing and ranking published books and journal articles, extracting relevant information from the literature in the form of text, data, or graphs, searching and processing the relevant original data using MATLAB, and compiling and presenting the results as posters, abstracts, and oral presentations using graphics design software. The text of this book includes numerous examples on the use of internet resources, on the visualization of data with MATLAB, and on preparing scientific presentations.
Effective researchers need both to conduct high-quality research and to communicate it - to subject specialists, researchers in other fields, research participants, business, government, the third sector, or the public, not to mention potential employers, funders and sponsors. There are many ways to do so: examples include applications and bids, conference presentations, gray literature, journal papers, media (old and new), public talks, and teaching. This book provides fresh, creative, ways of making the most of these and other opportunities.
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