4. Science is based on building on,
reusing and openly criticising
the body of scientific
knowledge.
Panton Principles
5. He who works with his door
open gets all kinds of
interruptions, but he can also
occasionally get clues as to
what the world outside is and
what might be important.
Richard Hamming
(mathematician)
6.
7. Pixar says:
Why must you
tell this story?
What’s the belief
belief burning
within you that
that your story
story feeds off
of?
That’s the heart
heart of it.
AUTHENTICI
TY
13. IS IT
WORT
H IT?
Highly tweeted articles were 11
times more likely to be highly
cited. (Eysenbach 2011)
Blog posts about recent articles
help boost citations but is looks
like a correlation, not
causation. But science blogs are
on the rise.
Social media promotion doesn’t
have a significant effect on
article download rates when
your readers aren’t on social
media.
Factors driving social media
and citations are different.
Social media can not be seen as
an alternative to citations.
(Haustein 2015)
14. What do you want to achieve by
engaging with social media?
Consider producing social media content
as a normal part of your (working) life
Develop a sense of the advantages and
limitations of each different platform
Be realistic about the time available to
you. Know who can help you.
Be aware of your digital footprint. Invest
in visibility.
Re-use content but adapt.Get your
timing and story right.
Have fun!
MAKE
IT
WORK
20. Determine a strategy and
stick to it
Management of
expectations: bio &
content/activity to match
Tweet ‘thickly’ and
according
to the rules
Build a network and
include influencers
Social medium = interact
Authenticity,
nice/politeness, and
integrity
23. #ShareMyThesis
#TweetYourThesis
@lolmythesis
Typing numbers wrongly in hospitals
can kill people. Understanding why it
happens can help design better
systems and stop it!
Does UK learn from history in Middle
East? Could it improve? Crucial
research to avoid past mistakes &
save blood & treasure.
Can we forecast average weather
conditions months in advance? Sure.
What about malaria?Yep. How?
I killed a ton of chicken embryos and
pulled out their eyes for months, just
to find out that chicken eye neurons
don’t like chemicals.
Male baboons don't care about the
symmetry of female baboon butts,
but other females might.
The key to coexistence between big
cats and livestock farmers? One word:
24. Esther De Smet
Research Department
Ghent University
@sterretje8
Thank you for
participating!
Editor's Notes
SuPER-W SELECTION AND STAFF TRAINING DAYS
13u-15u
Going on a journey together
Before more practical lessons, first some more philosophical points that will help you along the way
1. Identify your impact *show of hands*
2. Be proud you’re a scientist. You have the power to change the world – even if it doesn’t seem that obvious to other or even to you.
But with power comes great responsibility. 3. So in your work try to be as open as possible.
Share your ideas, results and data with the scientific community – and convince others to do so as well.
Open science is also about allowing society into your world and venturing into society yourself.
Think about what you might do to make your research easily discoverable and accessible to other audiences besides your peers.
Look at how other people outside the scientific and academic realm might influence your work and your attitude.
What are the ways in which you can interact with them? How approachable are you?
How can you be at the service of society?
*** discussion on how the participants are already encouraged to be open or what actions they might take ***
Storytelling is all about using the trick of engaging narratives when communicating about your research.
It is something you should really invest in.
You must accept that science might not interest everyone.
Also remember that details important to you may not resonate with other people – even other researchers.
Is there anything in your research which may though?
When considering this question, be honest with yourself, and try to embody someone else who hasn’t spent years toiling over your niche subject area.
Storytelling is essentially about touching the hearts and heads of your audience (in that order!): making them laugh or cry, inviting them to join you on your journey, challenging them to think.
It’s about making them care so be authentic.
It’s about making a lasting impression and letting your passion inspire them.
It’s about bringing in visuals to add strength and imagination to your tale.
Rigorous researching and attention-grabbing storytelling are very different trades but that does not mean that they are mutually exclusive.
By finding that point of connection in your research you’ll go a long way.
In short: it’s about making an impact.
In engagement and communication as in research it is important to build up a sturdy network.
You only have so much time and energy so investing it wisely is key.
Look for meaningful encounters – and not just the usual suspects.
As a PhD student it is important to have role models. Think who this might be for you.
Within and outside your organisation
But it is not enough to know the go-to people, the intermediaries.
It also helps to know where the essential information is and what small actions can make a big difference. Some things you need to do yourself.
Repositories
Open Access
Digital identity
Connect with like-minded people and share the load
We have learnt a lot about our own attitude and skills but it is now time to delve deeper into the tools that are at our deposal.
When it comes to those tools it pays off to evolve and step into the future. Start with discovering your online identity and then caring about it and aim at becoming a ‘networked scientist’.
Looking at networks – first academic social networks
* Quiz: name the tool/academic social network *
http://connectedresearchers.com/online-tools-for-researchers/
There are many online tools available for disseminating your research and/or for interacting about science. The important thing is choosing the right tool for your specific goal. And then making it your own and giving it a natural place in your work and life so it does not feel like a chore.
*** Question for audience: why don’t you engage in social media? If you do, what is your negative experience? ***
Status anxiety: should academics be using social media? D. Lupton
Reaching out. Nature blog by Soapbox Science (7 June 2012)
It is a nuanced story.
Not everyone is a fan or naturally gifted or even at ease when participating in science engagement and/or social media.
There might even be criticism of peers or mentors.
Institutional rewards and incentives are lacking.
Not everyone’s research is applied or sexy.
There is also a worry that we might be evolving towards more of the same: Academic attention economy (cf. Kardashian Index)
*** Why are not doing it? Why are you doing it? ***
Altmetrics
“Among social media metrics, citations correlate the most with Twitter, although tweets are not a good predictor of citation impact.”
Although it is a big investment and there are some definite challenges, there are great benefits to integrating social media into your research – not just as a way to communicate but also as a means to become a better scholar. Social media offers you the means to interact directly with a broader audience – often without ‘corporate interference’.
Although it can be great fun and many of the social media look flighty (eg. half-life of a tweet is 18 minutes) it should not be taken lightly but approached in a strategic and professional manner.
It’s all about finding the right balance:
Not overthinking it but using it to your advantage
Getting into the spirit of sharing and interacting while keeping focus in your own research and not losing yourself in procrastination
Giving it a natural place in your time management and approaching it so you feel comfortable with it
Twitter is an easy but worthwhile tool to start engaging about your research.
These are some of the benefits:
Connect with peers and building a scholarly network. Quote: “It’s allowed me to open up new communities for discussions and increase the interdisciplinarity of my research.” (A network boost by M. Baker. Nature, 12 Feb 2015)
Sharing and finding resources (think ‘open science’)
Generating and refining ideas
Honing writing skills: try building up a lucid argument in 140 characters!
Reputation management (part of larger strategy in managing your digital footprint/shadow)
Dissemination of your research. Don’t just tweet your new scientific articles but try to capture the attention of more people by making the content accessible.
Public engagement and creating involvement: why not look for participants this way?
And remember, there’s a lot of journalists and media outlets on there too…
Jobs & prof. development:
“Following institutions, companies and individuals on Twitter can offer clues about workplace culture and ongoing projects in a way that static website do not.”
“Junior researchers are creating identities that don’t have to be routed through the principal investigator.” (A network boost by M. Baker. Nature, 12 Feb 2015)
It is a great tool for conferences:
Back-channel: capture content & provide feedback, share questions and resources
Connecting and networking
Virtual participation
There is of course a big social element to it (especially for ECRs):
Break isolation
Look over the fence
Find fellow victims
Real-life scholar
Sheer fun of it
*illustrate*
* Question for audience: what went wrong? *
*** Exercise ***
#sharemythesis: competition by British Library
LOL my thesis: tumblr