The science of science communication
Resources on how to write and talk about science
I’ve written previously on one of my blogs about science communication, and how it may be difficult to get people to believe your science. Here, I’m going to explore resources you can use to become a better science communicator, whether you are writing about science, talking about it, or posting on social media.
How to write
Two of the first books I ever read about science communication were by Robert Day: How to write and publish a scientific paper and Scientific English: a guide for scientists and other professionals. Both books are focused on helping scientists write and publish scientific papers. I like the first book because it covers things like verb tenses for the different sections of scientific papers, and what you should write about in each section. It also covers design of effective graphs and tables, and the ins-and-outs of manuscript preparation and submission. The second book focuses on language and covers things such as verb tenses (again), agreement between subject and verbs, and parallel construction. (You can find a discussion about parallel construction in my blog.)
The book Scientific writing = thinking in words also covers how to write about research. Building on sound principles of language and grammar, David Lindsay, goes a few steps further and asks scientists to really understand the message they are writing about. With headings such as ‘The paragraph as a vehicle for your arguments’ and ‘Building the discussion’, Lindsay takes a deep dive into the language of science communication. The book also presents examples of good and bad writing and expands the topic of scientific writing to include posters and grant applications.
These books help you to understand the basics of language and grammar, and the process of getting writing published. These are important stages of the science communication process. However, the science communication journey doesn’t end with just writing about your science. There is now a much more in-depth understanding of what makes science communication good, relatable and interesting to readers, especially non-scientists. This revolves around narrative, language (whether written or verbal) and the relationship between the scientists and the audience.
Narrative, language and the relationship between the scientists and the audience
Alan Alda (yes, the actor) takes a humorous look at this in his book If I understood you, would I have this look on my face? My adventures in the art and science of relating and communicating. In this book, Alda reminisces about his time as presenter of Scientific American Frontiers and what he learned about science communication from an actor’s point of view. Alda has gone on to become a world leader in scientific communication training. He established through the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, New York, and the Alda-Kavli Learning Center, which is an online learning portal for educating scientists and researchers on scientific communication. Alda promotes the use of improvisational acting techniques to help scientists learn to be better communicators. Alda’s podcast Clear+Vivid, which has conversations about connecting and communicating with people from all walks of life, now has more than 150 episodes.
Another interesting perspective on effective science communication, and the importance of narrative, can be found in several books by Randy Olson. Olson left a scientific career to work in Hollywood as a filmmaker, and has written about fundamentals of storytelling and how narrative draws in the audience and keeps them listening or reading. I read Houston, we have narrative: why science needs a story, but Olsen has written a number of books on the subject.
The next three books build on the use of improvisational acting techniques and narrative to include the use of understanding human behaviour, psychology and the influence of external factors such as media, pre-existing beliefs and religion on how an audience or reader reacts to science communication.
Human behaviour and psychology
Dr Craig Cormick’s book The science of communicating science: the ultimate guide is a compilation of scientific research into science communication, case studies and best practice guides. It summarises much of the topical and well-respected current research into science communication. I enjoyed Cormick’s book because it provides good summaries of some of the really interesting but heady research on things like beliefs, human behaviour and government policies, and how those interact with science communication.
Taking this research a step further, The Oxford handbook of the science of science communication contains reviews of some of that original research. This handbook contains chapters written by some of the leading researchers into science communication, such as Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Dan Kahan.
Another interesting angle on science communication is the book Communicating science: a global perspective, which contains a collection of papers written about the differences in science communication from country to country. The book sources historical perspectives as well as the influence of politics and religion, amongst other factors, that govern the way science is communicated differently around the world.
This is by no means a complete guide to the available resources on science communication. The field of science communication has expanded rapidly, and there are many great resources to help you improve your science communication. This is just a small selection of some of my recent favourites, which I hope you will also find interesting and educational.
Resources
Alda A (2017) If I understood you, would I have this look on my face? My adventures in the art and science of relating and communicating, Random House, New York.
Alda-Kavli Learning Center at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, supported by The Kavli Foundation.
Cormick C (2019) The science of communicating science: the ultimate guide, CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Vic. Australia.
Day RA and Gastel B (2011) How to write and publish a scientific paper, seventh edition, Greenwood Press, Santa Barbara, CA.
Day RA and Sakaduski N (2011) Scientific English: a guide for scientists and other professionals, third edition, Greenwood Press, Santa Barbara, CA.
Gascoigne T, Schiele B, Leach J, Riedlinger M, Lewenstein B, Massarani L and Broks P (eds) (2020) Communicating science: a global perspective, Australian National University Press, Acton, ACT, Australia.
Jamieson KH, Kahan D and Scheufele DA (eds) (2017) The Oxford handbook of the science of science communication, Oxford University Press, New York.
Lindsay D (2020) Scientific writing = thinking in words, CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Vic. Australia.
Olson R (2015) Houston, we have narrative: why science needs a story, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
