Workshop for PhD researchers: Impact is Coming

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Esther De Smet - workshop #PhDIntroday -
February 2017

*** Line-up of recruits for the Wall ***
Rank yourself according to the impact of your research on the realms of men
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February 2017

But with this great power comes great responsibility.
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.
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February 2017

Join me in spreading this new war cry!
*** discussion on how the participants are already encouraged to be open or what
actions they might take ***
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February 2017

But it is not just about making a mark on science. Remember that there are other realms
out there that need exploring.
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February 2017

Being the warden of Castle Knowledge is an honourable duty but what exactly is this
treasure you are sitting on or defending?
Knowledge is ideally ‘socially robust’ which means it does not solely serves your small
scientific family
but also all the other families outside the gates of your keep.
So get on your horse and explore other kingdoms, talking and listening to people on the
way, staying at strange inns, getting lost –
Always considering where you’re going and who you can help along the way.
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February 2017

Start caring about the impact of your research.
Understand what science may mean to society.
But also why it should matter to be vocal about the importance/impact of science for
science itself and you.
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February 2017

Open science is more than a new buzzword in academia.
It 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?
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February 2017

Storytelling is all about using the trick of engaging narratives when communicating
about your research.
It is something you should really invest in.
It is our lesson 3.
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February 2017

You must accept that science might not interest everyone. It even scares some people.
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.
Resist the temptation of covering too much of your research. Don’t get bogged down in
the details. Try to avoid unnecessary nuance.
So use age-old tricks of narrative.
May and Watts (2012) describe an eight-art story structure:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/
Maybe the 8-point arc is too heavy-handed for you?
Start with at least finding that central image that people can connect with.
Link: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/08/27/academic-
storytelling-risk-reduction/
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February 2017

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.
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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.
In short: it’s about making an impact.
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February 2017

https://youtu.be/2xCLCB51fBw
*** Exercise: what is your central image? What is your story? ***
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February 2017

In Lesson number Four we come to terms with the fact that everyone needs help and
should surround themselves with worthy allies who bring added value to your science
engagement through their expertise. You are not in this alone.
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February 2017

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.
Think: who can help you have a bigger impact?
As a PhD student it is important to have role models. Think who this might be for you.
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February 2017

Identify partners in your quest starting within your own university:
*** show of hands – who knows about/uses these? ***
So make sure these people know about you, your expertise, and your engagement
preferences/talents
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OUTSIDE YOUR ORGANISATION
Also identify who else might benefit from your science engagement:
- from your research: general public and specific target groups
- from your communication about your research: (specific) media
Interesting exercise: identify the stakeholders of your research (both positive and
negative)
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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.
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February 2017

We are halfway through our quest to attain the Iron Throne. 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.
Lesson 5 reminds us of the fact that when it comes to those tools it pays off to evolve
and step into the future.
So get with the times and don’t become a White Walker. Start with discovering your
online identity and then caring about it and aim at becoming a ‘networked scholar’.
Interesting resource: Goodier and Czerniewicz,
http://openuct.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/Online%20Visibility%20Guideline
s.pdf
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February 2017

Writing for Research (March 2014) https://medium.com/advice-and-help-in-
authoring-a-phd-or-non-fiction/are-you-an-academic-hermit-6d7ae5a0f16a
*** Quiz about digital behaviour ***
- How many people looking for info online? 70%
- How many scholars without online contact details: 35%
- How many scientific papers are published each year? 1.8 million – this doubles every
nine years!
- How many researchers think they should probably do more to promote their research
online? 78%
- If researchers do use online media to make professional info publicly available, how
many put data sets online? 15% (published) 7% (unpublished)
(Both online survey Piirus September 2014)
- How much of Ghent Uni Biblio is open access? 30%
- What is the world’s largest non-scholarly referrer of DOIs? Wikipedia
- How many new Wikipedia articles per minute? 6
- How many researchers on Twitter (Priem 2012): 1/40
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February 2017

*** Quiz: academic social media networks and digital tools ***
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February 2017

“Scientists have been harnessing the power of social media to fundamentally speed up
the pace at which they are developing and sharing knowledge, both
within scientific communities and with the general public (Bik and Goldstein, Ogden
2013). There is a growing diversity of “social ecosystems” that support the
scientific and scholarly use of social media (Bar-Ilan et al. 2012). For example, scientists
are using collaborative project spaces (Wikipedia, Google Docs,
figshare, GitHub), blogs and microblogs (Research Blogging, Twitter), online content
communities (YouTube, Mendeley, CiteULike, Zotero), and professional
networking sites (Facebook, Academia.edu, LinkedIn, ResearchGate) to develop new
ideas and collaborations that culminate in concrete scientific outputs.” (Darling 2011)
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“Central to your attitude as a networked scholar is your identity, and in this case we
focus on your online identity - defined as ‘the extent to which others can identify you
online as a scholar’. This is why it is critical to become aware of your online presence
and to shape and maintain this presence.”
So that is lesson six.
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digital footprint is your active contribution to and interaction with the online world
digital shadow is content about you posted and uploaded by others, as well as
automatically generated and collated content
You should try and maximise the former and watch the latter, especially as it is difficult
to control. The best way to drown out content about yourself that you may not like is to
upload content of your choice.
*** Google yourself ***
It is also useful to do specific Google searches. You could start with Google Images,
Google Videos, Google Books and Google Discussions. You might even set up some
Google Alerts.
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Assessing and improving your online presence
Let these questions guide you along.
Tip: make sure you use the platforms that your university has on offer. They often got
better SEO than individual initiatives.
Number 1: keep your academic repository up to date and use this as your starting point.
Also remember the world outside academia: it might pay off to create a LinkedIn profile
in which you link to your repository.
*** discuss with your neighbour ***
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Okay, now you seem ready to really unleash the dragons of social media
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February 2017

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.
http://www.andymiah.net/2012/12/30/the-a-to-z-of-social-media-for-academics/
(starting in left-hand corner below)
Website: not just profile page but also group pages with news items, dedicated project
websites etc.
LinkedIn: profile that helps you to connect outside academia
Visual platforms: Flickr, Instagram (second largest socmed platform!)
Pinterest (big in US!) - http://www.researchtoaction.org/2012/07/whats-all-the-interest-
in-pinterest-how-can-it-be-used-for-academic-research-communication/
examples: https://www.pinterest.com/smithsonianscie/ and
http://readwrite.com/2013/09/25/best-instagram-accounts-for-science-geeks
In between visual and blog: Tumblr (bijv. http://medresearch.tumblr.com/ and
http://oupacademic.tumblr.com/ but also http://wheninacademia.tumblr.com/ and
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February 2017

http://wheninacademicresearch.tumblr.com/ and http://allmalepanels.tumblr.com/)
Reddit Science and Quora
Online Commenting
Opinion pieces for all kinds of media
SlideShare
Wikipedia: huge audience, use your expertise to improve the world’s largest source of
knowledge
as a means to open up science: https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2014/10/using-wikipedia-
to-open-up-science/
Data visualisation
Infographics: http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2014/08/11/the-power-of-
pictures-how-we-can-use-images-to-promote-and-communicate-science/ > the
importance of visuals (academic poster becomes infographic)
Bijv. http://www.studiolakmoes.nl/projecten-database/zo-deelt-de-ambulancezorg-een-
jaarverslag-vol-cijfers
Twitter
Facebook: http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/facebook-science-pages/
Online book reviews including popular books based on science:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/category/disciplines/media-studies/
Blog: separate, group, guest
Ted talk (maybe start locally with TedX) – Scientists Popularizing Science: characteristics
and impact of TED Talk Presenters (PLOSONE April 2013): “Presenters are predominantly
male and non-academics. Although TED popularizes research it may not promote the
work of scientists within the academic community.”
Podcasts
Youtube - Vimeo
https://www.youtube.com/user/jmccorma1234/videos
Explanimation: e.g. Crash Course Biology
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3EED4C1D684D3ADF > Choose your audience /
Deliver in style / Stay focused / Get to the point / Be part of the community / Give the
audience an anchor / Be a person not a company
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk2izv-c_ts
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February 2017

For the sake of full disclosure we must also look at the challenges and pitfalls all this
online presence and engagement activities bring with them.
How do you mitigate these so that you don’t lose yourself in the game?
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February 2017

There are solutions for some of these – or at least ways of coping with these issues.
TIME: choosing, integrating it
PLAGIARISM: tweeting or blogging ideas and new analyses can provide a ‘time stamp’
for ideas that are yours, establish ownership of particular topics
COPYRIGHT: look into creative commons, if you’re uncomfortable or unsure – don’t, use
pre-prints
WRONG: set the record straight, be witty about it, know when to stop
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? ***
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February 2017

Now maybe you would like some scientific proof that it is all worth it?
With the rise of online outreach by academics we also saw a rise in articles and papers
about social media (eg. By 2014 2000 articles and 3000 conferences papers about
Twitter)
Twitter Predicts Citation Rates of Ecological Research (Peoples 2016)
“Twitter activity was not driven by journal impact factor; the ‘highest-impact’ journals
were not necessarily the most discussed online.”
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ALTMETRICS > An umbrella term for spectrum of social media-based metrics:
often proposed as alternative to citation-based indicators
And as a tool to measure the impact of science outside academia
“Most studies show that, although citations and the new metrics are to some extent
positively correlated, these correlations are very weak.”
Quote from a recent and very interesting article by scientometricians concluding that at
the most, social media metrics may function as complements to other types of
indicators and metrics. Some more findings from this same article
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Also, questions are raised about a certain bias. A bias in topics: do social media only pay
attention to the sex, drugs and rock and roll of science? A bias in broadcasters: social
sciences and humanities are the most often found on social media platforms.
Or is a matter of shouting the loudest?
“Just like a taller, more powerful radio tower will boost a signal so it can be heard at a
greater distance; it makes sense that more people will read a paper if the writer is active
on social media. Of course, because we wrote it, we think it’s great that our paper has
proved so popular, but we have to ask: in the future, will the highest quality papers be
read most? Or will it be only those papers backed up by the loudest voices?” - Academic
blogging is part of a complex online academic attention economy, leading to
unprecedented readership, I. Mewburn and P. Thomson for LSE Impact blog (Dec 2013)
Let’s wrap this discussion up with the four words scientists love to hear: more research
is needed!
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http://markcarrigan.net/2015/10/26/my-tips-on-social-media-for-
academics-in-the-times-higher/
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
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February 2017

Twitter is a microblogging and social media platform that allows users to send short
messages of up to 140 characters (including spaces).
You ‘follow’ other Twitter users, which means that you subscribe to their updates and
can see their messages or ‘tweets’ in your feed.
Other Twitter users can also follow your messages, which means that you now have
‘followers’ and that your tweets are transmitted instantly to them.
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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) > “virtual department of
professional connections beyond your institution”
- 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)
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February 2017

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
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A) Initial tweet by Dr John Bruno, offering a new, unpublished finding for comment on
Twitter
B) A reply from a non-scientist, asking for non-technical explanation
C) A reply from scientist Grantly Galland, who has relevant data to contribute to the
project. The scientists strike a new collaboration.
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*** Exercise ***
#sharemythesis: competition by British Library
LOL my thesis: tumblr
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If you have been paying attention to all the previous lessons and are willing to put them
to work, you’re ready finally claim your prize.
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February 2017

ACADEMIC PRESTIGE
Better understanding the impact of your research and describing it leads to more
succesful grant proposals.
Promoting your publications and work, increases the chance of people seeing them and
citing them.
Or connecting their research with yours.
NETWORKING
Reaching out might offer professional perspectives outside academia.
Broadly communicating about your research creates opportunities for partnerships (and
thus funding) to might have remained hidden.
REAL IMPACT
Sharing your research leads to more multidisciplinarity and more efficient innovation.
Collaboration and coproduction brings real solutions to small and grand challenges.
Putting your scientific passion on stage increases your standing as a public intellectual
and establishes you as an academic expert.
From my idealistic view, it simplies makes you a better researcher but it also makes sure
that the general public and the powers that be keep supporting science and providing
funding.
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