Workshop: Social Media &
Science Communication
Dr. Karen Lips
klips@umd.edu
@kwren88
Slides posted here: http://figshare.com/authors/Karen%20Lips/278233
Conservation as usual is not enough
Grand Challenges in Env. Sci., National Academies of Science, 2001
• Today’s conservation problems are complex,
synergistic issues
• They cross geopolitical boundaries
– E.g., Emerging infectious diseases, biodiversity & ecosystem functioning, climate
variability, land use
• They require multidisciplinary & interdisciplinary
collaborations (often international)
–
–
–
–
Breadth & depth of knowledge
Strong quantitative skills
Communication skills
Innovation, creativity
Pop Quiz!
• What is your dream job? If you could do
anything, what would it be?
• In that dream job, think about your daily
activities. What are you doing? Who do you
meet? How do you spend most of your time?
discuss
Pop quiz:
• How does going to grad school help you get
your Dream Job?
– what specific things do you think will be most
helpful in getting the job?
• Do you plan to go on for a PhD? Why?
discuss
Lots of different kinds of jobs in biology:
• Traditional: Academia, museums, agencies
– Although those jobs themselves have changed in recent years
– Increased roles of outreach
• Alternative professional routes
– Zoos, NGOs, advocacy/lobbying, think tanks
– Business: sustainability, biotech
Some Resources: Finding a Job
• Ecojobs.com website
• Job Boards: Texas A&M;
Society for Conservation
Biology; your society
• Listservers: EvolDir,
Ecolog-L
• Science magazine ads
• Twitter: EvolDir, Ecolog,
institutions, people
STEM
jobs
STEM majors
biology
Most STEM
College
students do
not end up
working in a
STEM field
Where Will a Biology PhD Take You?
(USA Version)
http://www.ascb.org/ascbpost/index.php/compass-points/item/285-where-will-a-biology-phd-take-you
What can you expect (UK version)?
http://occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald/2014/02/08/thinking-about-the-pipeline/
Royal Society 2010: UK Scientific PhDs
What skills will you need?
1) Marketable Skills & Experiences
• Traditional academic training, coursework
– Technical: genetics, genomics
– Quantitative skills: GIS, mark-recapture,
occupancy, R, stats
– Critical thinking, Problem solving skills
2) Communication
3) Leadership
Pop quiz: communication
In one sentence, what is the main message of
your research?
Who needs to hear your message?
How will you be sure they hear your message?
discuss
Why is it important to be an effective
communicator?
It engages your audience
Increases understanding of science
Increases accessibility & inclusivity
It fosters collaboration & innovation
Increases interdisciplinarity
Focus on the big picture
To secure funding
Write better
To teach better
To find a job
By @moefeliu of Ciencia Puerto Rico
Why Use Social Media?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Boost your professional profile
Act as a public voice for science
Online outreach can help you get funding
Establish contact with reporters, media outlets
Increase impact of your papers
Open science & Collaboration
#icanhazpdf
Personalized news feed
Ask questions of experts
Live tweeting meetings
(From Paige Brown, Russ Mounce)
The communication – research feedback loop
From Liz Neeley
Pop Quiz: communication 2
• Who do you think will be your primary
audience?
discuss
Who are you likely to talk to?
• Many Types from many fields
– Regular people, policy makers, celebrities &
CEOs
• Get out of your comfort zone, find
common ground
• Where: elevator pitch, church, cocktail
parties, airplane rides, events, meetings,
neighborhood; online
You’ll need to be versed in communicating in
all these different arenas
• Traditional: Presentations, writing
– diverse forms: academic & nonacademic
• Media communication
• Educational and community outreach
– Ability to talk across boundaries; experience
and exposure to other ideas
• Newer: Podcasts, videos, Social Media
(Twitter, FB, blogs)
Pop quiz: communication
• How many of you have sought specific training
in oral and written communication skills?
• How many of you are currently involved in
community outreach, public education about
science?
• How many of you have a professional Social
Media account (e.g., Twitter, FB, blog, tumblr)
discuss
@kwren88
"Social Media has provided us with the
opportunity to have our own National
Geographic or Discovery Channels to reach
the general public”
“It gives you exposure to a much bigger part
of the world. Kids can interact with scientists
and form a more accurate and broader
picture of what science is and what scientists
do.”
Social media is like the conversations in the
hallways at meetings. It is the Campfire
around which we can gather and converse. It
is the Virtual Water Cooler where we trade
stories
From Liz Neeley
From Liz Neeley
Where’s your audience?
Bik & Goldsein 2013
Why?
Nature 14 Aug 2014
Twitter increases #paper citations
Liang et al. 2014. DOI: 10.1177/1077699014550092
Tweeting increases the reach of your
science
“Highly tweeted articles were 11 times
more likely to be highly cited than less
tweeted articles…
Top-cited articles can be predicted from
top-tweeted articles with 93% specificity
an 73% sensitivity”
Eysenback, 2011
J Med Internet Res; 13(4): e123
@Katie_PhD
suggestions
• Create & curate your Google Scholar page.
• Make sure you have a Web page somewhere.
• Create a Twitter account and follow people that
work in your area
• When you publish,
– Post data to figshare;
– Write a guest blog post about paper
– Add your Twitter handle to posts, talks, etc
(From Titus Brown)
What are your goals?
• What do you want out of your social media
experience?
– Increased citations for your papers?
– Increased visibility of your research?
– Outlet for opinions?
– Collaboration?
– Open data and sharing?
– Translation of science for broad audience?
(From titus brown, paige brown)
Nature Feb 2015
Tweeting societies
Want to learn
more?
Want to learn
more?
Guide for
talking with
media &
policymakers
resources
• It’s Time for Scientists to Tweet: http://theconversation.com/itstime-for-scientists-to-tweet-14658
• Social Networking for Scientists: The Wiki
http://socialnetworkingforscientists.wikispaces.com/General
• How to Build an Enduring Online Research Presence Using Social
Networking and Open Science, SlideShare, Titus Brown
http://www.slideshare.net/c.titus.brown/2013beaconcongresssocialmedia
• Darling et al. (2013).The role of Twitter in the life cycle of a scientific
publication. https://peerj.com/preprints/16v1/
• Bik, H. M., & Goldstein, M. C. (2013). An Introduction to Social
Media for Scientists. PLoS biology, 11(4), e1001535.
From Paige Brown Social Media for Scientists
Pop Quiz: Leadership
• Have you sought training?
• Are you currently involved in leadership
activities?
discuss
What leadership skills will you need?
• Leaders are able to communicate a common
vision & facilitate implementation
• Communication & networking are your
leadership tools
• We all have the potential to contribute
Planning for your future
http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/
Summary: Lessons Learned
• Change happens incrementally, often in
unexpected ways
• Be nimble, take advantage of momentum
• Be patient when it’s slow
• Get out of your comfort zone
• Collaborations are hard, but foster creative thinking
• Don’t be afraid to cross boundaries or to step up
thankyou
Download this presentation from
Karen’s FigShare page:
http://figshare.com/authors/Kare
n%20Lips/278233