Elena Ppali: Making science accessible
Science has always been interwoven into the very fabric of society. From governmental policies to technological advancement and social values, scientific discoveries are in every aspect of our lives. However, despite this, science has not always been, and it is still not accessible or effectively communicated to everyone.
Certain populations have no access to science or scientific articles; scientific articles are hidden behind paywalls not everyone can afford, or are filled with so much scientific jargon, that people don’t have the right tools to read and comprehend; scientists are not trained to effectively and reliably share their findings. There are so many factors that can contribute to this lack of effective scientific communication, and now more than ever, I believe these factors need to be addressed to improve how science is being consumed and understood by the general public.
Why do we need to make science accessible?
Successful scientific communication can bridge the gap between science and society and build trust and healthy collaborations between scientists and the public. Understanding science means understanding how the world works. From understanding how diseases spread and how they can be treated, to why speed limits exist and how they are set, scientific discoveries are behind almost everything.
Additionally, science communication is important for raising awareness on important issues such as climate change or emerging pandemics (or epidemics) like COVID-19. Public awareness on these issues can then affect how governmental policies are set in place, or how research funding to solve these issues is allocated, highlighting the importance of the public being sufficiently informed about what is going on in the scientific world.
What is more, when people understand the science, or at least the basics of it, they can make informed decisions or even enter scientific conversations. A really good example of this is how patients are now increasingly involved in the conversations regarding disease treatments and are able to influence the direction of treatment studies based on their own knowledge and experiences.
Most importantly though, effective scientific communication can foster critical thinking and combat spreading of misinformation. We exist at a time when information overload, paired with uncertainty and half knowledge has resulted in a mistrust and misunderstanding of science and research that, if not properly addressed, can negatively impact our society.
Steps towards more effective scientific communication
Training scientists to be good communicators
Scientists receive a lot of training, but often, this does not include training on how to effectively communicate our research to layperson audience. We need to provide scientists, myself included, with the right tools to effectively communicate research, in a manner that is engaging to the public, without oversimplifying key scientific concepts or downplaying their significance.
Workshops and training seminars focused on ‘translating’ research to lay audiences would be a good starting point. These can include, public speaking workshops, writing workshops and workshops on how to effectively summarise research findings- every scientist knows the struggle of having to decide what is important for the audience to know and what would be considered additional information.
Additionally, when communicating our research, we also need to be aware of who our audience is. People come from different cultural backgrounds with varying levels of scientific literacy, which means that scientific communication is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation. Therefore, workshops on identifying your audience and tailoring your content to their needs are also important.
The power of social media
Speaking of content, at a time where people are chronically online, YouTube videos, podcasts, blog posts or any other form of an online content where science is explained in simpler terms is a powerful tool for reaching the public.
There are numerous scientists and PhD researchers with their own social media platforms, sharing their findings in layman’s terms, making their research accessible and easier to understand for non-scientific audiences. When people understand the ‘how’s and they ‘why’s they become more engaged
Science Communication Initiatives
Having incentives in place to promote scientific communication are also important when it comes to bridging the gap between scientists and the public. Funding agencies are including more and more public outreach programs to ensure public engagement in the research. This blog post is one example of this! As part of the Neuro-Innovation PhD Programme, public outreach through sharing our research via blog posts, social media, or events like the ‘Children’s University’ is an important part of what we do.
‘Science is as good as its communication’- Gee Abraham
If you take one thing away from this blog post, I hope that it is this: science is everywhere, affecting every part of our lives, making access to science a basic human right. I have always believed that science has been by the people, for the people, but sometimes failure to effectively communicate scientific findings and their societal impact makes it inaccessible to the very people it is supposed to serve.
As Gee Abraham states in his article on the importance of scientific communication, ‘A scientific discovery is only as good as its communication’ so we all need to do our part to ensure that science is disseminated reliably, efficiently and in clear terms so that a broader audience can understand what is being communicated.
Some of my personal favorite ways to consume scientific content
Books
- A brief History of time. Stephen Hawking
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. Oliver Sacks
- The brain, the story of you. David Eagleman
- A Brief Welcome to the Universe: A Pocket-Sized Tour. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott
- Time: 10 things you should know. Colin Stuart
Youtube
People
Elena Ppali works as a doctoral researcher in the Neuro-Innovation programme. She studies a new gene mutation that increases the risk of Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer’s.