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 enoughGrand 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

Most STEM College students do not end up working in a STEM field

STEM majors

STEM jobs

biology

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) Communication3) 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 audienceIncreases understanding of scienceIncreases accessibility & inclusivityIt fosters collaboration & innovation Increases interdisciplinarityFocus on the big pictureTo secure fundingWrite betterTo teach betterTo 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)

From Liz NeeleyThe communication – research feedback loop

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

Nature 14 Aug 2014

Why?

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, 2011J 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/its-time-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/2013-beaconcongresssocialmedia

• 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 futurehttp://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/Karen%20Lips/278233