New Forms of Research Communication

Thursday, 10 September, 9:00 - 10:30

Speakers (to be confirmed): Karolina Mazur; Michele Garfinkel; Lucian Ciolan

Chair: Peter Gray

Research has traditionally been communicated via peer-reviewed publications, usually subscription-only journals with a specialised readership, edited by academics and published by commercial companies. This system has worked relatively smoothly for a long time, but is coming under pressure from several directions, notably from the open-access movement, and from research funders anxious to see more direct evidence of impact.

Educational research has attempted to adhere to the traditional model, with researchers under pressure to publish in ‘high-quality journals’. At the same time, educational research has expanded, at least in terms of the number of staff expected to publish research. This has resulted in both a proliferation of journals and a paradox for researchers, who have to extract more publications from less funded research. Arithmetically, this makes little sense, as the number of publications exceeds the available amount of attention from their potential audience.

There are several possible solutions. Systematic review and research synthesis articles, increasingly sophisticated search engines and better use of metadata contribute to knowledge management. Payments for open access and online journals are reducing the cost of accessing research. These, however, avoid the serious question of the complex relationships between publication, research, impact and audience. These relationships are, in many ways, similar to those pertaining to other creative industries, such as music, writing and film.
What are the functions of research publication?
Traditionally, publication has the following four functions:

1. Positioning the research vis-à-vis previous work in the field
2. Establish the integrity of the research by describing methods etc
3. Advancing the field in some way AND/OR
4. Replicating the results of previous studies, thus strengthening the field in general.

Communication of results to a wider audience has largely been ignored in this model, and is seen as a separate function, carried out through press releases, TV appearances (for the fortunate few) and other media channels.
In this model, impact is largely measured by citation indices, reflecting peer interest in the publication and a self-referential model in which all publications exist within a specific universe of similar publications
Aims of the session

How can EERA help its members to communicate their research differently?

The session will attempt to frame answers to this question by bringing together a diverse panel of experts from a range of disciplines.

• Karolina Mazur is a filmmaker who has assisted a number of EU projects in presenting their message.
• Michele Garfinkel is the Manager, Science Policy Programme, European Molecular Biology Organization.
• Lucian Ciolan has been working for more than a decade in an international team focused on capacity building in public policy area, with a strong focus on communication and advocacy.
• Eóin Young is the Programme Director and Senior Trainer for ICPA, the International Centre for Policy Advocacy.