1. Within & beyond academia:
Science Communication &
Outreach
Theresa Liao
Communications Coordinator
UBC Physics & Astronomy

2. Science Communication
Science communication generally refers to public
communication presenting science-related topics to
non-experts. This often involves professional scientists
(called "outreach" or "popularization"), but has also
evolved into a professional field in its own right. It
includes science exhibitions, journalism, policy or
media production…

3. Science Communication
Science communication can also simply describe
communication between scientists (e.g. through
scientific journals), as well as between non-scientists.
-Wikipedia
Not to say that Wikipedia is the most
reliable source for information…

4. Change is good…?
 Open Access
 Social Platforms
 Changing model of science communication
 Popularization

5. Open Access
Image source: International Open Access Week (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ca/) under creative
commons license CC-By (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ca/)

6. Social Platforms

7. Research Gate

8. Research Blogging

9. Knowledge Defici?
File name B0003936 Image Credit Matthew Herring, Wellcome Images. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution,
Non-commercial, No derivatives licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

10. Knowledge Deficit No More
“The problem is that science responds to every
communication challenge by saying “We need to
explain this issue better… Just putting out more
information is not the answer, because study after
study shows that it’s just going to drive the wedge
further in: You give information, people use their
partisan filters and we get more polarization.”
-Dietram A. Scheufele

11. Social Sciences Research
 Framing - Dietram A. Scheufele
 “Framing as a theory of media effects”. Journal of
Communication. Volume 49, Issue 1, pages 103–122, March
1999
 Integration – Matthew Nisbet
 “Four cultures: new synergies for engaging society on
climate change”. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,
8 (6), 329-33. 2010.
 The Science of Science Communication I & II YouTube
Videos (Sackler Colloquium, Washington, DC)

12. Popularization

13. My job
…Pretty much is to deal with what I just talked about
- Dept website & social media channels
- Generate/facilitate content development
- Grant facilitation
- Conference planning
- Public lectures
- Outreach Program

14. From Diabetes Research to Sci Comm
Image source: Vectorized by Mysid after Image:Cg pp maze.png
From http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maze.svg

15. What this means to you
 Science communication is a necessity
 Get familiar with different platforms for science communication (even if you
don’t use it)
 And if you are going to use it, choose wisely
 Consider yourself a celebrity…everything you say could be pick on
 Develop additional skills to make you more competitive (as a scientist or for
other professions)
 You have the advantage being a scientist
 Volunteer
 Create your own job
 Know and pros and cons of a research career – and start thinking about
“where I see myself at in 5 years”
 Manage your time well – can be a distraction
 Know your priority

16. Resources
 UBC Library “Develop your academic profile”
http://help.library.ubc.ca/publishing-research/building-your-
academic-profile/
 An Introduction to social media for scientists
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjo
urnal.pbio.1001535 (for beginners)
 UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies social media guidelines
http://www.grad.ubc.ca/faculty-staff/graduate-recruitment-
initiative/social-media (for advanced users)
 AAAS Science Careers website
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/tools_tips/outreach/booklets
 Resources section on my personal blog
http://scienceichooseyou.wordpress.com/resources/

17. Email me if you have more questions
 Theresa Liao
 Communications Coordinator
 UBC Physics & Astronomy
 communications@phas.ubc.ca