Communicating social research: Advice for researchers starting out

Effective dissemination of research sits high on international policy agendas (Wilson et al., 2010). At the end of October, I was fortunate to be one of a group of twenty doctoral candidates and post-docs invited to attend the Sociological Review’s annual academic skills event in Birmingham city centre. The whole-day event was divided into two segments, each intended to develop our understanding of communicating research beyond the academy. When I told my supervisory team about the event, they suggested I use the experience as the basis for a blog post. 

 

Making sociology matter in public

The first session was led by Professor Michaela Benson of Lancaster University’s Sociology department and Alice Bloch, a producer and journalist specialising in a number of areas, including public policy. 

During the lead up to the event, I’d found the title of this session particularly compelling. As a second year PhD student, my focus had been on trying to communicate my research to more experienced academics in ways that would hopefully convey its usefulness to society. I hadn’t yet imagined myself delivering my work to the general public. However, considering that on average, only one per cent of the world’s 25-64 year olds who have been to university have a PhD (Clubbs Coldron, 2022) it’s important to consider how to communicate research to the ninety-nine per cent as well as to one’s academic peers.

Listening to Michaela and Alice speak, I was reminded of how much public sociological discourse takes place via the media. A peek at Alice’s CV prior to the session read like a cultural hall of fame with work on programmes and podcasts such as ‘Start the Week’ and ‘Uncommon Sense’ cropping up alongside a number of newspapers, magazines and journals. Michaela’s extensive research into the impacts of Brexit meant that she had often been called upon during the previous six years to share her expertise and insights in various public forums. 

Both speakers offered advice on adapting academic terminology for a broader audience. I particularly liked Alice’s example of speakers who frequently apply the term ‘neo-liberal’ without first defining what it means within the context of their research. As someone who only really entered sociology in my mid-thirties, I’ve tried very hard to incorporate sociological vocabulary into my writing and speech.

It was useful to be reminded that there is nothing to be lost and possibly more to be gained through explaining terminology for your audience.

On the topic of audience, it is also important to consider who outside of institutional academia might be interested in hearing about your research. Given increasing levels of insecurity in the academic sector (Woolston, 2021), I was interested to hear examples of forums beyond the academy where research can be shared.

 

Publishing your first academic book

The academic publishing tutorial by Professor Pei-Chia Lan (department of Sociology, National Taiwan University) provided researchers with a thorough guide for approaching the daunting task of publishing a first book. At least, it seemed daunting to me, a second year PhD candidate still drafting a thesis.

A highly experienced researcher, with works translated into different languages across the globe, Professor Lan delivered a comprehensive outline of the whole publishing process. Like Michaela and Alice, she invited the attendees to consider a broader audience when converting a thesis to a book. In some sense, a book is the inverse of a thesis in that the author begins from a position of confidence by stating their findings at the outset. From that point on, Professor Lan advised us to ‘draw readers into the field’ of research, to try and bring the research to life on the pages.

What became clear is that the actual writing of the book is only a small part of the publishing process. From drafting proposals to investigating prospective publishers to undergoing review after review, publishing is a long-haul journey.

Perhaps that explains Professor Lan’s introductory comment to attendees: “writing a book isn’t something that everyone will do”. Possibly not. But at least I now understand how it could be accomplished. I also found myself dwelling on Professor Lan’s closing remarks; “once your book is published, that’s when the real work begins”. A reminder that research is never a process with a tangible endpoint. 

 

Personal reflections

I’d found out about the early career researcher day by chance via a social media post. In order to secure a place I was required to submit a short proposal outlining my research and why I felt I would benefit from attending.

As part of my successful application, I was able to apply for a travel and transport bursary to facilitate attendance. The offer of financial support meant that I could take the opportunity to travel to Birmingham and spend the night before and the night after in a hotel next to the venue with some supplementation of accommodation costs from my own pocket. This was invaluable, as I was able to focus solely on the experience without the stress and anxiety of delayed trains or becoming lost in an unfamiliar city. I’m grateful to the Sociological Review for their generosity in helping me and I’m sure many of my fellow attendees share that sentiment. The organisers also paid for a full catering package (which was delicious) meaning that attendees could socialise with one another without having to worry about going out for lunch or bringing snacks. I found that good food acts as a social lubricant and conversation with strangers can be easily instigated over a tray of fresh pastries.

I felt so excited by the whole process, from receiving my invitation to catching the train to return to Huddersfield. Full-time research can be lonely, and my experience of isolation has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. I tried to speak to everyone, and my interactions were on the whole quite informal. I was more interested in chatting to researchers who were further on in their academic careers than attempting to pitch my own work.

Looking back on the day from a theoretical perspective, if academic events such as the early career researcher day represent some sort of Bourdieuan field, then I possibly lacked the requisite capital to play the game to best of my ability. I suppose that’s the point. Events like this give people like me an opportunity to learn the rules of the game. And hopefully learn new skills, meet interesting people and eat good food along the way.

 

A final thought

Both of the sessions shared a common theme; that it is possible to communicate your work to a broader audience without compromising your academic or positional values in the process. In other words, don’t forget the ninety-nine per cent whilst you build your career.