“How to do it” books
- Baron, Nancy. (2010). Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter. Washington, DC: Island Press. [Developed by COMPASS lead trainer; see also COMPASS’s collected resources.]
- Blum, D., Knudson, M., & Henig, R. M. (Eds.). (2006). A Field Guide to Science Writing: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. [A third edition is in preparation; the NASW site will probably have information]
- Dean, C. (2009). Am I Making Myself Clear? A Scientist’s Guide to Talking to the Public. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Hayden, Thomas, & Nijhuis, Michelle (Eds.). (2013). The Science Writers’ Handbook: Everything You Need to Pitch, Publish, and Prosper in the Digital Age. New York: De Capo.
- Hayes, R., & Grossman, D. (2006). A Scientist’s Guide to Talking with the Media. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
- Meredith, D. (2010). Explaining Research: How to Reach Key Audieces to Advance Your Work. New York: Oxford University Press. [Additional material is on Meredith’s website]
- Olson, Randy. (2009). Don’t be such a scientist: talking substance in an age of style. Washington, DC: Island Press.
- Olson, R. (2015). Houston, We Have a Narrative. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. [This book is a fully re-worked version of ideas and commentary Olson published on his blog and started collecting in a 2013 book on using narrative generally that often deals with telling stories about science]
“How to do it” websites
- http://www.explainingresearch.com/ (produced by longtime science writer Dennis Meredith to accompany his book, Explaining Research)
- http://communicatingscience.aaas.org/ (produced by American Association for the Advancement of Science, includes webinars, tipsheets, etc.)
- http://sites.agu.org/sharingscience/inform-news/ (tips from the American Geophysical Union)
- http://www.wfsj.org/course/en/index.html (online science journalism course, developed by World Federation of Science Journalists; primary audience is science journalists in developing countries)
- http://www.scidev.net/en/science-communication/ (SciDev.net’s “Communicating Science” section, focused on science journalism for the developing world, but relevant for anyone communicating science; see especially the “practical guides” section)
- Tips for great (science) media interviews (from Patricia Thomas, Knight Chair in Health & Medical Journalism, Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Georgia)
- Science Literacy Project (a workshop – currently inactive – for science reporters working in public radio; some resources online, especially the “tip sheets”)
- http://www.theopennotebook.com/ (a blog with comments and interviews from science writers about how they write their stories)
Science outreach websites (the “informal science education” community)
- http://www.informalscience.org/ (a portal to several online communities and sites dealing with informal science learning projects, research, and evaluation; includes information about science museums, science journalism, science festivals, public engagement activities, and much more)
- http://www.nisenet.org/ (the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network, but relevant to all informal science people)
Science news commentary
- http://ksj.mit.edu/tracker (A team of experienced science journalists reviews the day’s news, and also comments on science journalism)
- http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/ (“a lens on the science press” from the Columbia Journalism Review)
- http://www.badscience.net/ (from the UK, a scientist comments regularly)
- http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy.html (the current home of a long-running blog on…bad astronomy! Actually, it’s mostly about good astronomy, but sometimes has nice comments on media coverage.)
- http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/ (part of a site committed to better media coverage of health issues)
Science communication on social media
The social media world is now full of science communication discussions, both practical and academic. Personally, I follow the Twitter hashtag #scicomm, but I’m not the most adept social media user — other hashtags may be more useful for your interests. I also follow a daily aggregation, the #SciComm Daily.