Practical Advice


“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


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

 

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.