Practical advice
“How to do it” books
Books (last 5 years)
- Angler, Martin W. (2017). Science Journalism: An Introduction. London/New York: Routledge.
- Carpenter, Siri (Ed.) (2020). The Craft of Science Writing. Madison, WI: The Open Notebook.
- Olson, Randy. (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]
- Olson, Randy. (2018). Don’t be such a scientist: talking substance in an age of style, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Island Press. [Second edition of a 2009 book, updated with ideas from his 2015 book on narrative.]
- Schwabish, Jonathan A. (Ed.) (2020). Elevate the Debate: A Multilayered Approach to Communicating Your Research. New York: Wiley.
- Wilcox, Christie, Brookshire, Bethany, & Goldman, Jason G. (Eds.). (2016). Science blogging: the essential guide. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Wilkinson, Clare, & Weitkamp, Emma. (2016). Creative research communication: Theory and practice. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
Books (older but still great!)
- 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.]
- Bowater, Laura & Yeoman, Kay. (2013). Science Communication: A Practical Guide for Scientists. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
- Blum, Deborah, Knudson, Mary, & Henig, Robin Marantz (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.
- Dean, Cornelia. (2009). Am I Making Myself Clear? A Scientist’s Guide to Talking to the Public. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Gutkind, Lee. (2012). You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction—from Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between. Boston: Da Capo.
- 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, Richard, & Grossman, Daniel. (2006). A Scientist’s Guide to Talking with the Media. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
- Menninger, Holly, & Gropp, Robert. (2008). Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media. Washington, DC: American Institute for Biological Sciences.
- Meredith, Dennis. (2010). Explaining Research: How to Reach Key Audiences to Advance Your Work. New York: Oxford University Press. [Additional material is on Meredith’s website]
“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)
- 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 National Informal STEM Education Network, full of resources)
Social media discussion ABOUT science communication
- The social media world is 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 aggregator, the #SciComm Daily.
- For humor, I also follow #serialkillerorscientist and its twin #scientistorserialkiller!
Science news commentary
- http://undark.org/ (from MIT’s Knight Science Journalism project, a variety of stories probing science journalism)
- http://www.blastr.com/tags/bad-astronomy (a long-running blog on…bad astronomy! Actually, mostly good astronomy, and sometimes comments on media coverage.)
Science policy resources
- I don’t maintain a list. But one frequent request is a list of internship/fellowship opportunities. Kelly Singel has now created such a list for science policy fellowships, available here.
[last update: 11 November 2020]