Further Resources

Guidelines, handouts and scientific publications make it easier to get started in and work with science communication. There are also events and online courses where interested parties can learn more. This brief overview provides some suggestions for getting started and continuing to work on this topic.

• The Journal of Science Communication (JCOM) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to science communication.
• Science Communication is an international journal for communication research from Sage Journals.
• Public Understanding of Science is an international peer-reviewed journal from Sage Journals that covers all aspects of the relationship between science (including technology and medicine) and the public.

• The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) offers a communication toolkit that introduces researchers to science communication step by step.
• The EUSEA network has compiled a collection of resources divided into three sections: toolkits, literature and history.
• The platform wissenschaftskommunikation.de provides tips and guidelines on topics such as basics, media contact, visualisation and social media.

• The use of artificial intelligence can support science communication in a variety of ways. New developments and discussions on this topic are collected in a dossier on Wissenschaftskommunikation.de. Núria Saladié's "Good Practice Principles on Science Communication and Artificial Intelligence", for example, show how it can be used in practice and which ethical guidelines should be taken into account. Tips from the field of rhetoric can also help to utilise AI tools even more effectively.

   

Getting started

• The APA Science whitepaper Communicating Science, with interviews with leading experts, provides tips on how science can be communicated to the general public in an understandable way.
• The publication Effective Science Communication. A Practical guide to surviving as a scientist provides a roadmap on how to disseminate research findings in an engaging way through various channels such as scientific publications, press releases, social media and public relations.
• Bruce Lewenstein, Professor of Science Communication at Cornell University, has compiled a bibliography of recommendations.
• A volume on science communication has been published in the "Wissenschaftsdidaktik" series by transcript. 
• The volume 50 essentials on science communication provides an initial overview of important aspects of science communication. In addition to basic knowledge, this reference work provides further references, and refers to current debates.

Further reading

• The documentation on the ‘Hard-to-reach groups’ focus of the OeAD Centre for Citizen Science summarises content on the topic of ‘previously unreached population groups’ from four events with experts.
• The Siggen Circle has published an impulse paper on the use of images in science communication.
• The detailed handout Lights! Camera! Action! Teach! A Handbook for Making Educational Videos provides assistance, tips and tricks for creating videos and podcasts - from production to promotion.
• The handout no:crisis. Linguistic notes on critical interactions in science communication offers solutions for conflict situations in media contact between researchers and journalists.
• The handout Using social media for science communication provides concrete recommendations for communicating scientific content and dealing with the platform-specific possibilities and logics.

There are a number of events and online courses available worldwide on the subject of science communication. Here is a selection of free offers:

• As part of the 6-part video series 1x1 of science communication from the National Institute for Science Communication in Germany, science communicator Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim gives tips on how to get started with the topic.
• IsraelX, a national consortium of higher education institutions in Israel, offers a free, 10-week online course entitled Science Communication via the edX online platform.
• As part of the EU project GlobalSCAPE, Leiden University has developed training workshops for science communication practitioners around the world.
  • Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Science Communication
  • Global Relevance in Science communication
• Four online mini-workshops of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) introduce the topics ‘Science communication and public engagement’, ‘Engage the public with social media’, ‘Communicating with policymakers’ and ‘Engaging communities in climate conversations’.
• The Lifeology.io platform offers a science communication programme with flashcard courses on around 25 topics such as ‘How to create an analogy for scicomm!’ or ‘How to be inclusive in science storytelling’.