Public Engagement for Scientists 

Course Overview

Instructor Introduction

Module 1 Introduction - Scientific Mistrust Through History

Knowledge Production as a Social Process

Who is an Expert Today? Who Makes Knowledge?

Science and the Public Sphere

Key Challenges When Communicating Science

Key Challenges When Communicating Science - Part 2

Syllabus

Module 1 Introduction

What is a Scientist Expert?

Public Sphere Theory

Key Communication Challenges

Module 1 Summary

Module 1 Summative Assessment

What is a Scientific Expert Quiz

Science and the Public Sphere Quiz

Key Communication Challenges Quiz

Meet and Greet Discussion

Module 2 Introduction - "This text is too dense"

How to Scale Vocabulary

How to Scale Detail

How to Edit for Concision and Precision

Document Design for Comprehension

Color, Typesetting, etc.

Scaling Vocabulary and Detail

Concision & Precision

Document Design

Module 2 Summary

Module 2 Summative Assessment

Practice sorting texts by what audience they would be appropriate for

Scaling Vocabulary and Detail Quiz

Concision and Precision Quiz

Document Design Quiz

Module 3 Introduction - Why Data Visualization is Hard, and Rhetorical

How Should I Organize this Data?

Cleaning and Organizing Data in R

Choosing the Right Data Visualization Form

Creating different types of Data Visualization in R

Captions, Legends, Labels

Making Captions, Legends, and Labels in R

How Charts Lie

Cleaning Data & Pitfalls

How Data Visualizations Tell a Story

How to Write a Good Caption Reading

Module 3 Summary

Module 3 Summative Assessment

Cleaning and Organizing Raw Data Quiz

Data Visualization Quiz

Captions, Legends, Titles, and Labels Quiz

R Studio Lab: Creating Data Visualizations from Raw Data

Module 4 Introduction

Less is More: Helping Humans to Focus on the Right Thing in Your Data Visualization

Using Color Strategically with Data

Accessibility and Data Visualization

A Brief History Lesson: Ethically Murky Waters in Data Visualization

Ethical Framework for Data Visualization - Part 1

Ethical Framework for Data Visualization - Part 2

Demonstrating Misleading Data Visualizations

How Humans Read Data Visualizations

Ethical Guidelines

Module 4 Summary

Module 4 Summative Assessment

How Humans Read Data Visualizations Quiz

Ethics and Data Visualizations Quiz

Module 5 Introduction - What Kinds of Writing Do Researchers Read and Why?

Goals and Expectations of the Research Community - Part 1

Goals and Expectations of the Research Community - Part 2

What is the Purpose of a Research Paper? And How Do I Read One? - Part 1

What is the Purpose of a Research Paper? And How Do I Read One? - Part 2

How Scientific Information is Communicated in a Research Paper - Part 1

How Scientific Information is Communicated in a Research Paper - Part 2

How are Technical Reports Different Than Research Papers?

How to Write Massive Amounts of Technical Detail, Accurately - Part 1

How to Write Massive Amounts of Technical Detail, Accurately - Part 2

Academic Writing

What is Research?

Sample Data-Driven Research Papers

Sample Data-Driven Technical Reports

Module 5 Summary

Module 5 Summative Assessment

Who are Researchers Quiz

Research Papers Quiz

Technical Reports Quiz

Module 6 Introduction - Expert to Expert Communication is Still Hard

Principle 1: Bottom-line-up-front (BLUF)

Principle 2: Concision and Precision - Part 1

Principle 2: Concision and Precision - Part 2

Types of Internal Documentation

Key Rhetorical Moves in Internal Documentation

How to Write a Good Memo

Types of Professional Writing

Importance of Good Peer Communication

BLUF

Internal Documentation

Professional Writing (emails, memos, chat messages, etc.)

Module 6 Summary

Module 6 Summative Assessment

BLUF Practice Activity

BLUF Quiz

Internal Documentation Quiz

Professional Writing Practice Activity

Professional Writing Quiz

Module 7 Introduction - Genre Variation in Communicating Science to Other Professionals

Audience Theory & Reader-Based Prose

Deciding What Information Your Audience Needs

Frame Theory

Picking the Right Frame

What Will My Audience Be Able to Understand?

Editing for the "Hard Stuff "- Part 1

Editing for the "Hard Stuff" - Part 2

Case Study in Difficulty Communicating Across Professions

Case Study in Choosing Information Strategically

Case Study in Reframing Information

Case Study in Editing Information for Complexity

Module 7 Summary

Module 7 Summative Assessment

Choosing Information Strategically Quiz

Reframing Information Quiz

Editing Information Quiz

Module 8 Introduction - Quick review of Module 1 and How We'll Use Foundations in this Module

Why the Public Doesn't Always Believe the Data

Why the Public Doesn't Always Believe Experts - Part 2

Argument Theory - Part 1

Argument Theory - Part 2

Elements of a Strong Scientific Argument

How to Use Data as Part of Your Argument

Case Studies on (In)Effective Data Usage

Principles in Effective Data Design for Public Arguments

Public Data Communication Pitfalls

How the Public Forms Opinions

Argument Structure

Public-Facing Data Visualizations

Document Design and Color for the Public

Module 8 Summary

Module 8 Summative Assessment

Why Expertise and Data Are Not Enough Quiz

Argument Structure Quiz

Public-Facing Data Visualizations Quiz

Document Design, Color, and Typesetting Quiz