Communication Of Research Findings Research Articles

Online toolkits for collaborative and inclusive global research in urban evolutionary ecology.

Urban evolutionary ecology is inherently interdisciplinary. Moreover, it is a field with global significance. However, bringing researchers and resources together across fields and countries is challenging. Therefore, an online collaborative research hub, where common methods and best practices are shared among scientists from diverse geographic, ethnic, and career backgrounds would make research focused on urban evolutionary ecology more inclusive. Here, we describe a freely available online research hub for toolkits that facilitate global research in urban evolutionary ecology. We provide rationales and descriptions of toolkits for: (1) decolonizing urban evolutionary ecology; (2) identifying and fostering international collaborative partnerships; (3) common methods and freely-available datasets for trait mapping across cities; (4) common methods and freely-available datasets for cross-city evolutionary ecology experiments; and (5) best practices and freely available resources for public outreach and communication of research findings in urban evolutionary ecology. We outline how the toolkits can be accessed, archived, and modified over time in order to sustain long-term global research that will advance our understanding of urban evolutionary ecology.

Values of Academic Discourse: Responsibility and Truth. Case Studies: Sub-genres of Academic Discourse in the Humanities

This paper aims to problematize the scientific discourse in the field of humanities in the context of the fundamental changes that have taken place in the life, roles, and the socioeconomic and cultural impact of universities. The premise that drives the present research is the stringent need for conceptual and applied innovation to have an ethical dimension, to be supported by values such as responsibility and truth. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, it investigates two subgenres of scientific discourse, seen prototypically - (literary) text analysis and the linguistic corpus, to unravel how values are involved at any stage of scientific research, from the design of the approach to the interpretation and communication of research findings. Second, it bridges a gap in the specialized literature where there is little debate regarding the specific ways of putting these values into practice (i.e., into discourse). The paper demonstrates that the two subgenres under investigation, although much and obviously different, calibrate their tools and procedural scenarios by reference to the values of responsibility and respect.

Deconvoluting human Brodmann area 8 based on its unique structural and functional connectivity.

Brodmann area 8 (BA8) is traditionally defined as the prefrontal region of the human cerebrum just anterior to the premotor cortices and enveloping most of the superior frontal gyrus. Early studies have suggested the frontal eye fields are situated at its most caudal aspect, causing many to consider BA8 as primarily an ocular center which controls contralateral gaze and attention. However, years of refinement in cytoarchitectural studies have challenged this traditional anatomical definition, providing a refined definition of its boundaries with neighboring cortical areas and the presence of meaningful subdivisions. Furthermore, functional imaging studies have suggested its involvement in a diverse number of higher-order functions, such as motor, cognition, and language. Thus, our traditional working definition of BA8 has likely been insufficient to truly understand the complex structural and functional significance of this area. Recently, large-scale multi-modal neuroimaging approaches have allowed for improved mapping of the neural connectivity of the human brain. Insight into the structural and functional connectivity of the brain connectome, comprised of large-scale brain networks, has allowed for greater understanding of complex neurological functioning and pathophysiological diseases states. Simultaneously, the structural and functional connectivity of BA8 has recently been highlighted in various neuroimaging studies and detailed anatomic dissections. However, while Brodmann's nomenclature is still widely used today, such as for clinical discussions and the communication of research findings, the importance of the underlying connectivity of BA8 requires further review.

The Hard-to-Reach Data (HaRD) Framework: a Case Study in Humanitarian Mine Action

Introduction:Following humanitarian crises (e.g. armed conflict), reliable population health metrics are vital to establish health needs and priorities. However, the challenges associated with accurate health information and research in conflict zones are well documented. Often working within conflict settings are authorities and non-government organizations (NGOs) who frequently collect data under the context of operations. This operational data is a potentially untapped source of hard-to-reach data that could be utilized to provide a better insight into conflict affected populations. The Hard to Reach Data (HaRD) framework highlights the process of identifying and engaging with these stakeholders collaboratively to develop research capacity.Method:The HaRD framework was developed from literature searches of health and social sciences databases. The framework which provides a structure to gain access to data in hard-to-reach settings was applied to humanitarian mine action to identify and collect existing but underutilized data.Results:Guided by the HaRD framework we compiled the world’s first global casualty dataset for casualties of landmines and explosive remnants of war. The framework provided a structured approach to identify and engage with key stakeholders. An adaptive approach was needed for stakeholder engagement with trust building and transparency important factors in developing a collaborative partnership. Appropriate communication of research findings is important to ensure reciprocity.Conclusion:The HaRD framework can identify potential data sources and guide access in hard-to-reach data settings. Operational data is often available but hidden; a systematic approach to identifying and engaging with stakeholders can assist in developing successful research partnerships between academia and humanitarian organizations.

Publication integrity viewed from different perspectives

Publication and communication of research findings are important for the development of science, since future scientific work relies and builds on previous findings. However, this is not possible if researchers cannot trust the published work or if the principles of research integrity are not implemented in all phases of the research process, including the publication of research results (ALLEA 2017, NASEM 2017). This study aimed to explore authorship and publication practices across different disciplinary fields and to identify areas related to the publication of research findings that require improvements. We used a purposive sample strategy to recruit researchers from different disciplinary fields (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and medical sciences), different levels of seniority, and geographical locations. We conducted 30 focus groups with 174 researchers and other stakeholders from eight European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands). The data will be analysed using the thematic analysis approach to develop a thematic map with themes and sub-themes. Currently, we are analysing the data using the NVivo software (QSR International). Some of the codes and sub-codes already identified are: 1) authorship distribution (authorship statement/plan; disciplinary field/country specifics and differences regarding authorship distribution/practices, ethical issues in authorship, handling authorship disputes); 2) authorship, publications, and academic career (stakeholders’ evaluation of authorship and publications); 3) research publication and dissemination (examples of good publication practices, examples of issues related to publication process); 4) peer review (good peer review practices, poor peer review practices); and 5) open science (perceptions on open science; open access, open data, open collaboration, and reproducible research).One possible limitation of our study, taking into account that publication practices differ significantly in different settings (countries, fields, etc.), could be that the knowledge obtained could not be generalised and applied globally, since we included participants from European countries alone. However, we believe that by including a large number of participants we managed to map publication practices in the European area and will be able to learn what should be improved and how to foster good publication practices by European researchers.

Impact and implications for practice

Impact and implications for practice

The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health Autistic Researcher Review Board.

The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health Autistic Researcher Review Board.

Problems with Oversimplified Categories in the Study of Collective Violence

This article critically examines oversimplified categories—especially binary categorization—in analyses of collective violence. Researchers often use categories to make sense of complex situations. While they are necessary, these categories can oversimplify people’s lived experiences and can even directly harm individuals and communities during or after collective violence. Thus, we suggest that researchers continually assess their use of categories, and especially binary or otherwise oversimplified categories framed as mutually exclusive. To illustrate this argument, we focus on two major kinds of categories that researchers and others assessing collective violence often use: person categories (e.g., victim/perpetrator, civilian/combatant) and event categories (e.g., war/genocide, terrorism/insurgency). After highlighting issues tied to person and event categories based on our collective fieldwork experience, we propose that researchers can mitigate some of these issues through critical data collection and assessment, the triangulation of narratives, and the careful communication of research findings. We hope that this will help research on collective violence produce a more comprehensive understanding of suffering and resilience worldwide.

News Coverage of pediatric injury research: maternal understanding and engagement

ABSTRACTBackground: Our objective was to examine mothers’ engagement with news coverage of pediatric injury research to inform effective mass communication of research findings that are crucial to enhancing mother’s efficacy to prevent childhood injury.Method: We conducted six focus groups with 49 mothers (with children <6 years); participants were shown three videos of news stories which presented pediatric injury research (on car seats, household poisoning, high chairs). After viewing each story, mothers completed recall and engagement questions and then discussed reactions to the injury content. We conducted a thematic analysis, guided by the constructs of the Health Belief Model.Results: Mothers were engaged with dangers presented; almost all (94–98%) recalled key information presented in the news stories, including the injury sustained, as well as the source and prevention guidelines or policies presented. Statistical information recall was less robust; only half recalled statistics presented in one story. Mothers were most interested in either the illustrative narrative or the injury statistics presented; fewer reported prioritizing preventive guidelines presented.Conclusions: In relation to the Health Belief model, specific narrative elements presented shaped engagement; in particular, story elements (type of family portrayed, use of statistics) appear influential in shaping whether injury research news stories will serve as cues to action for the intended audience. Although mothers expressed interest in seeing guidelines and recommendations on how to mitigate the injury hazard in each story, care should be taken to shape stories to enhance their perceptions of harm, susceptibility and preventive efficacy related to the specific injury presented.

OpenBiodiv-O Ontology: Bridging the Gap Between Biodiversity Data and Biodiversity Publishing

Communication of research findings is the last and arguably the most influential step of the scientific process. This is especially true for biodiversity science, in which new species descriptions and introduction of new taxonomic names happens through publication, as governed by the International Codes. Despite the strict rules for naming new taxa and revising existing taxonomic nomenclatures within scholarly literature, there is no system for keeping track of these changes and information often remains locked within the text of thousands of scattered journal articles. This talk presents OpenBiodiv-O, the first ontology which conceptually models the biodiversity publishing domain and through its application in the semantic graph database OpenBiodiv contributes to knowledge management of this domain. In combination with already existing ontologies for biodiversity and publishing (e.g. DarwinCore-based ontologies, SPAR ontologies), resource types introduced by OpenBiodiv-O help to create a link between these two domains. The ontology models the general structure of a research article, including sections specific to taxonomic articles, such as the treatment section, as well as other conceptual entities from taxonomy, like scientific names and taxonomic concepts. Thus, OpenBiodiv-O links scientific names to the corresponding article section in which they are mentioned via the class Taxonomic Name Usage and helps to discover hidden relationships between names. In addition, OpenBiodiv-O models the article metadata, such as the author names, affiliations and unique identifiers. The orcid class from the recently introduced Datacite ontology within OpenBiodiv-O models the ORCID of authors and will enable the future disambiguation of authors and linking with other platforms using ORCID. OpenBiodiv-O has been applied to the biodiversity knowledge graph OpenBiodiv, which is based on a Linked Open Dataset, created from Pensoft's journal articles and Plazi's treatments. Publishing of semantically enhanced scholarly literature as XML enables the conversion of semi-structured narrative into connected Resource Description Framework (RDF) statements. The ontology serves as a skeleton for the transformation of more than 729 million statements into a Linked Open Dataset. Reusing of existing ontologies within OpenBiodiv-O helps to establish a link between OpenBiodiv-O and other ontologies and facilitates federated querying between OpenBiodiv and other knowledge graphs. The application of OpenBiodiv-O towards a working solution for the biodiversity publishing domain demonstrates the potential of ontology modelling for data organisation and management.

Collaborative writing with young people with disabilities: raising new questions of authorship and agency

AbstractHow an author communicates with a reader is a central consideration in the critical examination of any text. When considering the communication of ideas from young people whose voices are seldom heard, the journey from author to audience has particular significance. The construction of children and young people as ‘authors’ is important, especially for those with learning difficulties or who struggle to comply with the current emphasis on spelling, punctuation and grammar. This article relates to a UK Research Council‐funded 3‐year collaborative research project involving the co‐creation of fictional stories with young people with disabilities to represent aspects of their lives. Drawing on frameworks from narratology, I analyse the co‐creation of one of the stories and present an interpretation and elaboration of the discourse structure of narrative fiction to illustrate the complexities of the relationship between the multifaceted ‘author’ and community ‘reader’ of these stories. The combination of qualitative research and fictional prose has particular characteristics and implications for the dissemination and communication of research findings. An extension of feminist critique of Barthes' claim for the death of the author provides new insights for engaging children in writing with their own voice.

Alaska Native Health Research Forum: Perspectives on disseminating research findings.

In May 2016, Southcentral Foundation (SCF), a regional tribal health corporation based in Anchorage, Alaska convened a half-day health research forum for Alaska Native and American Indian community members to obtain feedback on communication of research findings. Thirty one individuals attended the Forum and 22 completed a pre and post survey. Respondents found the Forum to be a useful method to learn about research projects and their willingness to participate in health research reportedly increased because of the event. Forum attendees also endorsed use of direct mail, electronic mail, and messages via an electronic health record patient portal as communication methods for health researchers to inform potential participants about research studies occurring at SCF and for return of individual and community level results.

Ethical Guidelines for Genetic Research on Alcohol Addiction and Its Applications.

Research on the genomic correlates to addiction raises ethical issues in a number of different domains. In this paper, we evaluate the status of genetic research on alcohol dependence as background to addressing the ethical issues raised in conducting research on addiction and the application of that research to the formulation of public policies. We conclude that genetic testing is not yet ready for use in the prediction of alcohol dependence liability. Pharmacogenetic testing for responses to treatments may have more clinical utility, although additional research is required to demonstrate utility and cost-effectiveness. Genetic research on addiction raises potential risks for participants that must be clearly communicated to participants, including limitations on the ability of researchers to protect their privacy. Responsible communication of research findings is essential to prevent common misunderstandings about the role of genetics in addiction liability, to prevent its premature or inappropriate use, and to reduce discrimination and stigmatization experienced by addicted individuals. More research is needed to determine the impact of genetic explanations on addicted individuals, treatment-seeking behavior, and on public attitudes towards addicted persons. Importantly, genetic research on addiction must not be at the expense of investments in social, behavioral, and psychological research on addiction.

The Future of Publishing Herpetological Research: Peer Review, “Pre-Publications”, and Openness and Transparency of Data

Abstract The availability of new technologies, combined with changing perceptions of traditional journal publications, has created a wave of “new models” for reviewing and publishing scientific research. As the Journal of Herpetology (JH) celebrates its 50th anniversary, this is an appropriate time for the membership of SSAR to consider what kinds of changes in JH are needed to meet the needs of those who publish research in herpetology. In this review, I focus on three issues with traditional models of journal publications: criticisms of the peer-review process (especially bias and elitism); issues with rapid communication of research findings; and increasing calls for better transparency and openness of data. For issues such as gender or age bias, I provide support for calls for changes such as double-blind reviews to reduce the prevalence of such bias and also review new methods for making peer reviews more open and efficient. Conversely, I find serious problems with mechanisms such as citable “pre pri...

Developing Students’ Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Analysis Skills in an Inquiry-Based Synthetic Organic Laboratory Course

A course is described where students are engaged in an inquiry-based quarter-long research project to synthesize a known pharmaceutical target. Students use literature search engines, such as Reaxys and SciFinder, and the primary chemical literature as resources to plan and perform the synthesis of their pharmaceutical target. Through this process, students develop critical thinking, problem solving, and data analysis skills in the laboratory setting. Teaching assistants guide students through three phases of the research process: (1) literature-based proposal, (2) experimentation and analysis, and (3) communication of research findings by oral presentation and written report. This course is designed for upper-division chemistry majors, taken as the third-quarter organic laboratory class after two quarters of introductory laboratory courses and two quarters of the associated organic chemistry lecture courses. Nine different teaching assistants have taught the course described to over 90 students in four d...

Electronic Theses and Dissertations and the Promotion of Scholarship in African Universities: Prospects and Challenges

ABSTRACTAfrica has been ranked low among the other regions of the world on the production and communication of research findings. Many have attributed this to poor research culture in the continent, while others blame it on lack of research sponsorship through grants. However, a major issue that is yet to be examined is the visibility of existing research in the region to the international research community. Theses and dissertations are very important research productions that are critical for sustainable national development. Unfortunately, their visibility is not certain to the global scholarly community. The study was conducted to examine the potential of electronic theses and dissertations in promotion of scholarship in Africa and to propose strategies for the full development and adoption of electronic theses and dissertations in African universities.

Research and innovation in Africa’s rural transport sector

The African Community Access Programme is a research initiative for the rural transport sector in Africa. The programme is funded by the UK Department for International Development and by partner governments in Africa. The programme in turn has funded a wide range of research projects in the rural transport sector. It provides support to users of the research outputs at all stages of the uptake process. Users of these new ideas include national transport sector institutions, local government organisations, practitioners and community groups. Under the programme the uptake of new ideas and innovations has been most effective in the road engineering aspects of rural transport. This includes the adoption of new standards and specifications for low traffic roads. The rate of uptake is affected by the level of institutional maturity and cohesion in the participating countries, and how closely the innovation is aligned to sector policies and strategic plans. Particular success has been achieved when there is a champion for the idea in the user organisation. The programme has focused on effective communication of research findings to user groups and building a strong community of practice for the rural transport sector. Long-term support from the principal funder has been a key factor.

Knowledge activism: bridging the research/policy divide

How research can better inform policy and how policy can have a better research base are longstanding issues both in educational research and across public policy generally. Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt, this article argues that progress in increasing the impact of research can be made through a clearer understanding of the nature of politics. Arendt’s identification of ‘persuasion’ as the defining activity of the political sphere is used to argue that the communication of research findings, relevant to education policy, must be similarly aligned if it is to be effective. The article views approaches such as knowledge transfer and knowledge exchange as inadequately constructed and instead promotes the concept of ‘knowledge activism’ as a means by which research evidence can be made operational in political terms. The article acknowledges the risk to academic integrity and objectivity of such overtly political behaviour but argues that remaining outside the political sphere simply guarantees minimal research impact.

Mutual Benefits: Linking Science and Policy in the Delta

October 2013 San Francisco Estuary & Watershed Science: Science & Policy for the Delta Mutual Benefits: Linking Science and Policy in the Delta Judy L. Meyer Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 USA jlmeyer@uga.edu Member, Delta Independent Science Board Introduction Scientists and decision-makers in the San Francisco Bay–Delta are not unique. Ecosystem management programs worldwide are exploring ways to better link science and policy as a means to enhance and restore the services that ecosystems provide to society. Improving the effectiveness of this link requires policy-relevant scientific research, effective communication of research findings, and an efficient means of altering policy when the desired outcomes are not achieved or when relevant scientific understanding changes. Enhancing Policy-relevant Scientific Research Science will not provide clear policy solutions, but it can be useful in establishing the boundary conditions within which a policy decision can be reached. Fostering policy-relevant scientific research requires dynamic leaders in both science and policy arenas and interactions that build trust among them. To be effective, the science needs to address relevant questions, meet standards of scientific rigor, and be unbiased politically (Clark et al. 2002 in Van Cleve et al. 2004). This requires scien- tists who are independent and informed about the issues that managers and policy- makers face and who recognize that increased scientific understanding can result from research inspired by policy questions. Yet research shouldn’t be driven only by current policy questions. Long-term and anticipatory research is essential to develop the scientific knowledge base that will be needed for future decisions. These goals are facilitated by respectful interaction between both researchers and the policymakers whose decisions will be informed by the information gathered. An effective structure for policy-relevant science acknowledges that disagreements among scientists are inevitable (e.g., differing interpretations of data or competing restoration proposals) and provides mechanisms for resolving these disagreements. Means of resolution include establishing a scientific assessment process (e.g., work- shops aimed at achieving a consensus-based scientific understanding from exist-

The challenge of integrating science for landscape management

‘Ecosystem restoration is now a global priority’ announced a recent editorial (Aronsen and Alexander 2013), reporting on the outcomes of the 11th Conference of the Parties (in Oct 2012) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Large-scale programs to restore, or more sustainably manage, ecosystems exist in many countries and landscape ecologists often are at the forefront of those actively contributing their expertise. In Australia, for example, the Federal Government has invested some $6.5 billion since 1990 in a series of natural resource management and restoration programs (Hajkowicz 2009), primarily in agricultural environments to respond to the consequences of excessive clearing of native vegetation. But how do we know whether such management interventions are effective? How do we measure their impact? Is the environment in a better condition as a result of these investments? Could these restoration actions be carried out in a more effective and efficient way? These kinds of challenging questions were the stimulus for a research project in southern Australia, documented in this volume. ‘Landscape Logic’ was a four-year, nationally funded project, which set out to ‘measure the effects of past human intervention on the environment using a combination of biophysical and social evidence, and the experience of land and water managers’. It was large in scale, scope and ambition: personnel were drawn from four Universities, three state agencies, and six catchment management organisations. From the outset, the project was planned to be interdisciplinary and participatory, with scientists working alongside managers. The structure of the book reflects the priority issues identified in consultation with land managers in two study areas. Thus, Part 1. ‘Managing water quality in agricultural catchments’ relates to project components undertaken in the state of Tasmania (Chaps. 2–9), where the issue of water quality was of greatest concern. Part 2, ‘Vegetation change in rural landscapes’, relates to components in Victoria (Chaps. 10–17), where the effects of management intervention on the condition and quality of native vegetation was a priority. Part 3, ‘Integrating science and practice’, includes four chaps. (18–21) that synthesize aspects of the overall project. Two questions kept recurring as I read this book: ‘who is this written for?’ and ‘what is its purpose?’. My initial expectation was that the book would provide an array of new scientific evidence evaluating ecological outcomes of the extensive restoration and management activities undertaken in Australia over the last two decades. However, while the bulk of the chapters are centred on various research components of the project, communication of research findings is not the sole intention of the book. Rather, it documents the ‘anatomy’ of a major project, including what it set A. F. Bennett (&) School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia e-mail: Andrew.Bennett@deakin.edu.au