Rating: Very Good
Strong Points: Helpful guidelines for communicating science to the public; information about further education and fellowships.
Weak Points: Toolkit is a broad overview, doesn’t go in-depth.
As scientists, we’re typically trained to summarize and distribute our research results to our peers in the scientific community. Unfortunately, we often aren’t trained to convey those same results to nonscientists and the public. The Communication Toolkit from the American Association for the Advancement of Science aims to bridge that gap. The website starts with describing communication fundamentals, such as how to set communication goals, how to convince an audience that they should care about the research, and how to keep people engaged by discussing research effectively and avoiding jargon. The toolkit goes into further detail about engaging specific audiences, such as journalists and policymakers, and communicating through different mediums, such as in person or online. The website also contains numerous resources for researchers who want to pursue science communication further, such as information about upcoming workshops, fellowship opportunities, and nominations for public engagement awards.