The analysis below shows how the graduate students we interviewed view their research’s effect on society and how important this is for science and scientific communication.
Earle Holland asks, “What is the news? Why is it important? What is the context for the research? That is, what are the what are the questions that drive it? Why should the readers care? And last, do the findings point us somewhere new?” in reference to how science writers should frame their stories (267). Here Holland is enforcing the idea that in order to effectively communicate science, it must be put into some sort of context that the reader will care about. Time after time, this context is society. The reader cares how science will affect them and their community. Furthermore, many scientists strive to have some sort of effect on people’s communities either in the short term or the long term. Thus, when deciding what questions to ask our researchers, there was a consensus that a question should be asked about the researcher’s intended or desired effects on society; this question gives the interviewer important information for their story and also showcases the effect researchers want their research to have on individuals, community, environment, and society.
Having a clear idea of a researcher’s intended effects on society not only helps a journalist in science writing, but also a scientific writer. As our interviewees start the process of writing papers for scientific journals they must keep in mind the effects they went their research to have. This is due to the fact that scientific writing must address the importance of the topic of the paper in the Introduction of an IMRAD formatted paper. Scott Mogull states in his book, Scientific and Medical Communication: A Guide for Effective Practice, “Most journal article introductions begin with one to two sentences stating the importance of the research topic” (89). Furthermore, Mogull states, “A strong Introduction also establishes the value of the research topic to journal editors, reviewers, and readers” (84).
Prior to our interviews, our class met with a class of graduate students researchers to discuss the importance of science communication. Inevitably, society became the focal point of the discussion. Responses from the graduate students included, “scientists should be aware of how science fits into the broader spectrum of science and the world,” and “how to make your work something that others can relate to?” Clearly these students are thinking along the same lines as Holland.
After reviewing the transcriptions of the 14 researchers who all work in very different fields, two trends caught my eye. The first is that almost every researcher wants their research to improve society in some way, despite working on very different topics. The second is that many researchers want to diminish the negative effects that humans have on the environment. It seems that, at least among Virginia Tech researchers, the environment is a concern every field of research.
Improving Society
Improvement seems to be the number one thing on every researcher’s mind when considering the effects of their work on society. Neda Moayerian, who studies struggling communities in Appalachia, wants her research to help people “think outside of the box for themselves,” thus creating more self-reliant communities. Michelle Graham, who studies the locomotion of flying snakes, notes, “I hope that by the kind of science I do will help people see that science can be really fun and interesting and draw people to look at the field.” And finally, Maddie Brouse, who studies water quality, hopes that her work will get people better drinking water.
Seyedreza Fateminasab, an architecture graduate student, commented in his interview that he does not believe society is considered enough in his department. When asked about how architecture impacts society he stated, “Well it’s kind of a hard question because to be honest it’s not much discussed as it should be inside the architecture departments.” He then went on to explain that prefabrication is a popular idea among his colleagues, but he doesn’t think prefabrication is benefiting society because it doesn’t make housing more affordable and reduces construction jobs. Fateminasab’s example shows where a lack of thought towards society could end up having negative effects.
And so, it is clear that research’s effect on society is vital to science writers and scientific writers as they communicate research to other scientists or the public. The scientists interviewed for our class have clear goals in mind and seem to know the steps they need to take to reach them. Their goals have a common theme: improvement to society and the environment. It is also clear that their paths to that goal are very different. Some researchers intend to work with the government, others with small communities, and still others want to create something like a robot or an online platform.
Improving the Environment
Researchers Erin Poor—who looks at anthropogenic changes to the forests of Sumatra—and Carrie Jensen—who looks at the health of Appalachian streams—are concerned about the environment and intend to use their results to make recommendations to the government about lessening negative impacts on the environment. Erin Poor plans to submit her research to the Indonesian government, while Carrie Jensen hopes to affect the Clean Water Act by providing detailed maps of streams and rivers in the area of Appalachia she is looking at.
M.J. Farrugia, who looks at how change in water can affect amphibians, put it well when she told interviewer Hayley Oliver, “Because of climate change or overuse by humans or land use change how all these things are affected by humans can potentially also affect animals, so understanding how those two things work together I think is both scientifically relevant and also socially relevant.”
Furthermore, dairy scientist, Jacquelyn Prestegaard, notes the importance of sustainability in the farming industry when she states, “In order to be sustainable in a dairy operation, you need to be using the least amount of resources possible but still getting the product we need while also maintaining animal health.”
It is clear through the interview transcripts that researchers don’t consider society in terms of only how to best showcase their work. Benefiting society is the driving force that keeps researchers doing what they love. Something that cannot be conveyed through transcripts is an excited expression and a broad smile on the face of a researcher when they talk about what effect they want their work to have on society. Graduate researchers at Virginia Tech want to bring people better water, save a species, increase farming sustainability, lessen traffic and, as Yucheng Fu states, “change the world.”
By Savannah Leeah
Works Cited
Holland, Earle. “Universities.” A field guide for science writers, 2nd ed., edited by Deborah Blum, Mary Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig, Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 267-272.
Mogull, Scott A. Scientific and Medical Communication: A Guide for Effective Practice. Routledge, 2018.
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