bringing nonprofit research into focus.
How to Make Your Research Usable Online
Making the most of your publications through smart content
creation and use.
Presented as part of IssueLab's Fall 2009 Webinar Series
IssueLab works at the forefront of knowledge mobilization in the
nonprofit sector.Besides archiving work and facilitating access to
it, we also provide advocacy, education and services to help
organizations make their research more usable online.
This webinar will_Give brief overview of shift in information
needs_Share thoughts on usability, what it means in online
context_Follow evolution of what already happens online_Take a
closer look at tools at disposal and tips for using them_Cover case
story for smart content creation & use
Shift in how audiences expect to receive information
Push, not pull
Peer information sharing
Free, accessible, easily digestible
=
shift in how we package information.
Distributed information networks
Social media accessibility
Smart content creation
Why change?
want!
give!
Why do we need to worry about making our social and policy work
usable?A shift in how people want info, means shift in how we give
it.
On the receiving end, this means:Folks expect research in
familiar environments
Audiences share info amongst themselves
Want easy access to info they can understand
For us nonprofits and knowledge creators, it means:Allowing
research transfer into different networks
Providing access to findings within social mediaThese two items
are associated with relinquishing a bit of control.
Creating content from research that's easily shared
What no longer works:
We post our research on our website.
I wrote a great abstract/summary!
We always have a press release.
We send an email blast about new publications to our listserv of
10,000 addresses.
Traditionally, dissemination has heavily focused on pushing
information & Public Relations/press.
Typical action items no longer work...
Some thoughts on usability
In an online context, usable research is:
Short & digestible (facts, conclusions, recommendations)
Easily accessible (broad dissemination with direct path)
Visually attractive (graphs, maps, images, tables)
Shareable (copyrights, social media)
...because in an online environment, usability takes on a new
meaning.
Usable research means:_ catering to short attention span and
info overload
_ your audience can actually find it
_ getting attention & speaking to viewer
_ shareability, which can be accomplished in different ways
What might already happen online
International Food Policy Research Institute publishes a
report
Reuters writes a story about the report
Action Against Hunger re-posts the story
The Food Section picks up and bookmarks the story
The bookmark is seen and recommended by others
An individual reads and condenses the story
By making our research usable, we're actually trying to enable
dissemination.
Here is an evolution of what already happens online, by example
of a research report released by the IFPRI.
_ all these action points happen because an organization or
individual is interested in the research they find a way to share
it.
International Food Policy Research Institute publishes a
report
Reuters writes a story about the report
Action Against Hunger re-posts the story
The Food Section picks up and bookmarks the story
The bookmark is seen and recommended by others
An individual reads and condenses the story
What might already happen online
But: 1) Everybody reads the Reuters story (which doesn't link to
the research report)2) Most nonprofits can't get this kind of press
coverage
Good News:You can make your research usable to enable and
encourage direct dissemination
This is great coverage, from traditional perspective. This
organization was able to get great press and reach a wide
audience.
But, the audience really only reads what a journalist has
written about your research, not the research itself.
This kind of coverage still important, but as research
producers, there is so much more we can do.
The Good news is that nonprofits can start right now to make
their research more usable to enable and encourage direct
dissemination by audiences, without having to wait for a big break
or press coverage.
Give your audience the it needs to talk about your research.
Usable research = enabling dissemination
Nonprofit publishes a report.
(TOOLS )
An individual reads and condenses, comments on, interprets,
downloads, uses, cites, recommends, bookmarks, or shares the
report.
Start by giving your audience the tools it needs to talk about
the research.
So when nonprofit publishes a report, we do as much as we can to
help a person interact with the report.
Usable research = enabling dissemination
Blog
RSS
Bookmarking
Social Platforms
Sharing
Open Licensing
Contextualizing
IssueLab
Nonprofit publishes a report.
An individual reads and condenses, comments on, interprets,
downloads, uses, cites, recommends, bookmarks, or shares the
report.
These are some of the most common tools we see used in online
dissemination today.
Examples & tips:
Ask supporters to discuss findings
Introduce research to online groups
Example: National Policy Institute posts research on facebook
(graphics, title, summary)
Social Platforms
Pick quotes and facts to tweet repeatedly
Include suggested tweet in press release
Example: Institute for Policy Studies tweets release of new
research report (including hashtag)
Remember: Social platforms also include online networks (ning,
LinkedIn, Google Groups, local networks) where people gather around
particular topics.
For those of you on Twitter (or interested in engaging):_ people
like to RT statistics_ encourage jump from press release to social
media_ Ex: look for relevant hashtags (indicator for convo around
particular topic)
On facebook:_ it's easy for folks to express support/opinions_
look for groups relevant to your research_ Ex: post research on fan
page
Examples & tips:
Create separate listing pages (not just links to pdf
reports)
Insert sharing widgets on website and blog
Example: Committee for Economic development library listing page
-
Sharing
powered by IssueLab
Blog
Short posts, explore specific niches
Contact bloggers with relevant data
Guest posts
Example: NeighborWorks shares its outcome system through a
related Idealware blog post
There are fairly simple widgets that encourage sharing. This
works best if your report has a separate web page.
Blogs are great vehicles for information whether you write one
yourself or are a source for others_ delve deeper into background
or details_ find others who already write about your issue_ as
expert on the topic, compose short guest posts to offer others
Examples & tips:
Set up publications RSS feed
Separate feeds for research areas
Allow users to subscribe via email
Central repository, multidisciplinary
Archiving & knowledge mobilization
Example: Research about a chemical spill reaches an affected
resident through IssueLab's Environmental Justice CloseUp
IssueLab
RSS
Consider using Creative Commons
Open licenses encourage re-use with some rights reserved
Open Licensing
Considering open licensing for your research is a dimension that
can really add to mobilizing your knowledge.
Feeds are helpful to audience and an easy, time-saving tool for
organizations.
Consider adding your research to IssueLab.
Case Study
Report: Bay Area Burden
Organization: Urban Land InstitutePublication Date: November
2009Collaborating Organizations:Center for Housing PolicyCenter for
Neighborhood Technology
Website: www.bayareaburden.org
Finally, I'm going to share a case study of outreach around a
report by ULI which was just released this month.
ULI created a great new website to accompany the report, which
is wonderful but not necessaryif you don't have the resources most
of following activities can be achieved separately.
Case Study
Provides Context:
Explanations of terms & concepts
Cost Calculator
Further Resources and References
First report is contextualized for user:_ explains efficient
housing developments and what this means_cost calculator_ external
resource links and other like-minded organizations
Case Study
Encourages Interaction:
Sharing, bookmarking
Connecting on other platforms
Community input and expert opinion
Press, updates
Second, this setup encourages the reader to take part by:_
passing the research along to peers_ finding the ULI in other
online environments_ reading quotes from officials and experts, and
submitting comments themselves_ staying connected
Case Study
Strong dissemination:
Highly visible on social networks
Promoted by partners and constituents
Easily passed on
ULI and collaborating organizations had a strong online
dissemination plan. (This is how I found out about the
report)_online push to get the research to interested
folks_listening to the conversation and taking part (retweet)
Case Study
Report Page:
Digestible summary
Separate document for key findings
Report access, download
Easy sharing
Finally, the actual report page is set up in a very
user-friendly way._ it helps readers to get short abstract or
bullets of findings or recommendations_ separate documents for key
findings (important for journalists and audiences on
deadline)_report access, bookmarking and sharing
Further Resources
ResearchImpact Canada's Knowledge Mobilization Network
www.researchimpact.ca
Sharing on Facebook Creating content that's easy to share
http://www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets/share.php
Transcript How to Share Nonprofit Research With a Wide Audience
http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/10/nonprofit_research/
Beth's Blog A Social Media Strategy for Scientific Research or
Policy
Impacthttp://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/10/scientific-research.html
SubDomain IssueLab's platform for effective digital libraries
http://www.issuelab.org/services/subdomains_nonprofits
List of helpful links for some of the topics in this
presentation.
Get in touch!
[email protected]
Twitter: @issuelab or @luisemarie (that's me!)Facebook:
www.facebook.com/issuelabBlog:
http://issuelabfootnotes.blogspot.com/
Credits: The sweet social media icons are courtesy of
www.komodomedia.comThis presentation is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
License.
bringing nonprofit research into focus.
IssueLab How to Make Your Research Usable Online
www.issuelab.org
