Lay Summaries: Going Public With Your Research

Lay summaries offer researchers opportunities to increase the visibility and accessibility of their research and thus invite public dialogue. As a way to promote science communication, many open access journals, public policy institutes, and granting agencies require researchers to provide summaries of their studies for non-specialists. But how do scholars communicate specialized research to non-specialist audiences, and why?

This workshop introduces graduate and postdoctoral researchers to some of the ways in which lay summaries differ from scientific abstracts, the multiple purposes of lay summaries, and how lay summaries enhance science communication. Participants will write or revise a draft lay summary during dedicated writing time and receive feedback from the facilitator and peers. Therefore, this workshop is most useful for those with a research project underway.

Facilitator: Dr. Patty Kelly, Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication

Location: Online on Zoom. Registrants receive the Zoom link 1 day prior to the workshop.