raising your research profile: a personal account
DESCRIPTION
Monday 15th September Professor Mark Griffiths [email protected]TRANSCRIPT
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RAISING YOUR RESEARCH PROFILE: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT
Dr Mark Griffiths
Professor of Gambling Studies International Gaming Research Unit
Psychology Division, Nottingham Trent University
United Kingdom
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THE WORLD OF ACA-MEDIA
Media performs a useful service for academics. It can:
Stimulate research in to cut t ing edge topics
Provide publicity for the academic, the r e s e a r c h , t h e discipl ine and the academic's institution
Provide immediate rewards
Help feed back into academic process
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THE MEDIA CAN STIMULATE RESEARCH INTO CUTTING EDGE TOPICS
Content of newspapers and broadcast media provides a use fu l i nd i cant o f human behaviour
Media stories indicate what people actually do, and what editors believe people will find of interest
Many of my research areas were begun from ideas generated by the media (National Lottery, scratchcard gambling, internet add i c t i on , va r i ous on l i ne behaviours, psychology of fame)
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…HAS LED TO A SIDELINE JOURNALISTIC CAREER!
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MY TOP TIP FOR RAISING RESEARCH PROFILE – BE OPPORTUNISTIC!
• Here are two real examples:
– Press conference that went wrong
– A letter to a national newspaper
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THE MEDIA CAN PROVIDE PUBLICITY FOR THE ACADEMIC, THE RESEARCH, THE DISCIPLINE
AND THE ACADEMIC'S INSTITUTION
Many academics say it is not an academic's job to generate publicity
However, all universities have Press and Public Relations Office
Publicity can help an individual and/or their institution in a number of ways
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Participants for research studies
Gets your research known to potential funders Reputation and self-standing
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MEDIA EXPOSURE GENERATES ‘ADVERTISING VALUE’ FOR NTU
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REPUTATION AND SELF STANDING
Being a media commentator in a particular research specialism raises one's own self-standing in that particular research area
Once you are on people's lists they will come back to you again and again - particularly if you were good
Invites from other places (e.g. conference/seminar speaker invitations) increase
More articles published than by not having a high media profile
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MEDIA PROVIDES IMMEDIATE REWARDS
Waiting a year for a paper to be published is not my idea of a quick reward!
In the media the reinforcers can come thick and fast
If you publish something in a newspaper or a magazine, it can be out within days/hours
If you record something for the radio or television, again the result is often quite quick - and if it is live it goes out there and then
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INTERACTION WITH THE MEDIA CAN HELP FEED BACK INTO THE ACADEMIC PROCESS
Things from media that fed back into academia:
Changed perception of how the media works/operates
Self- presentation skills High productivity (fast and
furious/every second counts) Facilitation, comprehension
a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f information giving
Communicating with people Patience Genuine teamwork
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HOW TO GET (AND INCREASE) MEDIA COVERAGE
– Engage in profile raising activities in the media (e.g. writing letters to newspapers)
– Cap i t a l i ze on ‘ a c c i den ta l ’ coverage
– Research into populist areas!
– Put out a press release/media release
– Tie your research to known events (e.g., World Cup)
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RESEARCH TIE-INS
NTU World Cup Blog Site
18 blogs over a six-week period Two TV interviews (Sky News, EM Today) Four local radio interviews Quoted in article in Daily Telegraph Quoted in article in Yorkshire Post Quoted in article in BBC News Online Editorial in Nottingham Post 7 articles in local newspapers 3 online news sites (AOL Sports,
Orange, Virgin Media) Numerous mentions on other blog
sites
THE BENEFITS OF BLOGGING
• Raised national/international profile
• Increased media opportunities
• Blogs reprinted in other magazines and publications
• Additional teaching resource for students
• Blogs as forerunners for papers and articles
• Dissemination of preliminary results and new ideas
• Participant recruitment for research
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‘THE CONVERSATION’ BLOG SITE
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BENEFITS OF RE-BLOGGING
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THINGS GOING WRONG CAN LEAD TO FURTHER COVERAGE
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AND FINALLY…OTHER THINGS I DO! Magazine columns in
relevant trade press Proactive and reactive
journalism Articles in specialist
outlets Using same research
for multiple populist articles
Use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. to promote my research
PR junkets
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TO SUM UP…
Promoting your work via the media and social media c a n h e l p r a i s e y o u r research profile
There are (potentially) many benefits
Relatively small outlay of ‘front ending’ can lead to a much bigger return down the line for both you and the university