How can you measure the effectiveness of your research dissemination channels?

1 What are research dissemination channels?

Research dissemination channels are the methods and platforms that you use to communicate your research to different stakeholders, such as peers, policymakers, practitioners, media, and the public. They can include academic journals, conferences, books, reports, blogs, podcasts, social media, newsletters, webinars, and more. Depending on your research goals and audience, you may use different channels or combinations of channels to maximize your reach and impact.

2 Why is measuring effectiveness important?

Measuring the effectiveness of your research dissemination channels is important for several reasons. First, it helps you to evaluate if your dissemination strategy is aligned with your research objectives and audience needs. Second, it helps you to identify what works and what doesn't work in terms of engagement, feedback, influence, and outcomes. Third, it helps you to justify your dissemination efforts and resources to your funders, collaborators, and institutions. Fourth, it helps you to improve your dissemination skills and practices over time.

3 What are some indicators of effectiveness?

When assessing the effectiveness of your research dissemination channels, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The indicators of success will depend on the purpose and audience of your research. However, some common indicators you can use include reach, engagement, feedback, influence, and outcomes. Reach measures how many people have accessed or viewed your research through a channel. Engagement looks at how many people have interacted with or responded to your research. Feedback assesses how many people have provided comments, questions, suggestions, or critiques on your research. Influence measures how many people have cited, referenced, or used your research in their own work or decision-making. Finally, outcomes evaluates how many people have changed their behavior, practice, policy, or knowledge as a result of your research.

4 How can you collect data on effectiveness?

To collect data on the effectiveness of your research dissemination channels, you can make use of a variety of methods and tools. Analytics such as Google Analytics, Altmetric, PlumX, and Kudos can be used to track the performance of your research online. Surveys from SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, or Google Forms can be used to gather feedback from your target audience. Interviews with key stakeholders or experts via Zoom, Skype, or phone can provide deeper insights into the impact of your research dissemination. Additionally, case studies using narrative, descriptive, or evaluative methods can be used to document and analyze specific examples of how your research dissemination has led to changes or improvements in a particular context or situation.

5 How can you improve your effectiveness?

To improve your communication strategy and skills, based on the data and insights collected on the effectiveness of your research dissemination channels, review and refine your goals and audience. Select and optimize the most appropriate channels for your research, create and adapt content to suit your channel, audience, and purpose, monitor and evaluate your performance regularly, and learn from successes and failures. Additionally, seek feedback from peers or experts, keep up with the latest trends, tools, and best practices in research dissemination.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?