Communicating research and scholarly endeavors to a general audience in an accessible, informative and even entertaining way is a valuable skill that every doctoral student should possess. Fortunately, Boise State’s partnership with The Conversation provides faculty and graduate students pursuing a terminal degree an outlet for sharing research – and reaching a vast and curious global audience in the process.
The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics and edited by journalists for the general public. Their articles (usually between 800-1000 words) are published under a Creative Commons license, making it possible for research to spread to countless diverse publications across the world.
Boise State doctoral students now can receive one-on-one assistance pitching their story ideas. Research communications specialist Brianne Phillips is hosting individualized workshops to help doctoral students craft their pitch to be as competitive as possible. Through the workshops, Phillips will address questions like:
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How is pitching my research to The Conversation different than pitching to a scholarly journal?
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How can I make complicated research accessible?
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How do I submit the pitch?
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How can I give my research pitch the competitive edge?
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What kinds of articles is The Conversation looking for?
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I’ve had articles rejected before – what am I doing wrong?
To schedule a one-hour personalized workshop, please email briannephillips@boisestate.edu with the following information:
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Three possible times and dates for the workshop
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A brief synopsis of the article(s) you’d like to write (no more than 50 words each)
To date, 24 Boise State faculty have published 45 articles with The Conversation, and in total have reached more than 1.3 million readers. From articles like Jessica Pollock’s article for children “Curious Kids: Why don’t hummingbirds get fat or sick from drinking sugary nectar?” to Cynthia Curl’s “Organic food health benefits have been hard to assess, but that could change” , to Steven Feldstein’s “How artificial intelligence systems could threaten democracy”, The Conversation provides an unparalleled opportunity to share Boise State research with the world.
For a complete list of Boise State contributions, see The Conversation: Boise State
– Brianne Phillips