{"id":6223,"date":"2022-07-08T12:34:41","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T19:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/center-health-equity-research\/?p=6223"},"modified":"2024-07-02T10:18:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:18:19","slug":"lisa-hardy-research-infrastructure-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/center-community-health-engaged-research\/blog\/lisa-hardy-research-infrastructure-core\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving research news beyond academia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Lisa
Lisa J. Hardy, Ph.D., has one of the Research Infrastructure Core pre-recorded workshops now available.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hardy\u2019s workshop shows researchers how to get their work published in mainstream media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever read a news story that you knew, as a researcher, contained inaccurate information? Or have you made an important discovery in your field that you wish would be available to the general public?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting your scientific work published in the mainstream media for everyone to learn from can be challenging as a researcher\u2014especially when you are accustomed to writing for experts in your field who know all of your acronyms and jargon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa J. Hardy<\/strong>, associate professor in Northern Arizona University\u2019s Department of Anthropology, created a workshop, \u201cMedia, Medicine and Your Research in the News,\u201d to equip her colleagues and fellow researchers with the tools, structure and confidence to get their research published for the general public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her workshop is now available to everyone for free on the RCC pre-recorded workshops <\/a>\u2014just in time to watch during summer break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving beyond peer-reviewed journals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hardy expanded her expertise in getting published outside of peer-reviewed journals by earning a Media and Medicine Certificate<\/a> at the Harvard School of Medicine last year. She was able to attend the program through funding from the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative\u2019s<\/a> Research Infrastructure Core (RIC), which has specific support dedicated to NAU faculty external training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I wanted to do was to bring back what I found to NAU and share the wisdom of the certificate program,\u201d Hardy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardy is the editor-in-chief of the journal, Practicing Anthropology, for The Society for Applied Anthropology. The publication recently devoted its spring 2022 issue to \u201cWriting as a Form of Practice\u201d\u2014a complementary read to accompany her RIC media workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardy\u2019s work has already been published in The Conversation<\/a>, Stat<\/a>, Vox<\/a> and other high-level media outlets. She has also recently finished writing a book, Community Engagement Through Collaborative Writing: Storytelling Together<\/a>,\u201d which will be released later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why write beyond research journals?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hardy said that some researchers want to move beyond publishing only in peer-reviewed journals for a variety of reasons such as an interest in justice work, a personal drive to write, a requirement to publish for career advancement, or a love for writing as a creative outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think rather than saying there are only two places\u2014journalism and scholarship\u2014we can find where those overlap and how we can contribute to those spaces,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that is very exciting and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardy also encourages researchers to explore ways that their work can be turned into creative non-fiction, podcasts, audio diaries, children\u2019s books, poetry, art, music, or a variety of other media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are so many ways to translate research into stories,\u201d Hardy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She recommends that researchers try op-ed, or guest essay writing as a way to discuss research discoveries with a wider audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an area where we can take gems of our research before we\u2019ve done the full two years of research and we can say, \u2018Oh there is something really cool here [before finding the results],\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice on writing for researchers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hardy said that to have a story published in the mainstream media, there are two things that editors look for\u2014the researcher\u2019s expertise and ability to write. She recommended that researchers first create a website that includes a blog and any personal writing clips researchers accumulate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She suggested that before researchers submit a pitch, or story idea, to an editor, they first go through the journal or outlet and scan for the voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet in the groove of who your audience is,\u201d Hardy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also encouraged researchers to review the publication\u2019s guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou definitely want to follow those instructions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To submit a pitch, Hardy recommended:<\/p>\n\n\n\n