Michael Sovic - R For Communicating Science To Non-Scientists - SatRday Columbus 2020

R For Communicating Science To Non-Scientists
Michael Sovic
Session: Communication
SatRday Columbus 2020
Nov 14, 2020

Scientific and data literacies are arguably important characteristics of any citizenry, as they can underlie everything from personal lifestyle choices to the shaping of public policy. However, levels of such literacies vary with regards to conceptual knowledge and also the process by which scientific and quantitative understandings are constructed. Further, clearly communicating scientific information can be difficult even when the audience consists of domain experts, and so is especially challenging when the information is targeted to those outside scientific and data-driven communities. The importance of such literacy and effective communication has been apparent in issues ranging from vaccines to climate, but was highlighted again with the circulation of covid-19. Early in the pandemic, instances of miscommunications, misunderstandings, and misinformation led to several calls for expanded efforts by scientists to better engage with the public. As an attempt at one such effort, I began creating short videos that use scientific issues in the news as a springboard to talk about relevant data and concepts, and to also discuss the nature of scientific information and the process by which scientific understandings are built. In this talk, I’ll give examples of how R has provided me a valuable platform for creating visualizations to help communicate difficult concepts such as exponential growth, multiple testing effects, and reporting biases, to individuals outside of science.