So you did some research. Now what? (Please think about this before you do some research)
Knowledge mobilization is the process of getting your research outputs into the hands of people who need it. Usually when we’re talking about research, the assumed output is a journal article, and the mobilization is to have that article published in a journal. This is certainly an important type of knowledge mobilization, since it makes the results accessible to others working in the field in a way they can formally build upon and expand.
A published journal article it isn’t the only way to disseminate research results, and in many fields it may be significantly less important than other options. If your research is about the positive health effects of a certain type of exercise, that could be useful for exercise researchers to know about, but it would also be useful for general practitioners who counsel people about their daily exercise habits, and for people in general who would benefit from doing this exercise. Research on the economic impacts of bicycle infrastructure on small businesses is important to economists, but even more important to city infrastructure planners and small business owners. While it is possible that people outside of your field may somehow find your scholarly journal article, they’re more likely to encounter it in less academic contexts. Similarly, articles aimed at a scholarly audience may use field-specific jargon that those outside the field may find inaccessible. A reasonable first step when developing a knowledge mobilization plan is to make a list of these different audiences. Who might benefit from knowing about your research?
Depending on the nature of your research and the different audiences for your results, you may need to employ a wide variety of approaches to disseminate your findings effectively. Which approaches will have the broadest reach for your desired audiences? For example:
- Scholarly journal article
- Blog post
- Newsletter
- Appearances on TV and podcasts
- Billboards
- Presentation at the library
- Presentation at an academic or industry conference
- Books
- Social media
The effectiveness of each channel will depend on the desired audience, but also on the message. In addition to explaining your research findings in an accessible way, you also need to explain why your audience should care and how it will impact them personally and/or professionally. How will your results change the world? How do you need to influence the thoughts and actions of your audience to achieve that change?
Knowledge mobilization should be a consideration from the beginning of your research project, and be included in your proposal. We all have finite resources, and much of them may be spent on conducting the research itself. By planning for knowledge mobilization, it can be included in project budgets. How will you balance your limited resources between conducting the research and getting the results out into the world?
There’s no doubt that publishing academic journal articles can have a significant influence on the evolution of one’s field, not to mention one’s career. But a broader consideration for who and how your research can impact in the broader world is worth thinking about throughout your research project.