Moving Beyond the h-index: Creating Societal Change Through Teaching & Research
Start Date
8-18-2020 12:00 AM
Description
Since the publication of Hirsch's index to quantify an individual's scientific research output, academia has been infatuated with citation statistics and has allowed the h-index to define the impact of one's research and career. Yet, the underlying intent of most research and teaching is to ultimately change the world, which is unmeasurable and consequently unattainable through academia. Thus, the only way for academics to truly create lasting change is through translating academic research for the public so that it can be incorporated into social movements, cultural changes, and law enactments. The most effective communication strategies require teachers and researchers to express ideas in ways that can be interpreted and applied by people of all colors, races, cultures, and backgrounds. This presentation discusses steps to take towards more impactful research communication and how to get started on meaningful community outreach and education.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Moving Beyond the h-index: Creating Societal Change Through Teaching & Research
Since the publication of Hirsch's index to quantify an individual's scientific research output, academia has been infatuated with citation statistics and has allowed the h-index to define the impact of one's research and career. Yet, the underlying intent of most research and teaching is to ultimately change the world, which is unmeasurable and consequently unattainable through academia. Thus, the only way for academics to truly create lasting change is through translating academic research for the public so that it can be incorporated into social movements, cultural changes, and law enactments. The most effective communication strategies require teachers and researchers to express ideas in ways that can be interpreted and applied by people of all colors, races, cultures, and backgrounds. This presentation discusses steps to take towards more impactful research communication and how to get started on meaningful community outreach and education.