Amy Maxmen’s Post

One rewarding, although controversial, aspect of being a #researcher is the discourse about the peer-review process. While my post today isn't to argue in favor or against peer review, I am glad to be invited to serve science as a Review Editor for one the world's leading open-access journals, Frontiers. Even though I review for prestigious journals, including JAMA and PLOS, being on an editorial board is a privilege I do not take lightly. Here is to doing more work behind the scene to advance the timely dissemination of evidence-based information to promote and protect population health. Chat me up if you feel you have a project that falls within my review section in the image 👇 #publichealth #populationhealth #lifecourse #sciencecommunication #scientificwriting #academicwriting

The importance of tailoring your scientific messaging to the desired audience can’t be overstated! Overconfidence bias happens when people overestimate how much they know about or understand a topic, and that poses a frequent challenge in #scicomms.   A recent study of 90,000 science questionnaires over 30 years found that those with an intermediate level of scientific knowledge had the highest levels of overconfidence and the most negative attitudes toward science.   This made me think about how it’s as much of an art as a science to craft evidence-supported messages that are clear and easily understood without sounding like “talking down.”   When writing for the public, I tend to write how I speak to convey enthusiasm and interest. Network: what are your biggest challenges and strategies for writing for lay audiences, if you care to share?   https://lnkd.in/giYtYpfw +++   👋 I’m Chris, a passionate medical writer, strategist, and founder of Quill Science LLC, dedicated to bridging the gap between science and its impact with accurate and compelling narratives.   🌐 For a scientific partner led by curiosity and desire to improve health, please check out my website and profile: www.christopherpratt.com

To my knowledge, this is the second instance of mass resignation of editors from commercial publishers (and thank you to the beautiful bird that brought this to my attention) - so I suspect an irreversible trend is about to follow, which would be fabulous. The motivation at Scholar Freedom is to tear down the essential monopoly that commercial publishers have, so that researchers can publish in a variety of non-exploitative outlets and truly have choice about the home they would like for their different pieces of work, so if a new marketplace filled with options emerges, this to us would be success. Good change afoot, I'd say! FYI, this is what we say about editors on our site. As you can see, it is more than a protest against the commodification of knowledge for the benefit of commercial publishers' shareholders - it is also about whose truth is let in at all: "EVEN EDITORS DIFFER Everybody knows that the industry is imploding, but a high degree of fear on account of how much money sits at the table means that good editors struggle to speak up against the gamification and inequities they observe. They've also worked hard to reach a prestigious position that honours their contribution to academia, exacerbating their self-silencing. Other editors defend the status quo as sufficiently fit for purpose with some room for improvement because it has served them well, making it hard for them to see just how harmful a pyramidal structure is to academic freedom." Link: https://lnkd.in/gk6ErhvU

You can influence policy-makers through your research. Discover how to cultivate contacts, translate your research into a digestible format, gather evidence of impact - and make lasting changes to peoples lives. #latrobeuni #researchimpact

For those interested in #sciencecommunication, here is a BRILLIANT new paper on using social media to engage citizen scientists. I find this topic very important because I believe public participation is a superpower that is yet to be fully realised and utilized for sustainable development.

Given the inequities in scientific publishing, here is a list of 10 things editors and journals can do to be better allies 1. Diversify editorial boards at all levels (Editors-in-Chief, Section Editors, and Academic Editors) 2. Tackle the paywall problem for low- and middle-income countries and ensure open access to all research 3. Address the article processing charge (APC) barrier for low- and middle-income countries 4. Check if we are platforming the same Global North voices and commit to genuine diversity of authors 5. Intentionally seek out and commission articles from Black, Indigenous, and People of color (BIPOC) experts, especially people from the Global South, Indigenous scholars, and individuals/activists with lived experience 6. Explicitly discourage parachute research 7. Support authorship models that are more inclusive, equitable, and self-reflexive 8. Address barriers to access related to language and publication criteria 9. Shift power to regional/country colleagues; support Global South journals, conferences, and initiatives. 10. Publish brave content that challenges status quo in global health! Read our PLOS GPH paper on this! https://lnkd.in/eVy4pu7v

 "Institutional policies should adopt an inquisitive mindset and encourage the burning desires of researchers and practitioners to help humanity by removing bottlenecks in conducting and communicating research." #research #help #mindset  #researchers #researchanddevelopment #researchimpact #publichealth #publications

Happy to share that I have joined the Journal of Business Research as an Associate Editor in the Consumer Behavior & Wellbeing track! Many thanks to the Editors, and in particular to Dipayan Biswas, for the kind invitation. I look forward to working with authors and reviewers and reading interesting and cutting-edge manuscripts in our field! #jbr #consumerbehavior #wellbeing #business #research

Just published in the NIHR journals library: Hock E, Blank L, Fairbrother H, Clowes M, Castelblanco Cuevas D, Booth A & Goyder E. Exploring the impact of housing insecurity on the health and well-being of children and young people: a systematic review. Public Health Res 2023;11(13)