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Researchers’ public engagement and social media use (and abuse)

Date
May 21, 2021
Time
10:00 AM EDT - 12:00 PM EDT
Location
Zoom - online
Migration ResearchGyms
About the workshop:

Research in the social sciences is generally political and research on migration all the more so. Researchers today are not only encouraged but actually expected and required to disseminate their research findings among non-academic and non-expert audiences. Digital technologies provide for nearly endless opportunities for such engagement. Contributing blog commentary, followed by engagement with social media, is a particularly popular way of reaching out to a wider audience, presenting research findings and also making academic work known to colleagues and stakeholders.

In this workshop you will learn:

  • The ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ to blog writing and social media engagement
  • The nature of knowledge produced in migration research, and the ethical issues arising when disseminating research findings
  • How to write and publish an effective blog
  • How to share your blog (or other longer pieces of work) and engage the public through social media

How this workshop will be delivered:

The workshop combines lecture, group exercises and discussion. Participants will be given an opportunity to write their own blog, develop a social media strategy and draft social media posts appropriate for each platform.

10-10:35 AM – Presentations and Introduction

Why, when, what and how to make your research known among a wider audience:

  • What is a blog
  • Is all research good for blog writing
  • Where should you publish your blog to make the effort worth it
  • What are the features of a good blog
  • Ethical issues about converting your research into a blog
  • Five steps to writing a blog

10:35-11:30 AM – Group Exercise on Blog Writing

Participants will choose from one of the following topics:

  • International student migration under the pandemic crisis
  • Migrant farmworkers in Canada and in Europe and the global pandemic

A set of short readings will be provided before the Research Gym.  Participants need to become familiar with the work PRIOR to the Research Gym (otherwise there will not be enough time to read the material in the workshop).  Participants will be divided in teams of four and asked to draft a blog over the next 45 minutes.

Discussion

11:30 AM-12 PM – Social Media Engagement

  • Share your blog / engage with social media: your social media strategy: when, to whom, how. We shall select one of the blogs you have prepared and work together to create tweets, Facebook posts and list the social media where it could be shared. 
  • Wrap-up and evaluation of webinar
About the workshop leader:

Anna Triandafylidou is the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University, where she leads an internationally recognized program to explore the contemporary challenges of migration and integration. She began writing blogs five years ago and has engaged more actively in the blog and social media sphere in more recent years. She brings to this workshop her hands-on experience of translating research into blog posts.

 

All workshops are being offered free of charge. Our workshops are often oversubscribed and we maintain a waiting list. We ask that you please cancel your registration if you are no longer able to attend. We appreciate your understanding.