Are you interested in bringing your sociological expertise to a public audience and policymakers? Following are some resources to support these important efforts.
Be an ASA Media Resource
ASA maintains a database with information about sociologists who are interested in communicating with the media. We use this when reporters request interviews with experts for their stories and to proactively offer names of experts on timely topics to journalists. If you are interested in serving as a media resource, join the database (requires login as an ASA member). For additional information, contact the Communications Department at [email protected] or (202) 247-9873.
Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op-ed
Did you recently read an article to which you have a response based on your sociological expertise? Consider writing a letter to the editor. Make one clear argument criticizing or supporting the points in the article. Cite the article in your letter and stick to the word count limit indicated in the publication’s instructions.
Do you have a sociologically-based opinion about a current policy issue? Consider writing an op-ed. You can find detailed tips on writing and submitting op-eds here. If you have questions, send an email to [email protected].
Do a Media Interview
Has a member of the media reached out to you for an interview? Watch this 5-part ASA video on how to work with the media, messaging, audience, and rules of media (member log-in required). You will find information on ways to share your research with the media and learn strategies to effectively communicate your work and ideas to non-academic audiences through the media.
And watch this webinar to understand how to promote your research to the public more generally, including writing op-eds, dealing with journalists’ inquiries, using social media wisely, and writing for the public more generally (member log-in required).
Use Social Media
Interested in building your professional social media presence? Use the resources in this Promoting Sociological Research Toolkit (PDF) developed by the ASA Task Force on Social Media. It offers information on publicly engaged sociologists, best practices and practical advice for using social media, and dealing with public attacks.
The JustPublics@365 Social Media Toolkit: A Social Media Guide for Academics offers tips on using social media to make research and scholarship accessible, including data visualization tools.
You can also access these handy tips from SAGE Publishing on ways to use social media tools to help promote your article. Click here for other useful tips from SAGE.
Work with your Public Information Office
Each college and university has its own Public Information Office (PIO), sometimes called the Press Office, Media Relations Office, or Communications Office, which serves as a bridge between researchers and reporters. Public Information Officers identify newsworthy research done by people in the college or university community and write and distribute press releases and media advisories on this research. They also respond to inquiries from journalists and connect reporters with subject matter experts and provide communications training and resources to scholars at the college or university. Set up a meeting with your PIO today.
Let ASA Know About Your Media Coverage
Have you been quoted in a recent news article? Were you recently interviewed on TV about your scholarship? Did a newspaper recently publish your letter to the editor or op-ed? Send your media coverage to [email protected] so that we can highlight it for ASA members.
Communicate with Policymakers
Are you interested in bringing your scholarly expertise to policy discussions? ASA has an active policy advocacy agenda that is developed and implemented in part through our memberships in organizations such as the Consortium of Social Science Associations and the National Humanities Alliance. These organizations offer a variety of resources to help ASA members develop capacity for individual and collective action. Review their websites for information on working with your on-campus government relations staff office, contacting your Members of Congress, scheduling and planning for meetings with your Members of Congress, participating in policy-related webinars, attending policy-oriented conferences, participating in annual advocacy days in Washington, DC, and more.
Evaluating Public Communication for T&P
Increasingly, sociologists are using multiple forms of communication to engage broader audiences with their research and contribute to solutions for the pressing problems of our time. Researchers have interacted with technologies, including social media, in a variety of ways, and have heard calls from universities to show evidence of public engagement. These changes cut across teaching, service, and research, but particularly affect the latter. Increasingly, researchers can move their work beyond journals and libraries into the public realm, where they can contribute to public conversations as well as disciplinary ones. How might tenure and promotion committees consider researchers’ involvement in public communication and social media?
Read the ASA report: “What Counts? Evaluating Public Communication in Tenure and Promotion.”
