| Unit name | Communicating Data |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BIOLM0040 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Steve Simpson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Biological Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
Data underpin almost all science, but can be complex, limited by inherent uncertainty, misunderstood and even deliberately misused. It is critical as an effective communicator that you feel confident exploring data and analyses, that you are able to communicate what we don’t know and why, and can spot when data are accidentally or deliberately being misreported.
This unit will give you the confidence to examine raw data sets and critically appraise analyses in the scientific literature and in the science and mainstream media, will provide you with opportunities to work with professional science communicators tasked with communicating complexity and uncertainty, and will include examinations of cases of misreporting of data, from the perspective of scientists, and also of journalists and politicians. You will explore ways to communicate data and call out its misuse, learning from professional journalists the skills to explain, entertain and engage audiences, building to the production of a podcast for your final assessment. During the unit, you will also develop creative toolsets that allow you to communicate complex data in engaging, stimulating and, sometimes even, beautiful ways.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This compulsory unit in Teaching Block 1 will give you a strong understanding of how to interpret and communicate data – core skills you will practice throughout the rest of the programme. Early in this unit you will explore how scientific research is translated from primary publications in scientific journals, through different lenses, to communication via social media, ultimately influencing policy and societal behaviour.
In groups, you will design your own social media campaigns, developing skills that you can employ in the summative assessment in the Global Change Biology unit. Using infographics and other creative methods of communicating data, you will develop deeper understanding of the challenges of communicating to audiences with different levels of scientific literacy, underlying interests in science, and scepticism for information. Building a profile of the target audience is a skill that is revisited throughout every unit in the programme, including in your final Science Communication Project.
An overview of content
This unit is divided into three blocks, addressing different challenges in communicating data:
Within the unit, across a range of workshops and group and individual tasks, you will be trained in how to discuss statistically complex information. Within the three blocks, you will be: 1. Trained to produce accurate and engaging data-driven social media threads based on controversial, groundbreaking and newly published science; 2. Trained by science communicators and graphic designers in how to develop infographics that convey complex data and communicate uncertainty; and 3. Trained by professional journalists in the production of public facing online content which examines cases of misuse of statistics (e.g. in parliament, advertising, industry) or cases of scientific fraud where data have been misrepresented.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
After this unit, you will feel confident to read, examine and understand data and analyses in the scientific literature. This is the primary source of information that should underpin your communications. You will draw on case studies to build understanding of how key findings can be communicated to different audiences to help deliver the impact of the research. You will learn how to produce social media threads to communicate complex science, including using creative infographics to convey complexity and uncertainty. Your secure and targeted skills to communicate data will underpin your work across the other five units, and your final project.
Learning Outcomes
In this unit, you will learn key skills that support your development as an effective communicator:
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
During the first challenge in the Communicating Data unit, you will be formatively assessed in the co-production of a social media thread that explains a controversial, groundbreaking or newly-published piece of science. You will explore in your group how social media threads are constructed, meet scientists that have used these to communicate complex and multi-layered studies, test your developing skills in producing infographics, produce your own thread targeting a defined audience, and test it on your peers (who will provide feedback) to assess its efficacy for capturing attention, imparting knowledge and motivating ongoing engagement with the research. This formative assessment provides training for the summative assessment in the Global Change Biology unit.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
During the final challenge of the Communicating Data unit, you will be summatively assessed through the production of a podcast where you will present your investigation into the misuse or misreporting of data. You can choose between cases of science fraud, misuse of data for false advertising or campaigning, or misunderstanding by science journalists, politicians or the public. You will be trained in how to plan, record, edit and produce your content, hearing from professionals on how they tackle challenging stories. You will receive written feedback from academic staff.
When assessment does not go to plan
The summative assessment is an individual assignment, so if you are unable to submit due to exceptional circumstances or pass at the first attempt, you may be allowed to work with a new topic and resubmit with an agreed revised deadline.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BIOLM0040).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
