Distill your research message
Use the following questions to distill your research message. You can do this in writing, but it’s also fun to do out loud.
WHO?
Expertise, credibility, identity, relationships
Who are you? Go beyond titles and roles to claim your expertise. What experience, identities, and values do you have that would make me want to trust you as you talk about your work? Consider experience in the field, previous related work, unique qualifications and perspectives.
Who is your community? Who do you work with? Who do you work for? Who does your research benefit?
WHERE?
Geographic and institutional context
Where are you from? Personal geographic background or origin
Where do you do your research? Institution, lab, field sites, geographic locations impacted by your work
Where is/will your research be applied? Geographic scope. Specific locations or contexts where results will be used.
WHEN?
Temporal elements
When do you work? Daily schedule, seasonal patterns, project timelines. How long have you been doing this? When will you finish?
What other "time elements" does your research have? Time scales you study – nanoseconds to eons, historical context or future projections. Temporal patterns in your data.
WHAT?
Research activities and summary
What do you do? Activities, day-to-day work description. What is a 1-minute or 1-sentence summary of your research?
HOW?
Methods and process
How do you answer your research questions? (Research methods, tools, techniques, or technologies.) Sometimes the details of your research methods – the very details that become mundane and tedious to you – are fascinating to others. And as you help others understand how the scientific process works, you build public trust in that process.
WHY?
Field
Why is your research important to your area of study? Gaps in current knowledge. Unanswered questions in your discipline. Contribution to academic discourse. Ground-breaking, innovative, creative, or novel approaches.
WHY?
Global and societal impact
Why is your research important to the world? Societal benefits. Real-world problems you're solving. Impact on policy, practice, or daily life. How it helps the person you're talking to right now. Broader implications for humanity and the future of life on Earth.
WHY?
Personal connection
Why is your research important to you personally? Interest or passion that drives you. Connection to the work beyond your professional obligation. What gets you out of bed in the morning? Personal story or unique motivation. How do your values align with your research?
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2412389. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.