Research Curation: Making a Difference

With a SSHRC grant Drs. Dale, Hodson, Leighton, and Bernard explored how to improve the transfer of research outcomes to the general public(s), especially in the area of biodiversity conservation.

Never have civil conversations, social learning and civic literacy about the meaning of community (Etzionni, 2000) been more important than in the ‘post-truth society’. This concept emerged following the recent American election and the results of the Brexit referendum in Britain. Both of these events can be characterized by polarized debate by leaders, deliberate misinformation and distortion of the ‘facts’ and lack of civic literacy on the part of the general publics. In addition, there was a failure of the research community and other civil society leaders to contribute to changing the polarized debates among many sectors into dialogue. As well, the recent American election heavily involved the use of social media and there are now serious discussions over the role of social media providers to ‘police’ the misinformation that occurs online.

This proposed research will explore how to improve more timely transfer of research outcomes and information more widely to the general public(s). In particular, it will examine how traditional curatorial practice, established in museums, can be integrated into a research process (an online case study) to enhance research dissemination and civic literacy on a critical social issue, biodiversity conservation. The 2016 Living Planet Report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reveals some alarming facts about global biodiversity loss. According to scientific data compiled by researchers from the WWF and the Zoological Society of London, 67% of wild animals will disappear by 2020 (Living Planet Report, 2016). The report also suggests that hunting, pollution, and the destruction of wild habitats are to blame (Ibid, 2016). Clearly, we can’t have our cake and eat it too, as human populations continue to grow and take more and more space. This specific issue was chosen because it typifies modern messy, wicked problems (references) that are characterized by incomplete information, uncertain science, coupled human and ecological systems (Norgaard, 1994) and require unprecedented action by both individuals and societally. It is also critical given the lack of literacy and consensus in Canada around the drivers and barriers we are facing in its resolution—it is beyond any one sector, any one discipline, any one government to solve (Dale, 2001).

For the purposes of this research, it is important to understand two ideas central to the production and distribution of information: research curation and its application to social media channels. Research curation, following from the practice of curation in museums and other cultural institutions (references) is conceived as a method to mobilize research quickly to broad audiences via dynamic online platforms. Research curation is a critical step towards knowledge mobilization as it establishes context and offers additional meaning to research outcomes. It does so by adopting elements of contemporary curatorial practice into the dissemination process. These elements include interpretation, visual storytelling and educational communications designed to enhance civic literacy. It also considers what connects users to knowledge by establishing multiple points of entry. Research is curated across social media platforms (Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube), illustrated through data visualizations and videos, and reflected on in blog posts. This research curation practice dynamically shifts between different forms of media while maintaining close connectivity across multiple channels. It also helps mobilize research as it is being produced on the ground, thereby shortening the time lag of the take-up of knowledge. Ultimately, our objective is for this new practice to disseminate research outcomes among diverse Canadians, enhance civic literacy around critical social issues, foster deeper connections to knowledge and bridge existing polarized debate leading to greater social learning.

References
Dale, A. (2001). At the edge: Sustainable development for the 21st century. UBC Press.
Dale & Robinson, 1997
Etzionni, E. (2000). Creating good communities and good societies. Contemporary Sociology, 29(1), 188-195. https://doi.org/10.2307/2654943
Living Planet Report, 2016
Norgaard, 1994