00:00: This final unit is about improving the impact of your research. Research impact can be categorised into two types. We have social impact and scientific impact. Social impact pertains to the relevance and the effect of your work on people’s lives, as well as the value it brings to community. Whenever we are stating our rationale, we always say that this my research is going to contribute and improve life.
00:36: So, it’s worth noting that some funders are also increasingly prioritising social impact, and are looking for researchers to demonstrate their societal impact in their proposals. The concept of scientific impact primarily involves academic effects, such as enhancing visibility and your reputation within the academic community, as well as increasing metrics like the H-index, among others.
01:06: Additionally, it is important to strive for social impact. It is important to note that the two types of impact are not mutually exclusive, and it is advisable to pursue both. Here are some few guides on how to increase your societal impact. When it comes to research and we do our needs assessment and we go into communities, there is always a common question that community members ask us once we come to collect data.
01:39: What brings you here? Why are you carrying the tablet? Or why are you having this questionnaire? In Ghana, they will say, “are you bringing us money?” Because people are tired of us when we come to this community and we don’t produce any outcomes or they don’t see any changes in their lives as we keep coming and going all the time.
02:00: In response to some of these questions, you might say that you are here to do a study that examines the effect of climate change on mobility. The response you will get from them is that, “you are always seeking data from us, but we don’t see any tangible results afterwards.” This actually highlights the prevalent conversation in the global research community about why we must improve societal impact and engagement.
02:29: To address this, it’s essential to consider the benefits and strategies for engaging communities in a way that genuinely enhances the outcomes of our work. Engaging with communities provides diverse perspectives that can be invaluable to the research that we do. For instance, assuming a community needs A, B and C, but having a meeting with them, you are able to discover that they actually need Z. This allows us to better meet their needs.
03:02: In the realm of transdisciplinary research, these interactions are referred to as co-production and co-creation of knowledge, and it’s always important that you make time and you set time for these community engagements as part of your research. So, emphasising these collaborative opportunities when designing your research is crucial to be able to increase the impact of your research for policy adoption and also for community adoption.
03:35: Now, let’s move on to the academic impact of your research. Academic impact is about ensuring that your work reaches a wide audience. To enhance the impact of your work, always focus on increasing citation scores and your H-index. Always consider writing review papers. I know that we always want to write papers that are primary data, but writing review papers over time has been seen to increase citations.
04:07: So, papers that bring review information or position papers are highly cited, sometimes more than our research papers. After publishing your paper, it sits with the journal, but now we have social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, and Facebook that we can use to promote our work effectively.
04:32: When you get an alert that your paper has been published, share a brief message about its content on Facebook, on ResearchGate, and on Twitter. This can actually increase the visibility of your work among your followers. Additionally, you must create an ORCID ID and also create a Google Scholar account. This is very crucial for establishing a unique digital presence.
05:02: These two enable effective tracking of your work and help differentiate you from others who might have similar names. Because when you use these websites, you are able to have a unique identifier as a researcher, and all the work that you publish is associated with you. And I always ask my famous question, do you have your ResearchGate ID? Do you have your Google Scholar account?
05:29: If you are a researcher, even if you haven’t published anything, create these accounts, just to begin with. And once you start publishing, these will be used to promote your work and will also be used to collate the work that is coming from your lab. Remember that when it comes to publishing, rejection is normal, and we all face rejection of papers. So, stay resilient and continue to pursue your goals by publishing your work.