QUT Higher Degree Research Student
DISSEMINATION PLAN
At an early point in candidature the higher degree research student and supervisor are encouraged to develop the first draft of the student’s dissemination plan. This is designed to articulate the research publication outcomes that will come from the thesis, and may be completed as the thesis progresses. The tool will help you consider the real work impact your original and significant contribution can make.
For those seeking an academic profiling of their work it provides the opportunity to address questions about which journals to target, the number of outcomes that realistically can be completed and to consider issues of co authorship and collaboration.
For those seeking real world impact through mainstream media and social networking tools the tool supports with advice on developing a strategy to reach key stakeholders and building on existing networks. This may assist in identification of participants or potential sponsors as well as dissemination of ideas to industry and community stakeholders to build your research profile with these key audiences.
The variety of forms publications can take include the more traditional research outcomes such as:
· Peer reviewed article in a journal
· Book
· Conference poster, abstract, presentation
· Grant abstract, review
As well as more industry or community focussed options such as:
· Seminars
· Discussions with external colleagues or industry partners
· Web postings, Blogs, Social Media
· Media articles and interviews
· Consulting reports
· Testing research outcomes in public
The following decision tree may assist you in ensuring your publications is consistent with QUT’s Code of Conduct and associated agreements related to your project:
1. Funding obligations:
a. Are there publication restrictions in your current funding agreement?
b. Are there stipulations related to your scholarship or research funding?
c. If so, ensure the content of your publication fits with this restrictions and stipulations – seek advice from your supervisor or faculty as required.
2. Intellectual Property Protection
a. Are the research outcomes of your project potentially commercialisable?
b. Do you have an existing IP Agreement with QUT in relation to your project?
c. If so seek advice on formal IP protection (see Student Protocol) or compliance with the IP Agreement before publishing or sending the manuscript for review or self-publishing any content.
3. Ethical Clearance
a. Before collection of any data discuss with your supervisory team, your faculty ethics advisor and refer to relevant policy and websites to ensure that you have ethical clearance, if required.
b. This may involve a new ethics application or a variation to an existing application prepared by members of your research team.
c. Any data collected without ethics clearance contravenes the QUT and National Ethical Guidelines and cannot be used in publications or your thesis.
4. Pre-collaboration Discussions
a. Are you planning on discussing your research with external parties (e.g. new collaborators?)
b. You should always first discuss this with your research team (i.e., supervisor, others working under the same research grant) to ensure there is concurrence of research direction and that the information can be openly shared with the new collaborator.
c. Once agreed, please ensure you have sought advice regarding the need for a formal agreement with any external parties as these may be required for pre-collaborative discussions.
5. Media Release
a. Has the data/research outcome been peer reviewed?
b. If not, in liaison with your supervisory team, determine if you need to declare this or delay releasing information until the review is undertaken.
6. Providing reports
a. Have you checked that key tools/data/information are protected for your future use (i.e., Are you aware of the copyright implications of publication)?
b. If you are not sure check with the publisher and/or seek written clarification or speak with QUT’s Copyright Officer.
7. Social Media
a. Be aware of QUT’s Social Media policy that stipulates
“The Director, Marketing and Communications must approve the creation of all social media accounts, including social networks, which are set up for the purpose of officially promoting or informing the community about QUT and its activities.”
A student may have undertaken 2 or more studies as part of their thesis. Various research questions can be drawn from each of the studies to insert into the table.
Once the various entries are inserted into this table it forms the focus of a conversation that can be had with all members of the research team who are involved in the thesis. Students are encouraged to prepare this table and then forward it to all members of the research team both internal and external. If some supervisory team members are not named in particular papers then a note can be attached to the table when it is circulated to explain why this is the case.
Preparing a dissemination plan can be very helpful in clarifying authorship, contribution, timelines and target journal/s. It also keeps the process quite transparent.
Work out what you believe should be your research outcomes when you graduate. How many publications or conference papers do you think you can realistically complete. Work through the dissemination plan on the next page to help consider co-authors, publications and topics for your research outputs. You may wish to fill out a dissemination plan for each publication.
Note: QUT policy provides guidelines around Authorship Policy and Management of research data policy .
ACADEMIC DISSEMINATION PLAN
Name:Proposed Articles
Proposed Conference Papers
Publication Details
Journal and Impact Factor / ·
Title of paper (tentative) / ·
Research questions from various studies undertaken / ·
Variables and statistical analysis / ·
Authors (in order to appear on paper) / ·
Date of preparation / ·
Date of intended publication / ·
Contribution
Co-author’s name / (eg, wrote the manuscript, experimental design, conducted experiments, and data analysis)
Co-author’s name / (eg, wrote the manuscript, experimental design, conducted experiments, and data analysis)
Co-author’s name / (eg, wrote the manuscript, experimental design, conducted experiments, and data analysis)
Sign Off (Name, Signature and Date)
Author One / ·
Author Two / ·
Author Three / ·
SOCIAL DISSEMINATION PLAN
Social media dissemination considerations
AudienceWho is/are your target audience/s? / ·
What social media tools are familiar to your audience/s, consider how regularly they access them and how easily/appropriately they could accommodate input from a researcher/ / ·
What types of messages do you want to share with your audience/s / ·
Which of the availability mediums would best facilitate you publishing and/or communicating your message with your audience/s (e.g., are you sending short tweets, seeking feedback, or are you hoping to share research outcomes as a resource for others). / ·
Outcomes
What are your anticipated outcomes from the use of social media? / ·
How important is this outcome to your research? / ·
How much time should and can you devote to your engagement with your audience using social media? / ·
How will you assess the success of the tool in meeting your outcome? / ·
Barriers and constraints
Assess potential barriers to your use of your preferred medium/s (e.g., is there a cost involved in accessing the medium or are there constraints on who can publish or when people can publish on a particular site?) / ·
What are your strategies for addressing or overcoming barriers? / ·
Sign off
Candidate / Date and Comment:
Principal Supervisor / Date and Comment:
Potential Mediums to consider:
1. Print publications
Local newspapers, professional newsletters, industry publications
2. Online social Networks
· ResearchGate www.researchgate.net/
· Facebook https://www.facebook.com/
· Blogs www.wordpress.com/
· Twitter https://twitter.com/?lang=en
3. Online Media Repositories
YouTube (www.youtube.com/) (TedTalks (www.ted.com/), PechaKucha (www.pechakucha.org/)
Reference for further advice:
Dickson, A. & Holley, R. (2010). Social networking in academic libraries: the possibilities and the concerns. New Library World, 111, 468-479. doi: 10.1108/03074801011094840.
Farkas, M. (2012). Participatory technologies, pedagogy 2.0 and information literacy. Library Hi-Tech, 30, 82-94. doi: 10.1108/07378831211213229
Gu, F. & Widen-Wulff, G. (2011). Scholarly communication and potential changes in the context of social media: a Finnish case study. The Electronic Library, 29, 762-776. doi: 10.1108/02640471111187999
McDonald, S. & McDonald, J. (2012). Reinventing information literacy at UTS Library. In P. Goodwin & J. Parker (Eds.), Information Literacy beyond Library 2.0, (pp.83-90). London: Facet Publishing.
Smith, D. (2008). A parallel universe? Blogs, wikis, Web 2.0 and a complicated future for scholarly communication. Serials, 21, 14-18. doi:10.1629/2114
Xiao, L. & Askin, N. (2012). Wikipedia for academic publishing: advantages and challenges. Online Information Review, 36, 359-373. doi: 10.1108/14684521211241396
QUT’s Social media skills for students: A learning and teaching guide for academics https://www.library.qut.edu.au/study/socialmedia/documents/GDL_SocialMedia_GuideForAcademics_20150902.pdf
QUT’s “Tracking Research Impact – Social Media and Research Impact” http://libguides.library.qut.edu.au/content.php?pid=83906&sid=3394245.
Research Utilization Support and Help (2001) Developing an Effective Dissemination Plan, January 2001 http://www.researchutilization.org/matrix/resources/dedp/
Appendix 1: Prompts to assist from Research Utilization Support and Health site http://www.researchutilization.org/matrix/resources/dedp/
Publication Details*Goals: Determine and document the goals of your dissemination effort for your proposed project. / ·
Objectives: Associate each goal with one or more objectives that clarifies what you are trying to accomplish through your dissemination activities. / ·
Users: Describe the scope and characteristics of the "potential users" that your dissemination activities are designed to reach for each of your objectives. / ·
Content: Identify, at least, the basic elements of the projected content you have to disseminate to each of the potential user groups identified. / ·
Source(s): Identify the primary source or sources that each potential user group is already tied into or most respects as an information source. Consider ways to partner with these sources in your dissemination efforts. / ·
Medium: Describe the medium or media through which the content of your message can best be best delivered to your potential users and describe the capabilities and resources that will be required of potential users to access the content for each medium to be used. / ·
Success: Describe how you will know if your dissemination activities have been successful. If data is to be gathered, describe how, when, and who will gather it. / ·
Access: Describe how you will promote access to your information and how you will archive information that may be requested at a later date. Consider that most people will use your project-related information when they perceive a need for it — not necessarily when you have completed your research project. / ·
Availability: Identify strategies for promoting awareness of the availability of your research-based information and the availability of alternate available formats. / ·
Barriers: Identify potential barriers that may interfere with the targeted users' access or utilization of your information and develop actions to reduce these barriers. / ·
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Current @ 1/10/2015 / CRICOS No. 00213J