Science communication skills for journalists
A free, self-paced online course to teach journalists how to report about science to the public
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Why this course?
This course builds the capacity of journalists to report on science. It uses short modules, exercises and examples, to teach journalists how to simplify science and interpret numbers for their readers.
What’s included?
- More than 20 short, user-friendly and interactive modules, divided into short, topical lectures. All of these modules are independent and can be taken individually.
- Practical tasks designed to help you apply media theory to your working practice
- Worksheets to support your learning where appropriate
- A certificate upon course completion
This course is brought to you as part of the Script project, which is made possible by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and implemented by SciDev.Net.
For any queries about the course please email [email protected]
Your Instructor
Dr. Charles Wendo
Scientist I Journalist I Science Journalist
Dr Charles Wendo is a science journalist, veterinary
doctor and media trainer. He holds a Master of Arts in Journalism and
Communication degree, a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication, and a
Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree, all from Makerere University, Uganda.
Course Curriculum
Introduction to the "Science communication for journalists" course
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The basics of research
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/10
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StartWhat is research? - 2/10
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StartHere is an example: - 3/10
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StartUses of research - 4/10 (0:25)
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StartTypes of research - 5/10
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StartBasic vs. applied research: - 6/10
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StartExperimental vs non-experimental research: - 7/10
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StartQualitative vs quantitative: - 8/10
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StartDescriptive vs correlational vs explanatory: - 9/10
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StartIn summary - 10/10
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to find the news in a research paper
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/8
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StartIntroduction - 2/8
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StartDifferences between scientific papers and journalists’ articles 3/8
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StartHow a scientific paper is structured - 4/8
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StartUnderstanding the title - 5/8
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StartThe gem at the bottom - 6/8
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StartWhat next? - 7/8
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StartIn summary - 8/8
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StartPost module assessment
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StartModule completed!
What makes a good science story?
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/11
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StartThink about this - 2/11
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Start2017 European Science Writer of the Year - 3/11
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StartA good science story is relatable - 4/11
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StartA good science story is clear and easy to understand - 5/11
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StartA good science story has information and views from multiple sources - 6/11
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StartEnterprise: A good science story goes beyond official information - 7/11
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StartA good science story gives people a deeper understanding of the issue - 8/11
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StartInterpretation of a science story - 9/11
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StartActivity - 10/11
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StartIn summary - 11/11
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to simplify scientific facts
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objective - 1/16
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StartLet’s begin with an exercise - 2/16
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StartWhy you need to write in simple language - 3/16
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StartSimple vs. simplistic - 4/16
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StartSo, how do you simplify the science? - 5/16
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StartEnsure you understand the information - 6/16
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StartAvoid or translate technical jargon (part 1) - 7/16
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StartAvoid or translate technical jargon (part 2) - 8/16
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StartExercise - 9/16
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StartMake meaningful comparisons - 10/16
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StartUse relevant examples - 11/16
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StartGood use of images and audio - 12/16
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StartKeep it lean - 13/16
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StartUse statistics sparingly - 14/16
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StartExercise - 15/16
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StartIn summary - 16/16
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to make the compelling pitch that an editor can’t resist
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning Objective - 1/12
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StartRecap: What makes news? - 2/12
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StartMaking your story compelling - 3/12
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StartHumanise the science - 4/12
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StartRide on trending topics - 5/12
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StartAddress people’s most pressing needs, problems and aspirations - 6/12
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StartGenerate amazing facts - 7/12
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StartPitching to an editor - 8/12
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StartPitching guidelines and templates (part 1) - 9/12
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StartPitching guidelines and templates (part 2) - 10/12
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StartExercise - 11/12
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StartIn summary - 12/12
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to find and work with a credible scientist
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/10
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StartIntroduction - 2/10
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StartWhy do you need a scientist anyway? - 3/10
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StartSo, who is a credible scientist? - 4/10
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StartAttribution - 5/10
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StartHow to find a credible scientist to use as a source - 6/10
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StartManaging contacts - 7/10
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StartHow to work with a scientist - part 1 - 8/10
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StartHow to work with a scientist - part 2 - 9/10
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StartSummary - 10/10
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to find a story from a scientific conference
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/12
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StartExercise - 2/12
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StartPlanning and creating a conference calendar - part 1 - 3/12
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StartPlanning and creating a conference calendar - part 2 - 4/12
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StartIn the conference room - 5/12
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StartFurther reporting - 6/12
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StartAt the exhibition - 7/12
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StartPoster sessions - 8/12
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StartWriting the story - 9/12
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StartResource materials - 10/12
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StartAfter the conference - 11/12
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StartSummary - 12/12
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Reporting on reports to get great stories
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/11
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StartExamples of cover pages of reports - 2/11 (0:45)
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StartIntroduction - 3/11
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StartStructure of reports - 4/11
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StartCover page - 5/11
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StartTable of contents - 6/11
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StartExecutive summary - 7/11
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StartMain body - 8/11
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StartAnnexes - 9/11
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StartBeyond the report - 10/11
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StartIn summary - 11/11
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Interviewing Scientists: Asking the right questions to get a great science story
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/7
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StartIntroduction - 2/7
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StartThe basics of interviewing - 3/7
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StartWhat’s different about interviewing scientists? - 4/7
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StartAsking about research findings - 5/7
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StartExercise - 6/7
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StartIn summary - 7/7
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to find the story in a statistical table
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/7
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StartLet’s begin with a story - 2/7
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StartDifferent ways we use statistics - 3/7
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StartUnderstanding tables - 4/7
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StartFinding the story - 5/7
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StartBuilding the story - 6/7
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StartIn summary - 7/7
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to simplify numbers and statistics
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/11
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StartUse as few numbers as possible per sentence - 2/11
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StartLimit the number of digits and decimal places - 3/11
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StartUse familiar fractions - 4/11
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StartUse infographics - 5/11
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StartMaking an infographic using Microsoft Powerpoint (part 1) - 6/11
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StartMaking an infographic using Microsoft Powerpoint (part 2) - 7/11
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StartMaking an infographic using Microsoft Powerpoint (part 3) - 8/11
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StartMaking an infographic using Microsoft Powerpoint (part 4) - 9/11
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StartMake meaningful comparisons - 10/11
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StartSummary: How to simplify statistics - 11/11
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Using academic search engines and research databases to find newsworthy research
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/11
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StartWarm-up - 2/11
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StartScenario: Affirmative action for female teachers - 3/11
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StartWhy you can’t just Google - 4/11
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StartSearch techniques - 5/11
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StartActivities - part 1 - 6/11
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StartActivities - part 2 - 7/11
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StartGoogle vs Google Scholar - 8/11
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StartGoogle Scholar vs research databases - 9/11
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StartSubscription vs free databases - 10/11
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StartIn Summary - 11/11
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
From clinical trials to confidence intervals: how to interpret research results
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/12
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StartIntroduction - 2/12
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StartUnderstanding the results - 3/12
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StartSampling - 4/12
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StartSampling error - 5/12
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Startp-value - 6/12
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StartSetting the level of significance - 7/12
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StartUnderstanding confidence intervals - 8/12
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StartMoving from the results section to headlines - part 1 - 9/12
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StartMoving from the results section to headlines - part 2 - 10/12
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StartOther risk areas to watch out for - 11/12
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StartSummary - 12/12
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to detect suspicious research findings and claims
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/12
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StartIntroduction - 2/12
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StartEpidemic of false claims - 3/12
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StartScientific fraud - 4/12
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StartDoubtful HIV vaccine claim - 5/12
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StartWhy does it matter? - 6/12
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StartWarning signals - 7/12
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StartWho funded the study? - 8/12
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StartPersonal gain - 9/12
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StartA few more warning signs - 10/12
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StartFour things you can do when you smell a rat - 11/12
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StartSummary - 12/12
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Structuring a science story
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/12
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StartWarm-up - 2/12
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StartWhat is the point? - 3/12
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StartInverted pyramid - 4/12
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StartInverted pyramid - Lede/lead/intro - 5/12
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StartInverted pyramid - Supporting information - 6/12
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StartInverted pyramid - Direct quote and additional information - 7/12
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StartWall Street Journal structure - 8/12
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StartWall Street Journal structure - Lede - 9/12
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StartWall Street Journal structure - Nut graf and main body - 10/12
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StartIn summary - 12/12
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StartWall Street Journal Structure - Conclusion - 11/12
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Telling human interest science stories
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/11
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StartIntroducing human interest science stories - 2/11
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StartWhat do you think? - part 1 - 3/11
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StartWhat do you think? - part 2 - 4/11
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StartDoes science journalism need human interest stories? - 5/11
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StartA human interest story is not a full life profile - 6/11
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StartWhose story do you tell? - 7/11
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StartIs it newsworthy? - 8/11
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StartTiming matters - 9/11
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StartSummary - 10/11
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed! - 11/11
Identifying and using the golden quote to colour a science story
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/7
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StartFeatures of a good quote - 2/7
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StartFind a direct quote - 3/7
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StartWhat if there is no catchy statement? - 4/7
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StartFrom technical jargon to golden quote - 5/7
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StartThe unsuitable quote - 6/7
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StartSummary - 7/7
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Investigative tools and techniques to give you a great science story
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/7
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StartInvestigative journalism defined - 2/7
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StartHow to identify what to investigate - 3/7
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StartHow to carry out an investigation - part 1 - 4/7
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StartHow to carry out an investigation - part 2 - 5/7
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StartWhat next after investigation? - 6/7
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StartIn summary - 7/7
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Data mining and visualisation
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/10
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StartDefinition of terms - 2/10
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StartData mining - 3/10
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StartWhere do science journalists source data from? - 4/10
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StartWhat next after data mining? - 5/10
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StartData visualisation - 6/10
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StartHow to select chart types - 7/10
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StartHow to create infographics - 8/10
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StartGolden tips in using data visualisation - 9/10
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StartIn summary - 10/10
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
Ethics of using research evidence
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/6
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StartPre-module warm-up - 2/6
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StartPrinciples of Journalism Ethics - 3/6
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StartKey ethical concerns in using research evidence - part 1 - 4/6
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StartKey ethical concerns in using research evidence - part 2 - 5/6
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StartIn Summary - 6/6
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to cover scientific controversies
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objectives - 1/13
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StartWhat is scientific controversy? - 2/13
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StartForms of controversy in science - 3/13
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StartPotential risks of controversies in science - 4/13
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StartCovering controversial issues - 5/13
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StartIs the story important? - 6/13
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StartDon’t magnify uncertainty - 7/13
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StartFalse balance - 8/13
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StartBe inquisitive - 9/13
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StartControversy rooted in a research publication - 10/13
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StartSeparating science from politics - 11/13
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StartDo not take sides - 12/13
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StartIn summary - 13/13
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
How to find and use a story grant
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StartPre-module assessment
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StartLearning objective - 1/13
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StartWhy grants? - 2/13
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StartHow to find story grants - part 1 - 3/13
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StartHow to find story grants - part 2 - 4/13
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StartWhat makes a good grant proposal? - 5/13
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StartClarity - 6/13
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StartDefine the problem and present your solution - 7/13
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StartRead the terms and conditions of the grant well - 8/13
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StartMark the deadline - 9/13
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StartAdditional markers of a good grant proposal - 10/13
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StartBefore submitting a pitch - 11/13
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StartHow to use a story grant - 12/13
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StartIn summary - 13/13
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StartPost-module assessment
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StartModule completed!
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StartCourse completed!
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I want to give feedback on the course?
We are always happy to receive feedback. If you would like to get in touch with us you can email us at [email protected]
off original price!
The coupon code you entered is expired or invalid, but the course is still available!