10 Chapter 10: Reporting & Dissemination

Learning Objectives:

• Define research dissemination and understand its significance in advancing knowledge and practice.
• Understand the role of peer review in ensuring the quality and credibility of research.
• Identify various strategies for disseminating research findings to different audiences.
• Recognize the importance of effective communication in research dissemination, including ethical considerations.

Key Terms:

• Research Dissemination: The process of sharing and communicating research findings to a wider audience beyond the immediate academic community.
• Peer Review: A process in which experts in a particular field evaluate the quality, rigor, and scientific merit of research manuscripts before they are published in academic journals. Peer review serves as a quality control mechanism, ensuring that only studies meeting high scientific standards are published and contributing to the credibility and reliability of academic research.
• CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials): A set of guidelines for reporting randomized controlled trials. Researchers are encouraged to use the CONSORT checklist and flow diagram when designing and reporting their experimental studies.
• STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology): A set of guidelines for reporting observational studies in epidemiology. STROBE includes checklists of items that should be included in articles reporting on cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies.
• Stakeholders: Individuals, groups, or organizations with an interest or “stake” in the outcomes of a research project or study.

Introduction

Research dissemination is the process of sharing and communicating research findings, which may include peer researchers or a wider audience. It involves making the results of research studies accessible to various stakeholders, including other researchers, policymakers, practitioners (e.g., clinical providers), and the public. Effective dissemination ensures that the knowledge generated through research can be used to inform decision-making, influence policy, and contribute to the advancement of science and practice. Dissemination strategies include publishing in peer-reviewed journals, presenting at conferences and seminars, utilizing media and social media platforms, and engaging directly with stakeholders, to be introduced in this chapter.

Publishing in Peer Reviewed Journals

Peer-reviewed studies, introduced in Chapter 3, are those that have undergone a rigorous review process by experts in the field to assess their scientific merit. This section describes the role of peer-review in ensuring the quality of the research and the components of published peer-reviewed studies.

The Role of Peer Review

Before a manuscript is published in a peer-reviewed journal, it undergoes a thorough evaluation by experts in the field who assess its scientific merit, rigor, and contribution to the knowledge base. Peer review is the primary quality control mechanism in the dissemination of research. It ensures the quality and credibility of research because guarantees that studies meet high scientific standards. For example, a study on the efficacy of a new medication for treating hypertension would be reviewed by experts in pharmacology and cardiovascular medicine. They would examine the study’s design, methodology, data analysis, and conclusions to ensure its validity and reliability. Peer review journals share similar submission and review processes, in which researchers submit a manuscript for review, receiving feedback, and revise the paper accordingly. Researchers typically strategize which on which journals to submit to, to align with the study’s scope, audience, and the researcher’s ambitions for impact in a field.

Components of Published Research Articles

The preparation of research manuscripts for peer-review publication is discussed elsewhere, particularly in light of how the information is likely to be evaluated and how the report contributes to the research process (Kazdin 1995). Below are the essential components of peer-reviewed publications:

• Abstract: A concise summary of the study’s purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions, often the most widely read part of the article.
• Introduction: Provides the background, context, and rationale for the research, outlining the study’s objectives and hypotheses.
• Method: Describes the participants, design, measures, and procedures, including the rationale for methodological decisions.
• Results: Presents the primary data, analyses, and findings, explaining the choice of statistical tests and their relevance to the hypotheses.
• Discussion: Interprets the findings, integrates them with existing theory and research, addresses limitations, and suggests future research directions.

The previous chapters in this textbook described the planning phases of these sections, which then become formalized for an audience in the manuscript preparation phase of research dissemination.

CONSORT and STROBE

The quality of health research suffers when research is reported incompletely or inadequately, making it difficult to evaluate the studies’ strengths and weaknesses. To properly evaluate the quality of a study, reviewers and readers need to understand the research objectives, the actions taken, the discoveries made, and the significance of the findings. CONSORT and STROBE are reporting guidelines recommended by prominent medical journals that serve to enhance the transparency and rigor of health research, serving as pre-requisite “best practices” in research dissemination. This facilitates the comparison and synthesis of findings across studies, enhancing the overall quality of the research literature.

CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials)

The CONSORT statement provides guidelines for reporting randomized controlled trials. Its aim is to ensure transparency and completeness in the publication of trial findings. Researchers are encouraged to use the CONSORT checklist and flow diagram when designing and reporting their experimental studies. The CONSORT (2010) checklist includes items covering the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections of a research article. Key elements include identifying the study as a randomized trial, providing a structured summary, detailing the trial design and interventions, describing the outcomes and statistical methods, presenting participant flow and recruitment information, reporting baseline data, analyzing outcomes and estimation, discussing limitations and generalizability, and interpreting the findings. The checklist also emphasizes the importance of trial registration, protocol access, and funding disclosure. For a detailed explanation of each item, you can access the CONSORT 2010 checklist here.

STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology)

The STROBE checklist is a comprehensive guide for reporting observational studies in epidemiology, covering the sections of research publications. Similar to CONSORT, STROBE checklists includes specific recommendations for each section, such as indicating the study’s design, providing a balanced summary, explaining the rationale and objectives, detailing the study design and participants, describing data sources and statistical methods, reporting participant flow and descriptive data, presenting main results with estimates and confidence intervals, summarizing key results, discussing limitations and interpretation, and mentioning funding sources. In methodology sections of publications, the researchers will typically indicated if they followed or implemented STROBE reporting guidelines. For more information, you can access the STROBE checklist here.

Dissemination Strategies

Different dissemination strategies serve various purposes for researchers, from sharing insights with academic peers to engaging with the broader public.

Presenting at Conferences and Seminars

Research conferences and seminars can take a variety of formats. There are traditional oral presentations at conferences, which are typically organized by professional associations, such as the American Psychological Association. At professional conferences, research presentations are typically organized in panels on specific related topics. These provide a formal way for researchers to present their findings to an audience, often followed by a Q&A session. Additionally, large professional research conferences typically include poster sessions, in which researchers display posters summarizing their work, allowing for informal discussions with attendees. There may also be workshops, which can be interactive sessions where researchers can delve deeper into specific topics or methodologies. Given the importance of research conferences in research dissemination, this highlights the need for researchers to develop not only research skills, but also communication skills. For example, to effectively engage the audience, researchers need to deliver clear, concise presentations, practice beforehand, and anticipate questions (Elsevier 2022, Grimble, Lobo et al. 2023).

Utilizing Media and Social Media

Researchers often want their research to have impact beyond peers, colleagues, and academics. Researchers use traditional media outlets, policy briefs, and social media platforms to connect with broader publics. Researchers often write articles for newspapers and/or online outlets, or appear on television, podcasts, or radio programs to discuss their findings. Researchers will also write policy briefs that summarize research in a concise format for policymakers to inform their decision-making, or influence public opinion. Social media, such as X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn have become the most popular outlets for sharing research with a wider audience and engaging with other scientists and the public. This also further highlights the need for communication skills in the translation of science to the public. Crafting accessible and engaging content helps translate complex research findings for the public and policymakers.

Engaging with Stakeholders

Engaging with the stakeholders of a particular line of research is often also part of research dissemination. Stakeholders are different groups with “skin in the game” in a research area, which can include, patients, providers (e.g., clinical practitioners), government agencies, community groups, and the like. Effective communication with stakeholders involves tailoring the message to their interests and knowledge levels, and building relationships and using clear, non-technical language.

Ethical Considerations in Dissemination

Researchers must take care to present their findings clearly and accurately, avoiding any potential for misinterpretation (See Chapter 9 for a discussion on pitfalls in interpretation of research findings). This includes providing context for the results, acknowledging limitations, and avoiding overstating the implications of the study. Ethical dissemination also involves transparency about any conflicts of interest and adherence to guidelines for responsible research communication (discussed in Chapter 8).

Summary

In this final chapter, we emphasized the importance of disseminating research findings effectively. Whether through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at conferences, engagement with media and social media, or direct communication with stakeholders, disseminating research is crucial for advancing knowledge, informing practice and policy, and ultimately improving population health.

Much as doctors describe their work as a “practice,” health research is also constantly evolving – both as skillsets and in our state of knowledge. New methodologies, technologies, and challenges are always emerging. The purpose of this textbook was to equip students with fundamental concepts in researching population health, which should serve as a basis for critical and analytical thinking in both our consumption and production of health research.