Selecting an Appropriate Outlet

The following module will outline the options for publishing and disseminating your research findings and the factors you should consider when choosing an outlet.

Learning Objectives

• List possible outlets for disseminating research findings
• Discuss the differences between potential outlets and the advantages of each
• Explain factors that should be considered when choosing an appropriate outlet for your findings, including ethical considerations

For your research efforts to have been valuable, the findings must be disseminated and shared. This requires forethought and planning if the research is going to create an impact. Therefore, creating a dissemination plan is a key step in the research process. A researcher should consider the following questions:

• What is the goal of the research? What impact do you hope to have?
• Who is the audience you are targeting? Who do you want to share this information with to have the desired impact?
• What is the most effective way to reach the largest number of people in the target audience? What resources or media does the audience members have available to them and which ones do they most commonly access to gain information.
• When should the dissemination plan begin? Who is responsible for each of the dissemination activities?

The answers to these questions will drive the dissemination plan and determine the communication methods. For example, if the project is for the sake of gaining new knowledge in a scientific area, the audience will likely be the scientific academic community. Therefore, science journals, conference presentations and book chapters may be appropriate. On the other hand, if the research is more community based such as sharing the results of a childhood obesity study, the researcher would be more likely to use social media, flyers, blogs, or YouTube videos. 

After identifying the audience and determining possible dissemination methods, researchers will need to address potential barriers. The earlier in the research possible barriers are identified, the more likely it will be that potential solutions can be found. Some of these barriers may include:

• Costs? Are funds available? What type(s) of methods are affordable?
• Are the resources and communication skills available to meet the needs of the dissemination plan?  For example, is someone available to design a brochure if needed?
• What is the relationship between the research sponsor and/or the university and the audience? Is relationship-building necessary?
• Are there time constraints that must be dealt with?

There are several factors that will contribute to the success of the research dissemination and help to make it more effective. First the sharing of the research results must be oriented towards the audience and should reflect the purpose of the research project. Researchers should also consider formal and informal collaborations to ensure the best use of resources, time, and funds. Finally, any document used to disseminate findings should be attractive and readable, should be concise, should highlight results, define special terminology, and should include graphs, bullet points, or images to break up lengthy amounts of text.

Spending time creating and choosing the methods of dissemination and creating a plan are critical to the research project. For a project to truly be successful, the results must be shared with the appropriate audience in the right way. The following chart provides a list of just some of the possible means of communicating and disseminating research findings, as well as the primary benefits associated with those methods.  

For a full description of many of these types of dissemination strategies, samples, and additional tools that may be helpful in creating your dissemination plan, click here.

Finally, it is important to realize that there are ethical issues that should be considered in relation to dissemination of your research findings. First, you are ethically responsible for sharing your findings, making them accessible, developing the knowledge in your field, and present the findings in transparent way. Secondly, you have an ethical obligation to acknowledge those who provided or assisted in the collection of the data. This would include fellow researchers, funding agencies, and others who contributed to your research.

Suggested Readings

Berg, B. L., & Lune, H. (2004). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (Vol. 5). Boston: Pearson.
Bero, L. A., Grilli, R., Grimshaw, J. M., Harvey, E., Oxman, A. D., & Thomson, M. A. (1998). Closing the gap between research and practice: an overview of systematic reviews of interventions to promote the implementation of research findings. Bmj, 317(7156), 465-468.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford university press.
Cronenwett, L. R. (1995). Effective methods for disseminating research findings to nurses in practice. The nursing clinics of North America, 30(3), 429-438.
Devlin A. (2006) Research Methods.  Thompson Wadsworth.
 Rocco, T.S. and Hatcher, T. (2011). The handbook of scholarly writing and publishing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.