Podcasting for Social Scientists

Ph.D. -course

Course description

Course content

With the growth of the public's appetite for science journalism, and the academic use of altmetrics, it is incumbent upon new PhD graduates to develop diverse skills for communicating their research findings to a range of audiences. Recently, podcasting has been a uniquely popular platform for sharing and contextualizing findings from the social sciences. The objectives of this course are that students should:

  1. Become proficient in the technical and narrative development aspects of producing a podcast
  2. Actively engage with scholarship on the usefulness, desirability, and implications of utilizing alternative communication formats for their research and teaching

If merited, the course lecturer may seek to have the podcasts produced in the course disseminated through DigUiB channels.

DigUiB have also provisionally agreed to provide some equipment for students who would like to borrow it.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course the student has the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

The candidate

  • has in-depth the narrative structure(s) utilized by popular social science podcasts
  • has in-depth knowledge of recent scholarship on the use of podcasting for social science information dissemination
  • has in-depth knowledge and understanding of the pedagogical applications of podcasting

Skills:

After completion of the course, the candidate can:

  • Critically reflect on the usefulness, desirability, and implications of podcasting for both science and the individual researcher
  • use audio recording equipment and audio editing software at an appropriate level to independently produce a podcast

General competence:

After completion of the course, the candidate can:

  • communicate and discuss the relative merits of alternative forms of research communication for academic communities, the public, and in pedagogical contexts

Study period

Fall 2018. 1, 5, 15 and 22 October.

Credits (ECTS)

1 ECT.

Course location

UiB, Christiesgt. 13, Bergen

HEMIL Meeting room 5th floor.

Course registration and deadlines

Registration on Studentweb or by e-mail to maria.luttges@uib.no

Registration deadline: 01 Sept 2018

Compulsory Requirements
Participants must attend all days and engage actively in the discussions and complete a podcast.
Form of assessment
Pass or fail.
Who may participate

PhD candidates at the Faculty of Psychology, UiB.

Max. number of participants is 12.

Programme

1 October Introductory session, introduction to equipment, lecture on the potential use of audio in research dissemination and teaching (and the evidence base around it), discussion of narrative styles, small group discussion of project proposal (2.5 hours)

5 October Refining one's narrative, interviewing techniques, ethical implications of interviewer/interviewee relationship and questions of "voice", and preparing to gather audio (2 hours)

15 October Editing your podcast (2 hours)

22 October Presentations of podcasts, summing up and reflection on the value of this tool, evaluation (2.5 hours)

1 Oct: 14.00 - 16.30

5 Oct: 14.00 - 16.00

15 Oct: 14.00 - 16.00

22 Oct: 14.00 - 16.30

Academic responsible
Paul Kellner, Assistant Professor. Department of Health Promotion and Development.
Reading list

Kern, J. (2008). Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production. University of Chicago Press.

The course discussions will be supplemented by a series of optional readings to be finalized 2 weeks before the course begins.

A list of supplemental social science podcasts will also be made available 2 weeks before the course.