33 The Audience: Disciplinary peer group, sponsors and commonpublic

C. Naga Lakshmi

epgp books

1.      Objective

 

This module is to familiarise you about the diverse audience groups for research and use of different writing styles that are appropriate for the specific targeted audience. At the end are given some digital resources for use as also a brief bibliography pertaining to the use of writing styles and report formats.

 

2.      Introduction

 

Research encompasses exploring, examining, advancing knowledge and understanding phenomena and is directed to some reader group. It is also about building upon the existing knowledge and on the previous studies and treatises in the discipline concerned. Research, therefore, depends on the knowledge available in print and other media. Academic writing and publishing is hence the most critical aspect of research. This relates to how people in general and professionals in the field communicate and offer access to their research endeavours, findings and ideas.

 

Institutions and individuals funding research projects engage academicians and researchers in collective practice that includes all of the above. Many Projects receive funds, generate results, which are insightful or based on ground breaking theory. However, such academic endeavour does not result in successful publishing every time, as researchers are not communicating the same to the wider world and hence lose out on recognition and may not always be successful in offering benefits of useful research findings to public. This may be due to either lack of rights to publicise the findings or because such publishing requires adequate skills and knowledge on relevant processes and resources.

 

While many researchers seemingly learn how each form of publication operates through trial and error or advice, it is vital that every researcher should possess academic writing skills and is aware of the various sources which are available for publishing including the more important requirement of taste and needs of the concerned audience. Time and effort invested in such understanding will help produce well written texts which will in turn be well received by the editorial boards and reviewers and thus can get the texts published successfully. This module attempts to offer some information on academic and non-academic writing and audience.

 

2.1. Audience and Diversity

 

The audience for academic research and publication are as diverse as the media/source available for publishing. Levels of knowledge differ among these audience along with intellectual ability and interest on various issues.

 

One can classify the audience into two self-explanatory categories:

 

·         Specialist Audience: Academicians and Practitioners, Research sponsors

·         General Audience: Public and Others

 

There are formal channels such as articles in purely academic journals or research monographs which are aimed at specialist and expert audience. Informal channels include popular print media and digital media or the general public and others. Writing a paper or publishing it for pedagogic purpose requires  an approach which is qualitatively different from the one required for writing in popular media such as editorials in magazines and blogs on the Internet for general public/non-specialist audience in newspapers. There are also other creative and visual means such as poster presentations at the conferences and conventions and oral presentations. Each of these varied forms of media for communicating researh findings to the public have their limitations as well as advantages and appeal to specific audience. The authors have to develop a sophisticated sense of who the target audience is and what is the appropriate level and style of communication/language to be used before presenting or writing their findings. It is worth mentioning here that specialised journals and media houses do not publish all types of findings and remain confined to their aims and objectives while selecting a particular article.

 

As a corollary, the basic considerations for a researcher are – how and to whom the research work is communicated. Also necessary is, knowledge of the target audience specified by the employers or the funding body/institution to whom they wish to disseminate the work. In other words, the target audience can sometimes be identified by the funding body in the form of journals and conferences or alternately sometimes they can be chosen by the researchers themselves. In any case, the same work and research findings can also be appropriately presented through a website, through a leading journal paper for academic audience, through a book. It can be reviewed, valued in various ways. The following sections present details of the different audience and the writing requirements.

 

2.2. General Writing and Professional Standards

 

Writing with professional standards actually may not mean that one has to use complex terms and phrasing, extensive jargonising, which only some ‘experts’ will be able to follow and receive the arguments and findings. It actually means that the text of the paper/publication ‘reads’ well and conveys the study and theoretical underpinnings in an interesting and unambiguous manner. Ideally there should be clarity in structure, narrative flow, adherence to grammar and writing style.

 

Here are a few pointers to achieve professional standards for publishing, and appealing to readers/audience:

 

·         Figures: Graphs, tables and charts for data can be used instead of long descriptive analysis, to grasp readers’ interest.

·         Epigraphs: These are quotations placed at the start of a paper or chapter or section that makes a point or sets the background for what is in the content that follows. Epigraphs chosen carefully can be thought provoking and adds to the arguments made.

·         Quotations: These can be self-explanatory and chosen with diligence placed within the content/text.

·         Appropriate Content: Clarity of content with no repetition or redundancy, adherence to academic standards of writing and appropriate style

·         Avoid malpractices and plagiarism: This requires drafting the article/chapter/content of the report with care and authenticity and giving due credit to the works of other scholars cited or used in the text of the publication.

Self-Check Exercise 1:

 

Q. How can one discern/differentiate professional writing standards to suit a specialist audience and common audience?

   

In general one can consider the basic considerations for research writing based on the questions of how and to whom the research work is communicated. Also sometimes the knowledge of the target audience is specified by the employers or the funding body/institution to whom they wish to disseminate the work, and appropriate writing style can be adopted. In other words, the target audience can sometimes be identified by the funding body in the form of journals and conferences for specialists or alternately sometimes they can be chosen by the researchers themselves. In any case, the same work and research findings can also be appropriately toned down in terms of jargon used and presented to the public through a website, through a leading magazine, newspaper or through a book.

 

3.      Specialist audience: Academicians and Practitioners, Disciplinary Peer Group

 

The first group of audience are the Specialists – academicians and Practitioners. One can include here the disciplinary peer group and the practitioners of the discipline. For the disciplinary peer group, academic peer reviewed journals are best regarded as of highest in quality in terms of the content and rigour. Journal publications are recognised by institutions as the most valuable and worthy form of dissemination of research findings. If such publication is available online, the scope of accessibility increases many folds.

 

3.1. Audience for Journal articles

 

Journals have specific set of aims and objectives, specialisation in subjects/areas and themes. These are mentioned in the author guidelines provided by the editorial board and printed in the journal or published on the website. Every article or paper written is subjected to peer review before publication in reputed journals. This process assures that the content is worthy by stringent academic standards. Adherence to strict guidelines for organizing the structure of paper as well as the font and details of the sections and sub-sections, headers formatted in formal style and restrictions on the length and content is mandatory for this form of publishing.

 

Accessed only by the academic professionals, printed journals are more often available in libraries of higher educational institutions and usually not read by other general audience. As compared to that, e-journals are avilable to any one online. As a result of changes in communication technology, most of the printed journals of earlier age are also avilable now on the net. There are even research website like ResearchGate or academia.edu which allow a writer to put up unpublished articles/seminar papers online. Whatever may be the source, it is highly desiable that every article written must be structured to the target audience of the journal. There are several types of journals. Some are generic to the fields of study and publish research work from across the discipline, while some are inter-disciplinary. Journals have a wide circulation in print as well as online and have audience who are professionals in their fields of study across the globe. Hence, the structure and format are very crucial for acceptance for publication.

 

As mentioned earlier, the generic disciplinary journals have specialist audience, and can raise citation scores for the author/s. It is very important to know the index scoring including impact factor of a journal and whether the journal serves the audience one wishes to engage with. The audience also may be categorised as specialised, practitioners, researchers from the same as well as other disciplines. The author/s should, hence, consult colleagues for opinions on such matters. One may also try to balance the writing style of an article so that it can reach specialist as well as general audience. Professional audience access journal articles and they seek a high standard and structure. This may sometimes vary slightly depending on the journal’s aims and objectives. But, in general, the structure is standardised, as described in this section.

 

Most common parts of a journal article are:

 

·           Title with author(s) name & affiliation

·           Abstract

·           Keywords

·           Introduction

·           Literature review

·           Theoretical framework (may be combined with literature review)

·           Methodology

·           Analysis (may be subdivided in sub-sections)

·           Discussion

·           Conclusion (including suggestions, if any)

·           References

 

Variations in writing articles for academic audience are – for a Special issue, focused on a specific theme and working papers. The authors present an argument with reference to already existing theoretical perspectives, to analyse a social phenomenon. The article can subscribe to a perspective or even be critical of the available perspectives using the available data collected employing rigorous methods and tools. A journal article can also be a review of all the available published literature to present a comprehensive conceptual analysis in a particular research area, the trends and point out the direction of research. But most of the peer reviewed journals in sociology prefer articles based on field work with sound theoretical framework.

 

Every journal is headed by an editor or a panel of editors who liaise with the authors and put the papers through a refereeing process. They take decisions in accepting or rejecting the papers and allocating them to the appropriate issues in focus to suit the needs of the subscribing audience. The editor(s) rely on an editorial board, panel of experts, including one or more referee for blind review of the manuscript sent by the author(s). The editorial boards guide the editor(s) on issues like quality, methodology, theoretical contribution, and offer guidelines to authors for writing style of an article submitted for review in the concerned journal. It is important for the writers and academicians to be aware of the standards of journals and the editorial board who are the first audience, before sending their manuscript for publication. Irrespective of whether a reputed journal accepts an article for publication (with minor or major review) or not, the comments sent by the reviewers to the authors are helpful in upgrading the content and quality of a research paper.

 

3.2. Journal Referees: the first critical audience

 

The referees for journals are the first, most important and critical group of audience for a scholarly publication. They assess the quality and content of an article before publication with specific criteria such as – whether the paper/article fits the aims and brief of the journal, its pertinence to the journal’s readership, whether the contribution is significant to the discipline/literature concerned, clarity in writing and structure of the paper and appropriate length. On these criteria, the referees communicate  some changes and/or modifications to the article to the authors, thus enhancing the quality of paper as well as making it more pertinent. Sometimes, an article may be reviewed by multiple referees. The author is then asked to make relevant changes based on the recommendations of the referees. The article can thus be accepted as it is, or accepted with revisions. Sometimes, an article may be sent for a thorough revision and the author(s) may be asked to entirely resubmit it. The revised paper will then be sent to some or all of the referees for re-evaluation. In case the article does not suit the journal aims or if its contribution is not significant, the article might be rejected, and has to be sent out to a relevant journal with suitable changes. The referees also advise the authors for minor or major revisions and accept the paper/article for publication or suggest another journal/source. As such reviews in most cases are done by unknown reviewers to authors (blind review), the quality of comments submitted by different reviewers help to manitain a global standard.

 

This audience group within the discipline concerned for the journal offer constructive criticism to the writers and help them produce a well argued and balanced article. The final draft after revisions suggested by disciplinary peers usually show a strong argument and structure, offer new ideas, analysis and thinking, will be in appropriate length with no redundancy and will be in continuity with the targeted journal’s aims and objectives.

 

3.3. Audience for Books

 

Another form of academic publishing is book publication. Books provide a broader scope for authors to present a theory or findings of a study and often require some degree of visibility through some marketing by the publishers. Books also have the advantage of being seen by the wider audience depending on the degree of promotion activities by the publishers. Unlike printed journals, which are available only on subscription or in libraries (e-journals are avilable online), books are available to all readers whether academic or general, for purchase as well as in libraries. The writers/authors can choose to write on a chosen theme with academic rigour and cater to peer groups. They may also adopt a style with simpler language and avoid jargon to cater to the general readers. Even though the time and effort required to write, edit and complete a manuscript are more, there is an advantage of reaching out to the peer group in academics as well as general audience.

 

3.4. Book Chapters

 

Chapters in edited volumes are similar to the journal articles and books, in terms of the standards of writing and exploring specific ideas and issues. These are broad, explanatory in nature and are written based on empirical material, compiled for a specific theme set by the editor of the book. The editor(s) are the first audience for the written content, similar to the journal refrees and they review and offer suitable recommendations so that the content of the chapter including style will be coherent with the set theme/objective of the volume. But such reviews in many cases are not critical and ‘blind’ like the ones done by profesional reviewers of reputed journals.

 

3.5. Audience at Conferences and talks

 

Conference is a general term which is used to refer to an event with audience, attending as participants and organised interactive sessions based on themes and titles of presentations. In a conference, there is a live audience and instant feedback for the presenters or authors. Conference thus includes events in a sequence, in a formal environment. Other academic events include Seminars, Symposia, Colloquia, Workshops and Plenaries. Each of these events are conducted by research institutions, departments within Universities, academic institutions or professional organisations and they differ slightly in formats. They offer opportunities to academicians to present their research work in progress, so that they can be discussed by select peers, distinguished experts as audience and can be published later as research papers in journals. Often seminar preceedings are published in book form by organisers of those academic events.

 

4.      Research Sponsors – Report publishing

 

Research projects are sponsored by several organisations and the findings are published as reports. These reports are circulated sometimes to a restricted group, such as the sponsors or a closed group of experts or are published later for the general public, depending on the sponsoring institution. Thus, the difference lies in the form of disseminating the report and its findings.

 

The research sponsors usually specify the format of the required research report and the variations are subtle. The other terms that are used for a report include executive summary, communique’, profile, dossier, statement and the like. These forms are published as specified by the sponsors, and the audience is a select group to whom the findings are most useful and appropriate. It is important for the writer to know which form of report is required and what style is to be followed for attracting the specific audience.

 

Some reports are published by private organisations, which are for the perusal of specialists. Unlike the general reports published by publicly accountable institutions or organisations, these reports are written in formats with technical words, as per the specialists needs (a detailed account on the components of research report are provided in the next module).

 

5.      General Public as Audience – Popular Media for Publishing

 

Popular press that seeks to publish and cater to general audience include newspapers, magazines and Internet sites. These media are accessible to a very large potential audience with varying levels of knowledge including experts and general audience. Universities and colleges are usually open to publishing in these sources, unless the research is sponsored and has to be confidential.

 

The following are the most common sources to present research for general audience: o Mass media

§     Print media: Newspapers, Magazines

§     Audio/Visual – Radio, TV, Internet Videos

o    Internet

§     Websites

§     Blogs/Social Networking Websites

§     Mailing lists/Bulletins

 

5.1. Mass media

 

The authors at times find that their research work and findings are relevant and path-breaking and of use for public and/or general audience. In such cases, the choice to publish research findings in popular media is suitable. Popular media include Print media – namely Newspapers, Magazines, tabloids and Audio-Visual media including Radio, TV and Video on Internet. It is important to note that the decision to write for the media is the author’s discretion, but publishing is at the discretion of the editors. It is necessary that one has to prepare a press release with the credentials of the research institution and the funding agency, if any one tries to draw the required attention of the editor(s) and the public. Usually for this purpose within the universities, there is a department for public relations/media relations. Sometimes depending on the prominence of institution and significance of the research, the media may approach the research team for news briefs on the report. This enables wider audience reach. In such cases also the research team must prepare an appropriate report that highlights salient research findings without heavy theoretical jargon and yet conveying the substance of the research.

 

5.1.1. Print Media – Newspaper and Magazine audience: Writing for this audience comprising non-specialist, common public requires a style that is close to spoken word and simple written expression avoiding the usage of elaborate terms/words, unless these are required. There is a need to capture the interest of the audience in the popular media, and in a more succinct format, unless the article is for the open pages or editorials or ‘op-eds’.

 

Writing for magazines is different from newspapers as they cater to audience who seek information more in the form of features and not as news. Authors for magazine articles must focus on the types of magazines and the specific audience for them. There are glossy consumers of theme-focused magazines, trade and business oriented magazines and feature rich information oriented ones. It is important to note the length, style and format of submission including the images if required to catch the reader/audience attention for a write.

 

5.1.2. Audio/Visual – Radio, Television and Internet Video: As with the print media, the audio-visual media including, Radio, Television (TV) and the Internet video are based mostly as feature presentations. The audience for these features will vary depending on the timing/duration of the presentation and whether live or recorded. Also one has to note that if the presentation is by the author, then he/she will have to present oneself appropriately, in a formal dress. These features can vary, in the form of a talk, an interview, or in a discussion with other experts. The content presented must be simplified, condensed as per the nature of the feature including the target vieweers/listeners. The key points of the research findings must be carefully articulated to get across to the public. In news cast features, one has to create sharp, short ‘sound bytes’ especially if the programme is live telecast/broadcast and not recorded, as there is no scope for correction in a live programme. It is also equally important to quickly adjust to the ambience in a studio, the microphone, cameras as well as arc lights for an effective presentation. The tone of the presentation must be adjusted as per the discussion if there is a group of experts and as per the questions posed by the anchor/interviewer. The programme producer usually takes care of the details, but the research team should be collectively involved in compiling all the necessary details and prepare a script to suit the audience as suggested by the channel.

 

5.2. Internet

 

Internet is the fastest growing and popular medium/segment for research publishing. As a network of networks, the audience for internet includes general and specialist audience in a widespectrum. This  medium provides a variety of platforms and allows audience/users to access information stored in computers across global networks, exchange information through mails and posts, initiate and participate in discussions, search various databases, read, review and comment on discussions. One can classify the internet sources as those which are refereed and those which are open. The moderated internet sites are websites, blogs, social networking sites and online journals. The non-monitored are the mailing lists and open bulletin boards.

   6.2.1. Websites: Websites are the visual interfaces of the World Wide Web and contain information presented in text, visuals and sometimes in audio formats. These sites are used to disseminate research to general and specialist audience, who access the websites depending on their interest and necessity. Websites are also tools to conduct research through interactive means such as online surveys. Institutions and websites for projects provide information on the work of an institute/institution, their research team and their publications. Audience/users can access updated information on the ongoing research, can correspond with the research team using the details for contact (email, telephone) information (as provided on the site).

 

6.2.2. Online journals: Online journals are equivalent to print journals (mentioned in earlier section), but they exist on the virtual form. Potential audience for an online journal is global and very large, and most of these journals do not charge any subscription fees. The journals that publish in both print and online format, however, charge subscription fees, It is possible for the audience of the online journals to judge the quality of a journal’s content and validity/rigour by the impact factor (the impact factor of any journal dependes to a latge extent on the volume of readership).

 

6.2.3. Blogs/Social Networking Websites: Blogs are a part of these websites, popular among audience. These are online narratives, logged in by the authors, presenting their observations and opinions in interesting ways. Audience/users get an idea of the work that is being done by the author, and they can respond and comment provided there is a space on the webpage. The administrator of the website monitors the blog and the author can accept or reject the comment, or respond to the comment.

 

6.2.4. Mailing lists: Mailing lists with a research theme or topic are created by an institution/department or an individual interested in research/discussion which allow audience/users to converse and exchange information through emails on a specific topic. These lists are sometimes monitored and every mail with response/discussion is redistributed to all those in the list.

 

6.2.5. e-Books: e-Books are the same as printed books, but are available virtually, similar to the online journals. They are available as virtual versions or downloadable formats. These are sometimes sold online and are not accessible to all audience. Some sections of the books are given open access to generate interest in the audience through the publishers’ websites, depending on the agreements with the authors.

 

6.2.6. Bulletins & Newslists: Audience/users can access the bulletin boards through memberships, and the bulletins are periodically checked for updates with specific subject headers and many discussions, comments and responses. Audience receive all the updates and comments unless they are marked specifically to individuals.

 

6.   Critical Appraisal

 

It, therefore, appears that there are various mediums for presentation of research findings as the types of audience (disciplinary peer group, subject expert, sponsors or common public) also differ. The effectiveness of research and utility of the findings can reach a larger, wider audience, if the preferences of the audience is given weightage. It should however be noted that the content of any research must be copyrighted and protected by the time it is published. The authors should equally take care of proper citation of other’s work to avoid the crime of plagiarism.

 

One cannot, however, deny that publishing is a big business today and publishing houses do actually use the published research for commercial purpose. The author(s), however, retain copyright even while allowing the publisher to use the article/book for sale or publicity. The free copies (hard/soft) of article given to author(s) may however be cirulated in hard or soft form. Any reader may send emil to author(s) for a soft version of any article published. Notwithstanding the posivite aspects of electronic technology in dissemenation of knowledge, it should be noted that in remote locations internet accessibility is either absent or very poor. Issues like lack of high speed internet connectivity is also an issue for some. There are also some who are either digitally or visually challenged. All these contribute to ‘digital divide’ in contemporary times. To cater to the needs of these people, the authors may either make their resources avilable on alternative sources and publish in local vernacular for greater debate and discussion on the theme.

 

Self-Check Exercise 2:

 

Q. What are the basic important concerns for an author while writing an article or paper for a specific audience?

 

The three basic concerns for an author while writing an article or paper are the type of target audience, namely specialists, disciplinary peers or general people or public, ethics and academic integrity and the medium of publication chosen for the publication.

 

Q. What are the challenges for an author while choosing the intenet based media or mass media?

 

Writers or authors choosing internet or mass media face the challenges of balancing the content and language of the article to suit the majority of general audience/people and some specialist audience. The next challenge is to protect the content from plagiarisation. The authors should hence choose to appropriately protect their content through restrictions in display or complete copyright, as content on these technology based media are free of cost and global reach.

 

7.      Summary

 

This module has familiarised you about the diverse audience groups for research and use of different writing styles that are appropriate for the specific targeted audience. It has also introduced you to different stratagems to achieve professional standards for publishing, and appealing to readers/audience. Even though the audience for academic research and publication is diverse, one can classify them into two broad types: specialist audience of academicians, practitioners, research sponsors, and general audience, i.e., public and others. For catering to the needs of the first category, one can publish in journals of various types, books, edited volumes along with reports and presentation of arguments in conferences, workshops and seminars. The most common sources to present research for general audience are: Mass media, Print media: Newspapers, Magazines, Audio/Visual – Radio, TV, Internet Videos, Internet, Websites, Blogs/Social Networking Websites and Mailing lists/Bulletins.

 

It should, however, be recognised that in the age of globalisation, technological upgradation has led to revolutionary changes in dissemination of knowledge globally bringing in specialist and genral audience together as a new category of audience called ‘website audience’. Such transformation offers both opportunities and challenges. Due to the flexibility and variations in formats and freedom to access across globe and time zones, today a reader and researcher alike enjoy lots of benefits to access and use acadenmic content on the net. Online libraries or repository of research documents allow free access to millions of reading materials. Even if a full article is not accessible free of cost, one can download the abstract or a portion of the book free. Such avilability is also beneficial to protect the copyright of the authors. Any one violating the rules of copyright, will be caught immediately for the crime of plagarism once an article is avilable online. However, questions regarding the quality and academic worth of online publications are a matter of intense scrutiny. Audience can judge the value and worth of online publishing with some tools and indices such as the impact factor or the popularity, number of viewers.

 

you can view video on The Audience: Disciplinary peer group, sponsors and commonpublic
  1. Some useful links and e-resources

 

 

Referencing Stylesz

 

 

Referencing in Harvard Style: