Communicating research is an important part of the researcher’s work; it is regulated by the Swedish Higher Education Act, which requires that research results are disseminated and benefit society. In addition, many research financiers require researchers to actively communicate their results, both to the public and within the academic community.

Actively communicating research helps researchers reach wider audiences, increase the visibility of their research and find new collaborations. This can also lead to increased funding and career development, while also helping boost the public’s confidence in research. Research communication thus provides the researcher with practical and strategic benefits, while meeting regulatory and financial requirements.

Guidelines for the university’s research communication

In a time when headlines and clickbait are what attracts attention, it is important that we communicate our research with reliability and balance. At the same time, we need to make research accessible and engaging for a wider audience. To help achieve this balance, Communication & PR has the following guidelines for news articles, press releases and communications we publish.

• Are the headline and introduction representative of the rest of the text?
• Is there a reference to the source/full report?
• Is the research peer reviewed?
• Has the researcher approved the text?
• Do we need to check the press release/news article with the subject coordinator, supervisor or someone else?
• If we are in doubt, we should exercise caution in how we communicate.

Good tips for research communication

A non-profit association called "Vetenskap och allmänhet" offers information, advice and suggestions about research communication, particularly regarding contacts between researchers and the media.

Visit Vetenskap och allmänhet External link. and watch their seminar series (in Swedish) Mediaseminarium. External link.

Södertörn University’s research communication must also be characterised by our tone of voice. The nature of press releases is that they are short and concise, but in news articles and films we should “sound like Södertörn”.

The points below come from our brand concept: External link.

Our communication must be:

• Welcoming, warm and interested
• Authentic and dynamic

We also want to be associated with:

• Being innovative and curious
• Being confident

Want to know more about Communication & PR’s work on research communication? Contact them via nyhetstips@sh.se.

To obtain your researcher profile on sh.se, you must first update the staff card that all staff members have.

This has basic information that is retrieved from PAV (the staff administration tool), such as your name and title. This information is updated by the person responsible for PAV at each school/unit. The staff card also includes editable information, such as your mobile phone number and a description of your job. You can also specify which units you are affiliated with at the university, which determines where you will be listed on the website. For example, if you select Rhetoric, you will appear in the staff list on Rhetoric’s subject page on sh.se.

To edit your staff card, click on the top right-hand corner of the employee web. This has the link to My page/Update profile, which is where you can edit the settings on your staff card.

Watch a video about how to edit your researcher profile (in Swedish)

All the editing of your staff card is done on the employee web. Watch the film on this page below the expander for “Create a researcher profile” External link..

In the top menu, to the right – click on the round picture icon and select My page (you must be logged in)

Changing the image

• Upload and crop the image – see the guidelines below for the best way to select the image.
• If it is the first time you have uploaded an image, it must be approved before publication (done in the next step, under Edit profile)

Guidelines for your profile picture on the staff card

The guidelines for choosing an image are simple:

• Close-up and front view (a view of the face, neck and shoulders). Full length or from the waist up are not good enough, as the image will be displayed in small format.
• Look straight into the camera.
• Neutral background.
• The image must be in colour.
• No filters – a natural picture.
• You must be the only person in the photo – so no group pictures.
• You do not have to look incredibly happy, but your expression on should convey that you enjoy your work.

Is your portrait in the media portal?

The university offers portrait photography for staff. Check whether your portrait is stored in the university’s media portal. External link.

If your picture is there, you may use it as your profile picture. If you do not have a picture in our media portal, you can take one yourself with your mobile camera.

Image size

The image must be at least 330 pixels in height and width, but if it was taken from a distance the resolution must be much higher, around 800 pixels.

Need a new profile picture or press photos?

The university can offer photo shoots with an external photographer.

As a member of university staff, you are welcome to book a five-minute session that will provide you with close-ups that you can use as profile pictures on the employee web, LinkedIn or similar sites. If you have difficulty finding a time that works for you, please contact kommunikationsstod@sh.se.

Many financiers require that your application describes how you will make the results and activities of the project available and how you will communicate them, both within the research community and to the surrounding society. This means it is useful to plan your communication efforts as early as possible, such as who your audience is and which are the most appropriate channels.

The university has produced a simple communication plan and general information about what a communication plan should include.

In some cases, a website is required for information about a project and sometimes the financier demands that there is a website. Various solutions are available; Communications & PR is happy to help you find the right one, and what this is depends on your needs and your resources.

Project page in the research project database

The FODA tool allows you to easily manage your research project page and to choose what you want to display in the project database on sh.se External link..
To add a new project to the database, please email webbutveckling@sh.se. It is important that you provide the correct title for the project you want added, so that you can find it in FODA later.
The web development team creates a blank project. You then add the details and publish it yourself. Once you have received an email confirming that the project is listed in FODA you also have authorisation to administer the project.
More on information is available on the tools page FODA.

Do you have results to share? A new project? Have you or a colleague received an award? Communication & PR’s editors welcome tips about news and happenings related to the university’s research and its researchers.

How we work with these tips depends on what they are about, who the audience is and other tips that we have received during the same time period. The most appropriate channel is decided by the editorial team and depends on the content and target audience.

Tips do not always lead to a news article – sometimes we must make selections based on the vice-chancellor’s strategy for the university’s image, as well as a professional assessment of public interest.

Send us your tip by providing as much information as possible in the form below and clicking “Send”. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Södertörn University regularly issues press releases about university activities, particularly research news. Communication & PR is the only unit permitted to issue press releases from Södertörn University. We welcome tips about news that will interest a wider public, but please send them to us in good time. We use a mailing tool with templates and lists of media organisations that are sorted by factors such as geography and area of interest. Naturally, members of staff are free to provide news tips to external journalists, but it is helpful if you inform Communication & PR so we can be prepared for other journalists to contact us.

When does Communication & PR issue press releases?

We consider various criteria when we choose what to inform the media about via tips, press releases or press invitations. We emphasise:

• News linked to Södertörn University and our activities.
• Relevance and general interest outside the academic community (news value).
• The time required and Communication & PR’s workload.

The sooner we are informed about an upcoming publication or other news item that could interest the media and the public and are able start working on your material, the more likely we are to be able to help. Even if your suggestion does not lead to a press release, we may be able to disseminate information through our own channels.

Who can make statements in press releases?

In a press release, the first choice for spokesperson is always the researcher or the person with responsibility. Contact details for the press officer or communications officer are always included. As spokesperson, you should be available by phone and preferably in person, for any photography, from when the press release is issued and for at least a few days afterwards. We will come to a joint agreement about when issuing the press release works for you.

You can read more about the university’s press service on sh.se External link, opens in new window..

Almedalen Week

Almedalen Week is an important arena for Sweden’s political and public spheres. Södertörn University contributes research and expertise, both at its own and other organisations’ events. Almedalen is also an opportunity to provide the public with insight into the research conducted at the university.

ForskarFredag

ForskarFredag (Research Friday) is Sweden’s most broad-based science festival, attracting tens of thousands of visitors across the country every year. Invitations to ForskarFredag are sent to secondary schools in our local area, as the festival is a chance to create meeting places and dialogue between researchers and the public. It offers opportunities to show what research is, how it is done and who researchers are. We also want to inspire young people to enter higher education and research careers.

Forskartorget

Forskartorget (Research Square) is Gothenburg Book Fair’s arena for popular science, a place where universities, public authorities and book publishers present current research. Researchers can present their research and findings to the public in an accessible way through 15-minute talks.

Järva week

We participate mainly for student recruitment purposes and our tent is staffed by student ambassadors. Visitors can ask about courses and programmes, meet students and representatives from the student union.

Summer University

In collaboration with municipalities in the Stockholm region, every year Södertörn University organises a Summer University. The aim is to inspire secondary school students to pursue higher education and to try out being a student or researcher for a while. The target group is 13-year-olds from non- academic backgrounds. You could run a workshop, inspire future careers or create experiments with students.

Contact: kommunikationsstod@sh.se

Are you going to present your research using a poster? Poster templates are available in PowerPoint. The templates comply with university branding and include elements that may be useful when designing a poster.

As a researcher, you may want to have your own website in addition to your researcher profile and project page in the research project database. There are several options.

A ‘blog’ on blogg.sh.se

We have a WordPress solution used by several major research projects, which are under Södertörn University’s name using a blogg.sh.se address. You can also create a pointer address to the project page; this is a short link such as sh.se/almedalen. Communications & PR will set up a basic structure for such a page, with no special adaptations, and the people who run the project then manage the page independently. We do not have available resources for regular support, but Wordpress is an easy-to-use tool. If there are problems, we will try to help as much as possible.

Blogs are often more informal - but as Reinvent’s example External link, opens in new window. shows, it is actually a normal website for which we have chosen an easy-to-use blogging tool, making it easy to update.

Contact webbutveckling@sh.se if you want help setting up a webpage.

A separate domain

A third solution is to set up a separate external domain/website that you manage yourself or with the help of a consultant. Archipelago business External link. has chosen this solution. The site has been created with a web agency’s help. This is not something we can do with the resources available at Communication & PR. Domain ownership is not free of charge.

This option may be the best if a project has many partners and Södertörn University is not the primary partner, and there are allocated funds and resources.

One way to promote your research is to create or edit pages on Wikipedia that relate to your research. Hits on Wikipedia are always high up in web search results, so this is a good way for the public to find your research.

Wikipedia is an open encyclopaedia. A good way to add information to Wikipedia is to create a user profile, make the changes and write why you are making them. It is also a good idea to use Open Access articles and not only link to your own articles/publications.

Read about how to create a Wikipedia page External link. and how to edit a Wikipedia External link. page.

First, check if the article you want to write already exists on Wikipedia. If so, it is better to add new sources to the existing one. If you choose to write a new article, remember that Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia so the article should be an appropriate search word.

Journalists regularly contact Communication & PR looking for expertise in a specific field for an article or feature. It is extremely helpful if we know the areas in which you would be happy to provide information and that we have your mobile phone number, so we can either contact you or forward your details when a journalist calls. If you would like to be contacted by journalists via Communication & PR, please complete this form: "Mina expertområden" on the employee External link. web.

Remember to describe your research in lay terms using keywords, as this will make it easier for us when we are looking for a specific area of expertise.

Södertörn University appears almost daily in various media: print, broadcast and social media. All posts in social media and on websites where Södertörn University is mentioned are listed on the page "Södertörn University in the media".

Södertörn University has delegated responsibility for communication, in which each employee and unit contribute to work with communications. Every employee is entitled to the free expression of his or her opinion on various issues in accordance with the right to freedom of expression. However, a person who expresses themself as a representative of Södertörn University has a particular responsibility for representing the university.

When you receive a request for an interview

• Ask what the interview is about, who the journalist represents and in what context the information will be used.
• Listen to what they are asking for.
• You are under no obligation to answer questions immediately. Ask to get back to them later or be sent the questions by email. Make sure you get back them before the deadline.
• When you cannot answer a question, say so. You must never guess or speculate.
• Be factual, open and helpful. Avoid technical language and irony.
• Never speak ‘off the record’.
• Ask to read the article and approve quotes before it is published.
• If you need advice - contact Communication & PR.

Communication & PR can provide advice and tips on dealing with the media, as well as help you develop communication plans and FAQs, for example. Communication & PR conducts media training when necessary. If you know that you will have a lot of contact with the media and are uncertain about how to act in such a situation, please contact us: kommunikationsstod@sh.se