A popular science article is responsible for making the discoveries and/or scientific information more easily understood, so that they are more accessible to the general public.
Although the people to whom it is addressed are not generally specialized in the subject, they do denote a great interest in it.
It is not only oriented towards the dissemination of recent discoveries, but also achieves the transmission of works of a scientific nature from past eras. Based on the feasibility and comprehensibility of these beyond the academic. It is important to have at hand what will guarantee us to write a good scientific text, and this is exactly what we are going to tell you.
For a popular science article to be considered as such, you need:
- Have knowledge of a specific scientific topic, or seek concise information about what you want to disseminate.
- Having a means of dissemination, that is, what will act as a vector for the reception of information, such as the media: (magazines, books, Internet ).
- Being fluent in speech and/or having the ability to “translate” that information into a language that is easily and understandably received by society or by the people to whom it is addressed.
- Have a basic structure for the information: since a Scientific Dissemination Article is aimed at a non-specialized public, it is necessary that the way in which the information is presented has a simple layout: (title, concept or development, conclusion).
This is how a Scientific Disclosure Article is prepared
- The first thing that we must consider when creating a Scientific Disclosure Article, is to have specific and concrete knowledge of a particular topic, which is within the scope of scientific doctrine. In mastering this subject, the veracity of the information that will be disclosed will be highlighted, it is not worth just knowing the subject, much less thinking that because the article will be given to a public possibly not learned in this regard, it should not be delved into it. Obviously, not all the people who dedicate themselves to the specialty of Scientific Divulgation are scientists themselves.
- It is not necessary, for example, that a person who wants to publish an article about some scientific contribution, knows each and every one of the mathematical operations, formulas and others with which they manage to reach the foundation of such a contribution, but it is necessary that know how such formulas manage to demonstrate the characteristics of said Scientific foundation.
- Deepen in order to get to obtain a solid enough knowledge so that, later, you can share it with society.
- The main basis of scientific dissemination is that knowledge should not be withheld, it has to be passed on, shared and made known, but this knowledge must, in essence, be consistent, simple, and above all, capture the attention and interest of the recipient people.
- Therefore, knowing very well the topic that you want to turn into a Scientific Disclosure Article should be the starting point for its creation.
- For a long time the media have been the most efficient way in which we can make news known; one information. And even today, in order to ensure that our Article not only reaches more people, but is actually transmitted, these means will help to achieve this end.
- Having a means of communication that acts as a disseminator is one of the keys so that the information can be received by more people. There are media outlets that are merely oriented towards the transmission of publications of a specialized scientific nature, and do not leave aside highly technical concepts and terms. But whatever the case, they are all open to the community at large.
- One of the most used media since the past to communicate news and Scientific Articles has been the press or newspapers, but currently we have a wide variety of ways in which we can reach people, and within them there is a breakdown of other variants. For example, on the Internet, whose form of transmission is the fastest, we can find other ways, such as blogs and/or pages dedicated to such a task, social networks, demonstration videos, etc. Endless options that we must consider; take into account when choosing the means by which you want the Article to be read and disseminated.
- There are also magazines and books dealing with the subject of science through which they can be disseminated. The magazines set aside for science, with a more scoop character, focus in most cases on publicizing events or news related to the scientific world. Events that are often discoveries, contributions and contributions to this topic. Therefore, if you want to publicize a new contribution, defining it and showing all its characteristics, considering magazines and newspapers is an excellent way to do it.
- On the other hand, books have a much broader character, a whole topic can be developed through a book! Although they are not as such a specific means to disseminate Articles, they can handle a particular scientific topic very deeply.
- Now, one of the characteristics that distinguishes a Scientific Article is its simplicity; simplicity, but at the same time how concise they must become. Why? Because even though it can also be oriented towards the scientific community, most of the people to whom the text is directed are people who have little or no knowledge of science itself, but who They show great interest in learning about the subject.
- A large number of people may not have knowledge about galaxies, but perhaps also, within that number, there are people who are curious about them.
- Therefore, being able to use a language that goes deeply into the subject, but at the same time is elementary enough and easy to understand, is a more than important task. It is in the way in which we communicate the information that we will be able to arouse the interest of the people, and thus achieve the final purpose of a Scientific Disclosure Article.
- You must use a language that, although it should not be colloquial, has to be easy to understand. Explain a whole process in a simple way.
- Other of the peculiarities that can be noticed in a text of this nature is its structure. Just as the content should be simple but concise, so should be the arrangement of the ideas. Taking any Article as an example, it will be noted that it has very well differentiated parts: titles, subtitles, content, and bibliographic sources. This would be a good way to organize the text, because something very important is preserved: the user’s attention, and jointly the interest towards the work. It must be understood, it is not intended that all the content be put lightly, but that it must have meaning and link with the rest of the text depending on where it is arranged.
Tips
To finalize some last recommendations so that the creation of the Article is totally effective:
- Bibliographies should not be forgotten: bibliographic sources are very important to give credibility to the Article. They constitute the link between the text and its source of origin.
- One must be coherent: when it comes to disclosing a scientific fact, there can be no ambiguities.
- It is necessary to avoid being repetitive with the information that is presented, which means that the information should not be excessive, or present the same point over and over again.
- Clarify very technical terminology or concepts.
- Always manage viable sources of information.