#14: Talking Bias in Research with Emily Sena

We often think of academic science as a pure pursuit for knowledge. But when you’re building your research on inaccurately reported data in the hope to get your own narrative into a well-respected journal, the water can get muddied. In this episode I’m joined by Emily Sena, is a Senior Lecturer in Preclinical Research at the University of Edinburgh and Editor in chief at the BMJ Open Science journal. We talk about bias in science and what is being done to incentivise the accurate reporting of science, why accessibility to scientific research is so important, and what institutions need to do to tackle diversity and inclusion at the top of the academic ladder.

The Comms Takeaways

It’s all about context. Really understanding the emotional intent of what is being shared can help you empathise with their experience. And once you can empathise, you can really hear them

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Be truthful. Reporting data should be an honest endeavour not a convoluted narrative to make it look better. Whilst storytelling should set the scene, it shouldn’t dictate your main message- in this case your data