Learning how to write a research summary is an essential skill for scholars who want their work to reach external audiences. A well-written research summary can serve multiple purposes:
- it helps you practice communicating your research in other ways,
- it provides ready-to-share content,
- and it can help you connect with your university’s communications team.
Writing a research summary might seem daunting at first, but it can be pretty straightforward.
You may be thinking, “I can provide my research abstract for a summary.” Well, not exactly. Abstracts are typically jargon-heavy, technically dense, and way too short to give non-specialists a real sense of your work. Research summaries allow for creativity, storytelling, and analogies that may never make it past journal reviewers. Where abstracts focus on summarizing the research for fellow experts, a good research summary repackages the research for people who matter outside your specialty area.
Often overlooked, providing a research summary to your university communications office can help elevate the research in ways you may not have thought imaginable. Your university communications teams can adapt research summaries for website content, media pitches, and social media. With this simple guide, you’ll learn exactly how to write a research summary that can help elevate your research.
Related Post: Developing a Research Communication Culture in Higher Education: Practical Steps for Leaders
Understanding the University Communications Ecosystem
University communications teams are constantly searching for compelling research stories, but they face a real challenge: finding them. Despite universities being filled with researchers publishing important work, there’s often a disconnect between communications professionals and the researchers themselves. This gap can result from time constraints, lack of awareness, or limited resources.
When a small team of communications professionals is trying to keep up with hundreds of faculty members, valuable research can easily get overlooked. In reality, communications teams simply can’t track every important publication across all departments and may not recognize the significance of your work without your guidance. Plus, these professionals typically aren’t trained in your specific field, making it harder for them to recognize and translate the significance of your work without your help. Being proactive with prepared materials shows you value communication and gives you more control over how your research is presented.
Learning how to write a research summary can help close this gap. These research summaries can be used to:
- Pitch your work to media outlets
- Create feature highlights for university websites
- Generate engaging social media content
- Share your findings in university-wide publications and newsletters
Let’s now cover the 4 steps for how to write a research summary.
How To Write A Research Summary
Step 1: Identify Your Core Purpose and Potential Audience
The first step in learning how to write a research summary is thinking about the end goal. Before you start writing, think about:
- What makes your research compelling? Is it timely, controversial, solving a common problem, or challenging conventional wisdom? Is it a breakthrough in your field? And, is it innovative?
- Why does this work deserve attention now? Connect to current events, trends, or ongoing conversations in your field and in public.
- Who is your receiving audience? University communications staff to start, but what about beyond that? Journalists? Industry professionals? Policymakers? The internal university community? The local community?
- What do you want the communications professional to do with the summary? Think about what specific outcome you want – media coverage, a website feature, social media posts, or something else.
- What makes your research stand out? Is it the first study of its kind? Does it challenge existing assumptions? Does it solve a long-standing problem? Identifying these distinguishing factors helps communications teams understand why your work deserves attention over countless other projects competing for limited coverage.
The potential audience depends on your research and goals, but think about both internal groups (faculty, administration, students) and external ones (alumni, media, donors, local community). Additionally, when identifying potential audiences, be specific. Don’t just say “policymakers”—specify which agencies, committees, or officials might find your work relevant to provide the university communications team some guidance. As the subject matter expert, you understand connections that communications professionals might miss.
Related Post: Want Better Research Impact? Stop Thinking About “The General Public”
Step 2: Structure Your Research Summary One-Pager
There are a few core elements to consider as you think about how to write a research summary:
Attention-grabbing title
Your title should immediately communicate the value or novelty of your research. Avoid academic phrasing like “An Investigation Into…” or “A Study Regarding…” Instead, highlight your most compelling finding or implication. For example, rather than “Analysis of Educational Interventions in Rural Communities,” try “New Teaching Method Doubles Reading Scores in Rural Schools.” Don’t bury the lede!
Key takeaways
Provide 2-3 bullet points that summarize your most important findings. These should be concise (1-2 sentences each) and focus on results, not methodology. Someone skimming your summary should understand your main contributions just from these bullets. Each takeaway should stand on its own and highlight a different aspect of your research’s importance.
Why it matters
Repackage your findings into real-world implications that non-specialists can understand and appreciate. Connect your research to broader societal issues, practical applications, or ongoing challenges. This section should answer the “so what?” question by explaining the tangible benefits or impacts of your work. Avoid vague statements about “contributing to the literature” and instead focus on concrete consequences. The use of analogies and metaphors can help you in this section.
Brief discussion on methodology
Provide just enough information about your approach to establish credibility without overwhelming readers with technical details. Focus on the innovative aspects of your methods or explain complex approaches through simple analogies. This section should be short and to-the-point (just enough to give context). Check out SciComm Bites for some examples of efficient methods sections.
Potential audiences
This section is more for the communications professionals. Identify specific groups who would find your research valuable, and briefly explain why. This helps communications staff target their outreach effectively. For example, instead of “policymakers,” specify “state-level education officials developing rural school funding formulas” or “environmental regulators working on air quality standards.”
Supporting resources
Include links to the full paper, related coverage, and/or visual aids that communications teams can use. Make it easy for them to find additional information or resources they might need for different communication channels. This could include high-resolution images, short video clips, or links to publicly accessible versions of your research. Be sure to include your contact information, especially if you are seeking media coverage.
Step 3: Write for Public Audiences
Here’s the fun part! The writing portion of learning how to write a research summary may be challenging, but with these few guidelines, it can feel more attainable:
Replace technical terminology with everyday language
Identify technical, jargon-heavy terms in your research and replace them with everyday alternatives. For example, instead of “cognitive load reduction,” try “making it easier to understand.” If you must use a technical term, briefly define it in parentheses the first time it appears.
Writing off the cuff can help with approachable language (as opposed to copying and pasting parts of the published research). Start fresh and use your memory to write. This naturally forces you to simplify and focus on the most important aspects of your work.
Use concrete examples to illustrate abstract concepts
If you’re discussing statistics or abstract concepts, explain what it means using a familiar scenario. For instance, “We found that exposure to green spaces correlates with reduced stress hormones” becomes “People who spent time in parks showed measurably lower stress levels—similar to the difference between a Monday morning and a relaxed weekend.”
Incorporate metaphors and analogies that connect to familiar experiences
If you’re studying quantum computing, you might explain that traditional computers are like checking each door in a building one by one to find an exit, while quantum computers can check all doors simultaneously. These comparisons help non-experts grasp abstract or complex concepts quickly without sacrificing rigor.
Focus on implications rather than methodology
Dedicate most of your space to explaining the implications, applications, and impact of your work. A short paragraph on your methods is appropriate and encouraged.
Keep paragraphs and sentences short and direct
Long, complex, dense paragraphs and sentences with multiple clauses are difficult to process. Aim for an average sentence length of 15-20 words. Break up complex ideas into multiple sentences. Use active voice rather than passive voice whenever possible to make your writing more engaging and clear. Use headings and bullet points to help the flow and readability of the document.
Before: “The study utilized a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention on reducing particulate matter concentrations.”
After: “Our research found that this new air filtration system can reduce harmful air particles by 60%, similar to the difference between standing next to a busy highway versus a park.”
One crucial point to remember is that this process is not about “dumbing down” your research. It’s about making your work accessible to intelligent people outside your specialty. Imagine explaining your work to a smart friend in a different field, maintaining accuracy while eliminating unnecessary complexity.
Step 4: Add Supporting Elements to Your Research Summary
You can enhance the research summary in several ways:
Visual aids
A picture is worth a thousand words. Include visuals that tell a story rather than simply presenting data. If possible, include people, places, or objects related to your research rather than an abstract chart. For example, if you’re studying urban green spaces, include a before-and-after image of a revitalized area.
Quotes
Quotes from the researcher or participants add a human element to your research summary. Your quotes should provide insight, emotion, or context, not to restate facts. Instead of “Our research found significant results,” try “This discovery fundamentally changes how we understand climate adaptation in coastal communities, giving us new tools to protect vulnerable populations.” Quotes should be concise, memorable, and conversational. Think about the quotes in terms of them being used in a news article or in a social media post.
Key statistics
Numbers need context to be meaningful. Format statistics for immediate impact and easy understanding. Instead of “The research showed a 37.2% reduction in symptoms,” try “Patients saw their symptoms cut by more than a third—allowing many to reduce medication use.” Avoid overwhelming readers with too many figures by including 1-2 most impactful statistics and provide context that helps conceptualize their significance. Consider using comparisons to familiar concepts (e.g., “enough energy to power 500 homes”).
Best Practices and Tips on How to Write a Research Summary
Creating an effective research summary is both an art and a science. These best practices on how to write a research summary will help you write effective summaries:
- Ask for examples – Request successful research summaries from your communications office to understand what works.
- Use AI tools – AI writing assistants can help transform technical language into accessible formats while you maintain accuracy. (you can access my research communication AI prompts here)
- One page maximum – Keep it to one page.
- Include a quotable statement – Create at least one memorable quote that encapsulates your research’s significance.
- Follow up – Send a brief email checking if additional information would be helpful or if there is any information the communications team may need.
- Ask for feedback – Request constructive feedback from the communications team so you can improve your research summary for future opportunities
Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to AI Prompts for Researchers and Research Communication
Conclusion
Learning how to write a research summary will take a bit of time, but it is a worthy investment. By providing communications professionals with clear, compelling summaries, you demonstrate that you value research communication. You also ensure your work is accurately represented to broader audiences.
Most importantly, when you become known as a researcher who values communication, you create a positive feedback loop that can lead to new collaboration opportunities, funding prospects, and ultimately, greater research impact.
Next Steps
Want to explore how research summaries can fit into your broader research communication goals? Schedule a free strategy session today!
