Researchers often know they want to share their findings beyond academia, but figuring out how to share research findings effectively can feel overwhelming. Should you write policy briefs? Create implementation guides? Start a newsletter? Host workshops? The options seem endless, and many researchers find themselves stuck between having goals and taking action.
Here are some examples of research communication goals from researchers:
“I want my research to improve how school counselors support students’ mental health needs.”
“I’d like my housing policy research to inform affordable housing decisions in growing cities.”
“I want my environmental research to strengthen local conservation efforts.”
Related Post: Setting Your 2025 Research Communication Goals (It’s Simpler Than You Think)
In this post, I’ll walk you through 5 practical steps on how to share research findings by moving from goals to action. We’ll use a specific example throughout: imagine your goal is to help practitioners implement your research findings in their operations. You are considering launching a newsletter as your main tactic. Your measurement for this goal is to reach 500 relevant practitioners by the end of 2025.
Step 1: Embrace Where You Are and Choose Your Path Forward
Learning how to share research findings is a journey that starts with understanding and embracing where you are.
Assess Your Current Goal Progress
You’re probably already doing some things that support your goal. Build on these existing successes rather than starting completely from scratch. Start by examining the current state of your research communication activities:
- Who’s already implementing your research findings?
- What methods are currently working to reach practitioners?
- Which relationships or partnerships are most valuable?
- What feedback have you received about your research communication?
Using our example goal of helping practitioners implement your research findings:
- Are certain practitioners already using your work?
- What made them decide to implement your findings?
- How did they discover and understand your research?
- What obstacles did they face in implementation?
- What questions do they have?
Evaluate Potential Tactics
Your goal for how to share research findings is like an overarching vision, like influencing policy or helping practitioners implement research-based solutions. The tactics, or techniques, are the specific activities that help you achieve that goal, whether it’s launching a newsletter, creating policy briefs, or hosting workshops (Besley et al., 2019) There are MANY tactics to choose from. But at the core, your communication tactics should focus on reaching your audience, the tools you use to reach them, the messaging, and how you deliver your message (Besley et al., 2019).
Related Post: Unlocking Impact: Public Engagement Examples for Social Scientists and Humanities Scholars
If you’re considering a newsletter as one potential (like in our example), you might consider:
- What newsletters do you already read and enjoy?
- How frequently do they publish? How frequently do you actually read newsletters?
- What makes you unsubscribe?
- Which formats keep you reading?
- What writing styles resonate with you?
- Which platforms do they use?
Related Post: Beyond Journal Paywalls & Tweets: Launch A Newsletter (Part 1)
The same approach applies to any tactic you’re considering:
- Does your audience follow this communication tactic? Is this a place where they get their news and information?
- Is your messaging effective via this communication tactic? Would it land with your audience through this channel?
- Does this communication method feel natural to you?
- What resources and skills do you already have?
- Where have you had success in the past?
- What could you sustain long-term?
Start with tactics that feel natural and build from there. If you enjoy writing but struggle with social media, a newsletter might be a better starting point than X/Twitter.
Set Realistic Milestones
Setting milestones for how to share research findings helps you track progress toward your broader goal and measure the effectiveness of your chosen tactic(s). Remember our example: your goal is to help practitioners implement your research findings in their daily work, and you’ve chosen a newsletter as one tactic to achieve this. Start by breaking your goal into clear, measurable pieces:
- Goal Milestone: Have 5 practitioners implement your research findings by March
- Tactical Support: Reach 125 relevant practitioners per semester through your newsletter
- Measurement Plan: Track implementation through practitioner feedback, surveys, and direct conversations
The newsletter approach can actively support these goals through:
- Engagement metrics (open rates, click rates)
- Direct feedback mechanisms (polls, reply emails)
- Implementation check-ins (quick surveys)
- Tracking links to gauge what topics your subscribers are clicking
- Follow-up conversations with practitioners
Each milestone should connect directly to your goal. Growing your newsletter subscriber count only matters if it’s helping more practitioners implement your research.
Step 2: Market Research
Before fully committing to any tactic, it’s important to understand how to share research findings with your specific audience. While you can launch your research communication efforts without market research, a basic understanding of your audience’s preferences can help you make better decisions regarding tactics and save time in the long run. This is the reconnaissance step.
How to Share Research Findings: Market Research Basics
You should have already identified your target audience(s) in your goal. Now it’s time to ensure your chosen tactic(s) will effectively reach them. A few ways to gather research on your audience include:
- Join 2-3 relevant online communities where your audience gathers
- Follow relevant hashtags and discussions to understand hot topics
- Note common questions and pain points in your field
- Observe how similar research is being shared
- Track what generates the most engagement
For example, a sociology researcher noticed through LinkedIn that practitioners were most engaged with research summaries that included concrete implementation steps. This simple observation shaped her newsletter format to include “practical takeaways” sections.
Test Your Approach
Before fully committing to any tactic, gather a bit of feedback:
- Share your communication concept with trusted colleagues, students, and friends
- Ask potential audience members what would be valuable to them
- Test different content formats on a small scale
- Start building an email list or following before the official launch
- Document what resonates and what doesn’t
Plan Your Launch Strategy
In our example of launching a newsletter, you need to do a bit of planning. How will you get subscribers? The goal is to reach 500 by year’s end. Gaining subscribers and followers requires a bit of (ongoing) work. No matter the tactics you employ, you should not expect to launch and attract. So you will want to map out how you’ll:
- Where will you announce your launch?
- How will you continue to promote it and share updates?
- What’s your compelling pitch for subscribers?
- How can readers easily share your content?
Step 3: Set Yourself Up For Success
Getting organized before you start can make the difference between a sustainable practice and one that fizzles out.
Choose Your Tools
When it comes to how to share research findings, you want to select tools that support both your goal and chosen tactic(s). For our newsletter example:
- Pick your platform (e.g., Substack, Medium, BeeHiiv) based on your internal research of newsletters you already follow. Do not fall to paralysis by analysis!
- Create a simple system for storing content, research, summaries, images, topic ideas, and notes. This way you have a repository of content you can pull from at all times.
Keep everything in one easily accessible place. I use Notion for desktop work and quick iNotes for ideas on-the-go.
How to Share Research Findings Through Different Channels
Create a bank of starter content aligned with your goals:
- Draft your core message that highlights the unique value you offer in your POV and content
- 2-3 pieces of content in advance
- Gather relevant (and applicable) examples and case studies
- Create simple templates you can reuse
- List topics for future content
Decide what you’ll share and when. For a research newsletter, this might include:
- New publications
- Project updates
- Major milestones
- Behind-the-scenes insights
- Responses to current events in your field
Start small and build gradually. It’s better to consistently produce one quality piece monthly than to burn out trying to do too much too soon.
Establish Your Basic Workflow
One of the key factors for sharing research findings effectively is creating a sustainable routine that fits your schedule. This will require lots of experimenting and trial and error. But when something lands, it LANDS.
Going back to our newsletter example, weekly may feel like a bear but once you get your systems in place, it can become turnkey. You also can write and share as the wind blows. If you are one seeking routine, here is an example of managing a weekly newsletter with monthly planning:
Example Weekly Workflow:
- Monday: Draft content (30-60 minutes)
- Wednesday: Edit and add visuals (15 minutes)
- Friday: Review and schedule (15 minutes)
Example Monthly Planning:
- Schedule 15-30 minutes daily for writing/processing/note-taking
- Schedule regular check-ins and engagement with your audience
- Review and adjust as needed
Your workflow should feel natural, not forced. With an effective content storage and management system, the workflow can be a breeze.
Step 4: Execute, Assess, Pivot, Repeat
The hardest part of any new venture is starting. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good – focus on getting started and improving through iteration.
Execute: Take That First Step
For our newsletter example, this means sending your first research summary to practitioners. Maybe it’s a breakdown of your latest finding with clear implementation steps. It doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs to be helpful and clear. Once you officially launch your first effort (send that newsletter!), take a moment to reflect on:
- What you did
- How you did it
- Ideas you considered but didn’t use
- Time spent on each task
- How you feel
Assess: Gather Intelligence
In our case, you might notice practitioners engaging more with certain types of content, perhaps detailed how-to guides get more responses than theoretical explanations. Track these patterns to understand what helps practitioners actually implement your research.
Process Insights:
- What felt natural vs. challenging?
- How long did tasks actually take?
- When were your energy levels highest?
Impact Measures:
- Where are you seeing engagement?
- What generates meaningful responses?
- Which content seems to resonate the most?
- What surprised you?
Pivot: Make Strategic Adjustments
Using insights from practitioner feedback, you might adjust your approach on how to share research findings. For instance, if practitioners are asking for more real-world examples, you could shift your newsletter format to lead with case studies rather than research summaries. Based on your assessment, consider potential:
Workflow adjustments, such as:
- Adjust your writing schedule
- Break tasks into smaller pieces
- Modify your format
Content tweaks, such as:
- Add or remove sections
- Adjust length
- Include more examples
- Experiment with different styles
Schedule changes, such as:
- Modify publishing frequency
- Change your writing times
- Adjust engagement patterns
- Rethink deadlines
If weekly content feels too much, or if you would rather write spontaneously, that’s totally fine! Your system needs to work for you.
Execute Again: Build Momentum
With these lessons and reflection, your next newsletter might better serve your audience’s needs. For example, you might now include a “What This Theory Looks Like IRL” section in each issue based on reader feedback.
Each cycle makes you better at research communication. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s progress and sustainability.
Step 5: Measuring For Impact
Don’t wait until the end of the year to assess your progress. Regular check-ins help you stay on track and make adjustments before it’s too late.
Regular Progress Checks
Ask yourself questions like: are you reaching the right practitioners, not just growing your subscriber base? Are they engaging with your implementation guides? Are they reaching out with questions about applying your research? Schedule monthly or quarterly reviews to:
- Track progress toward your goals (like reaching 500 subscribers)
- Identify trends in engagement or growth
- Gather feedback from your audience
- Make small adjustments as needed
- Celebrate progress, no matter how small
Adjust As You Go
If practitioners aren’t implementing your research at the rate you hoped, or your subscriber growth has plateaued, make small shifts toward growth. If you’re not seeing the growth you hoped for:
- Ask your audience for feedback
- Expand your sharing network
- Try new promotion approaches
- Review what’s working best
- Make small, strategic shifts
How to Share Research Findings: The Power of Small Actions
Impact builds over time. Let me share an example from my own personal growth goal and challenge:
In 2024, I focused on growing my thought leadership, measuring success through LinkedIn engagement. I didn’t set a specific target. I just aimed for improvement. And at the end of 2024, I saw a 3000% increase in engagement compared to 2023.
How did it happen? Through consistent small actions like posting more regularly, engaging with other accounts, sharing more personal content and photos, and maintaining a consistent presence. You can read more about this journey on LinkedIn.
Change and impact rarely happen overnight. But small, consistent actions add up to significant results over time.
Moving Forward
Turning your research communication goals into action is an evolving journey. Whether you’re using a newsletter to help practitioners implement your findings (like in our example) or choosing other tactics to achieve your goals, success comes from consistent, intentional steps forward. Understanding how to share research findings effectively takes time and iteration. Start small, measure what works, and adjust as needed.
The key is starting with clear goals, choosing tactics that feel authentic to you but also reach your audience, and remaining flexible enough to adapt as you learn what works best for both you and your audience.
Next Steps
Want to explore how these steps might apply to your specific research communication goals? Want to learn more about how to share research findings? Schedule a free strategy session to discuss your goals and develop an action plan that works for you.
