Readable Research exists with a simple aim – to make complex scientific research more easily understood so that everyone beyond our labs can see the work scientists are doing, understand its potential and discover the impact it could have.
To make the research readable:
- we take the original research papers and summarise them in around 1,000 words;
- this is then checked, reviewed and refined by another independent scientist;
- then the lay summary goes to a lay panel of those with lived experience of the condition to ensure they understand, can ask questions, and ensure what we publish is as simple and straightforward to understand as possible.
It’s a rigorous and important process – we want everyone to be able to understand this complex and challenging but crucial research.
The lay panels are a really important part of the process – the summaries should make sense to those with lived experience of the conditions we are focusing on. And this is why we need your help.
We’re looking for new members of our lay panels to support the work of Readable Research.
Volunteering to do this simply means being asked to give feedback on the summary, considering things like:
- Does the lay summary make sense?
- Is the language appropriate, or too complicated? Is there unnecessary jargon?
- Do you understand what the findings of the paper mean for people living with the condition?
- Is it clear how you can access the full paper?
- What have we done well?
- How can we improve?
No background in science is needed – the whole purpose of the lay panels is that they are the best and final judge of whether a summary makes sense to those without a scientific background.
If you’re interested, we can give you more information – please just contact our Readable Research lead, Dr Scott Allen by emailing s.p.allen@sheffield.ac.uk