Methods For Disseminating Research And Its Popularisation In The Media – The Impact Of Universities On Society

The new Law on Higher Education and Science introduced a new measure for the evaluation of universities in Poland – the impact of scientific activity on the functioning of society and the economy. The aim of this article is to outline the possibilities of universities and scientists in regard to the dissemination of research within two main areas of action. One of them concerns professional efforts towards facilitating access to academic publications (open access publishing, posting articles on platforms and databases for scholars and research institutions, or establishing scientific profiles and university knowledge bases). The second area concerns the popularisation of research in the media by means of public relations (especially media relations). This article presents the view that coordinated activities in those two areas are of key importance for increasing scientific visibility. The ways in which research issues are presented in the media have been shown in the example of media coverage at the University of Gdańsk. The investigation has shown that dissemination of research and science in the media requires increasing the role of professional communicators, for it is possible to shape the agenda setting of academic research using instruments of public relations, taking advantage of the newsworthy character of media coverage.