Preferred Client Preview

1
Peer to Peer Connections Insights into Why and
How Scientists Communicate with One Another
Tamara Zemlo, Ph.D., MPH Vice President of
Advisory Services

www.gene2drug.com
2
Outline

www.gene2drug.com
2
3
Why Scientists Communicate

www.gene2drug.com
3
4
Characteristics of Scientists

• Creative
• Entrepreneurial
• Passionate
• Dedicated
• Curious
• Observant

• However, what defines a respected scientist?
• Exercise of good judgment over timeas recognized
  by ones peers
• (Only possible via communication)

www.gene2drug.com
4
5
Drivers for Communication

• Independent
• Geographically dispersed
• Expensive
• Highly technical

www.gene2drug.com
5
6
Communication Successes and Failures

• Successes
• J. Robert Oppenheimer and team
• Manhattan Project
• Francis Collins and J. Craig Venter
• Human Genome Project

• Failures
• Stanley Pons Martin Fleischman Discoverers of
  Cold Fusion
• Jean-Baptiste
• de Monet de Lamarck
• Theory of Transmutation

www.gene2drug.com
6
7
Traditional Communication Channels

www.gene2drug.com
7
8
Scientific Correspondence
www.gene2drug.com
8
9
Scientific Correspondence
Email Capabilities of Scientists Computers

• Insights
• Email is one of the principal means of
  communication in the life sciences (data not
  shown)
• Most scientists have access to enhanced email
  content and the ability to receive images

www.gene2drug.com
9
10
Scientific Publications
www.gene2drug.com
10
11
Scientific Publications
Journal Usage by Gender

• Insights
• The importance of print versus online material
  is decreasing
• Scientists tend to read more journals online
  than they do in print

Confidential
www.gene2drug.com
12
Scientific Conferences
www.gene2drug.com
12
13
Scientific Conferences
Number Size of Conferences Attended Annually

• Insights
• Scientists attend an average of 3.7 conferences
  per year
• Scientists attend 50 more smaller than larger
  conferences
• Compared to 2002, there has been a 54 increase
  in the mean number of conferences scientists
  attended last year (data not shown)

Confidential
www.gene2drug.com
14
New Medias Influence

www.gene2drug.com
14
15
Scientists Use a Variety of Social Media Tools
Primary Social Media Tools Used by Age

• Insights
• Discussion boards and forums are the most
  commonly used social media tools
• Podcasts, Wikis, video content, and Widgets are
  the least commonly used social media tools (data
  not shown)
• Younger scientists are more likely to employ
  social media tools than older scientists

Age
Social Media Tools

www.gene2drug.com
15
16
Scientists View Social Media as Informal Peer
Review
Most Valuable Aspects of Social Media

• Insights
• Access to impartial information is considered a
  principle benefit of social media tools
• Younger scientists tend to value access to
  objective feedback on products and/or services
  from multiple sources (data not shown)
• Older scientists tend to view such tools as a
  means of keeping abreast of their colleagues
  across the world (data not shown)

www.gene2drug.com
16
17
Forums
www.gene2drug.com
17
18
Forums
Social Media Tools Used by Scientists

• Insights
• Forums and discussion groups are the most
  popular social media tool
• One-quarter of scientists do not avail
  themselves of any of the common social media
  tools

www.gene2drug.com
18
19
Social Networking Sites
www.gene2drug.com
19
20
Social Networking Sites
Awareness of Social Networking Sites

• Insights
• Awareness of many science-themed social
  networking sites is relatively low
• Most successful sites have a central theme
  (e.g., vetted blogging platforms, focused forums,
  promise of being able to connect, scientific
  challenges, etc.)

Not a comprehensive assessment of all
science-based social networking sites.

www.gene2drug.com
20
21
Blogs
www.gene2drug.com
21
22
Content Aggregator
www.gene2drug.com
22
23
Final Thoughts

• Peer interaction is a critical component of
  scientific progress
• Acceptance of social media tools is increasing,
  especially amongst younger generation of
  scientists
• Social media helps enable multidisciplinary
  research
• Scientists are becoming sophisticated users of
  social media
• However, many scientists have been reluctant to
  embrace the full potential of social media (and
  hence Web 2.0)
• Lack of awareness of just whats out there
• Too much information and not all of it relevant
  or worthwhile
• ? Privacy concerns (personal and professional)
• ? Workplace constraints (policies, time,
  opportunities)

www.gene2drug.com
23