Paper short abstract:

Goodall revolutionised the study of wild chimpanzees which undoubtedly had a positive impact on the conservation of these animals. Having now been a “chimp” for 3 years, I explore the potential benefits of such a study on my research and how it can be better communicated to non-specialised audiences.

Paper long abstract:

In her PhD, Meritxell Ramírez-i-Ollé used the analogy of Jane Goodall's long term study of chimpanzees to mirror her approach to studying the research of my lab, students and colleagues. As a twist to this analogy, the Chimp can finally have his say. While Meri will focus on trust and relationships and their import for "knowledge production", I will focus more on the potential impact of her immersive interaction with my group. Scientists (social and natural) now work in an environment where impact is especially important when trying to justify why certain studies should be funded and others not. Traditional forms of science communication (i.e. journal articles, conference presentations etc) generally target relatively small specialised audiences and alternative forms of outreach are needed to communicate science to the masses. As a subject, or case study if you will, of such a sociological study, I am intrigued to see whether Meri's research will provide an alternative conduit of science based communication to a new spectrum of the population. My talk will briefly explore whether Meri's work is purely a one-way accumulation of observational knowledge in that it explored the interactions of scientists to attain knowledge of past climate or whether we, as a "social group", will also gain from Meri's work in that our results will be communicated to a wider audience.