Texas Tech University

Toolbox & Services

CATT prioritizes leveraging innovative strategic communication tools in both research and outreach. Our toolbox allows us to effectively convey agriculture and natural resource topics to various audiences. Continuous evaluation of these tools allows us to most effectively utilize these methods in our communication efforts, ensuring we remain at the forefront to maximize our impact sharing agriculture and natural resource information. 

TOOLBOX

Science Communication & Outreach Services

Outreach plays a critical role in bridging the gap between scientific research and public understanding. Effective outreach strategies help translate complex agricultural and natural resource topics into accessible and relevant messages for diverse audiences. Through community events, workshops, demonstrations, and digital platforms, outreach fosters dialogue, builds trust, and encourages informed decision-making. When grounded in audience-centered communication principles, outreach becomes a powerful tool to promote awareness, engagement, and behavior change around key agriscience issues.

Communication Audits

A communication audit is a systematic evaluation of an organization's or project's communication processes and effectiveness. This method ultimately aims to measure how well communication strategies align with objectives, reach the intended audience, and achieve desired outcomes. This process involves assessing communication channels, analyzing content, and evaluating audience engagement. By identifying strengths and weaknesses, a communication audit helps organizations refine their strategies, enhance both internal and external messaging, and ensure communication efforts effectively support their goals and maintain their reach.

Content Analyses

A content analysis is a research method that systematically examines and interprets various forms of communication, including text, media, and documents. This type of analysis involves identifying patterns as well as quantifying and categorizing specific elements to better understand how information is conveyed and perceived in different contexts. This technique enables researchers to draw conclusions about meanings, symbolic significance, and expressive content of communication, offering insights into its context and impact.

Dial Testing

Dial testing facilitates continuous response measurement (CRM), providing real-time feedback to stimuli. An input device is used by an individual to evaluate responses such as favorability or trust in a message to progressing content. This method monitors consumer responses throughout media messages like videos or podcasts, yielding valuable insight into overall audience perceptions and engagement levels to a particular piece of content.

Eye Tracking

Eye tracking is an experimental method used to measure an individual's visual attention to diverse content forms. This method can be used to gain insight into specific areas of interest that can elicit more attention and signal further processing of information. Eye tracking is a tool we utilize to gain a better understanding of viewer attention to message elements, identifying the aspects that should be further implemented in agricultural communication efforts.

Focus Groups

A focus group is a qualitative research method used to gather insights and opinions on a specific product, topic, service, or idea from a carefully selected group of participants. In this approach, a structured discussion is facilitated by a moderator who guides the conversation. Focus groups provide rich, detailed data that can uncover underlying motivations and attitudes, offering deeper understanding that quantitative methods alone may not reveal.

Interviews

An interview is a research method designed to collect detailed information through a one-on-one conversation between a researcher and a participant. During the interview, the researcher will ask questions to gain insight into the participant's experiences, beliefs, attitudes, or knowledge on a particular topic. Interview types can vary in format including structured, semi-structured, or unstructured depending on the nature of the data sought and objectives of the research.

Mental Models

A mental model visually represents the structure of one's thoughts on a given topic and the connections between those thoughts. To accomplish this, participants are given a list of terms and are asked to sort them into categories based on their perceived relation to one another. Once these groupings are complete, the data is input into a software to generate a visual model that shows plots on a plane. The positioning of these plots allow us to see how closely and consistently the items were grouped together among participants, giving us insight into the communication needs of a specific group.

Social Media Monitoring

Social media monitoring allows us to "listen" to online conversations through tracking and analyzing online trends across social media platforms through keywords. This process explores social issues online to increase our understanding of what others are saying about a certain topic. By monitoring brand health, comparing the online presence of competitors, and understanding the role of social media analytics, we can develop strategic communication campaigns that resonate with the target audience.

Teach/Learn

The teach/learn research method involves researchers actively participating in teaching to gather data and understand how knowledge is acquired and applied. This approach encompasses interactive learning, data collection, feedback and reflection, and application. It is particularly valuable for exploring educational processes, evaluating instructional strategies, and gaining insights into how learning and teaching intersect in real-world settings.

Visuals

In agriscience communication, visuals can be an effective strategy for conveying complex information about agriculture and natural resources. Visuals can simplify and clarify topic by presenting data in formats that are processed more quickly than text, making intricate concepts easier for the audience to understand. Common visual examples that distill large amounts of information into understandable formate include infographics, which can use charts, graphs, images, signs, and maps.

 

SERVICES

For scientists and stakeholders, we provide tailored communication strategies utilizing our comprehensive toolbox and methods that align with specific needs based on the latest research and trends in agriculture and natural resources.

To inquire about CATT's services and how they can meet your communication needs, please contact us for more information.

CONTACT US

Center for Agriscience Communications at Texas Tech

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