Project PLan Psy - Developing an evidence-based service for translating psychological science
Mon-P14-Poster I-205
Presented by: Martin Kerwer
Plain Language Summaries (PLSs) summarize research findings for non-expert audiences in an easily understandable manner. At the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID), project PLan Psy lays the foundation for a service that translates meta-analytic psychological evidence into German PLSs. Contrary to existing science communication approaches, this service will be strictly evidence-based. Here, we will outline the project’s experimental approach for developing a guideline for writing PLSs which serves as a basis for an evidence-based science communication service. First, we conducted a systematic review of theoretical and empirical research and guidelines for writing PLSs to derive research questions and research gaps as starting points for experimental studies. As a result, we conducted four preregistered quantitative studies that implemented experimental between-person designs with approximately 2000 participants from the general German population in each study. Qualitative studies complemented this experimental approach. We will illustrate key findings of the project’s experimental studies. Experimental studies showed, for example, that laypersons perceived guideline-compliant PLSs as more comprehensible compared to scientific abstracts, and that PLSs that replaced technical terms with everyday terms - rather than retaining technical terms and defining them - facilitated knowledge acquisition. Current steps to transfer these and other project results into a permanent, open service at the ZPID will be outlined. Project outputs that can be re-used by the research community include the evidence-based guideline for writing PLSs, introductory videos for laypersons, and the KLARsaurus, a dictionary of ‘translations’ for technical terms. Community-based potential for participation and further development are discussed.
Keywords: plain language summaries, science communication, meta-analyses, evidence-based practice; guideline development