🎯 Phase V: The Publisher

Phase V: The Publisher

Duration: Weeks 16-17 (Apr 27 - May 08) | Points: 250
Publish your research as a professional web portfolio

Learning Objectives

By the end of Phase V, you will:

✅ Write a complete research report (Intro, Method, Results, Discussion)
✅ Render documents as both PDF and web pages
✅ Write executive summaries and briefs
✅ Present findings with confidence and clarity
✅ Translate statistics into actionable insights
✅ Reflect on your research journey and next steps

What You’ll Do

This is your moment to tell the story your data reveals:

Narrative Development - Translate numbers into meaning: “What did we learn?”
Visual Communication - Design slides/infographics that guide your audience through the story
Executive Briefing - One-page summary for decision makers
Presentation - Present findings in a clear, engaging way
Reflection - Capture lessons learned for next time

Phase 5 Content & Activities

Activity 1: Craft Your Story (Week 11)

Before making slides, nail your narrative:

Identify your key insights - Which 2-3 findings matter most?
Create an outline - How do you guide your audience through the data?
Add “So what?” - For each finding, explain why it matters

Outline Template:

# Research Story Outline

## Hook (30 seconds)
[What question were we answering? Why does it matter?]

## Context (1-2 minutes)
[Brief background: who cares, what was the challenge?]

## The Findings (3-4 minutes)
### Finding 1: [Headline]
- Data point 1
- Data point 2
- **So what?** [Why does this matter? What should we do?]

### Finding 2: [Headline]
- Data point 1
- Data point 2
- **So what?** [Implications]

### Finding 3: [Headline]
- Data point 1
- Data point 2
- **So what?** [Action items]

## Limitations (1 minute)
[What are we uncertain about?]

## Next Steps (1-2 minutes)
[What should happen next?]

Create: 03_Project/04_Drafts/Story_Outline.md

Activity 2: Create a Slide Deck or Brief (Week 12)

Option A: Slide Deck (for live presentation) - Title slide with question - 1 context slide - 2-3 finding slides with visualizations - 1 limitations slide - 1 next steps/call-to-action slide - Total: 7-8 slides (aim for 1-2 minutes per slide)

Option B: One-Page Brief (for email/sharing) - Header with research question - 3-4 key findings with visual - Brief interpretation - Limitations (small print) - Contact + next steps

Design Tips: - ✅ One major idea per slide - ✅ Large, readable fonts (18pt minimum) - ✅ Colors that support understanding (not decoration) - ✅ Real data visuals (your actual charts/tables) - ✅ Simple, clean layouts - ❌ Avoid: dense text, clip art, too many colors

Tools: - Google Slides (free, easy sharing) - PowerPoint (familiar, flexible) - Keynote (Apple, polished) - Canva (beautiful templates) - Quarto (reproducible, code-based)

Create: 03_Project/04_Drafts/Presentation_Deck.pdf or Brief.pdf

Activity 3: Translate for Your Audience (Week 12)

Different audiences, different messages:

For Executives: - Bottom line: What’s the recommendation? - Impact: What does this mean for our goals? - Minimize jargon; focus on action

For Data Scientists: - Methodology: How did you approach this? - Limitations: What aren’t we capturing? - Code & details available if needed

For General Audience: - Story: What happened and why does it matter? - Visuals: Show don’t tell - Plain language: Avoid stats jargon

Create: Brief version (1-2 sentences) of each finding for different audiences in your outline.

Activity 4: Presentation & Reflection (Week 13)

Presentation Options: - In-class presentation (5-10 minutes) - Recorded video (3-5 minutes) - Written report with visuals - Poster presentation (if poster session)

Before presenting: 1. Rehearse with a peer - Get feedback 2. Time yourself - Stay within limits 3. Check visuals - Do all graphs display correctly? 4. Practice Q&A - What might people ask?

After presenting: 1. Capture feedback - What questions did people ask? 2. Note surprises - What did people react to most? 3. Reflect in journal - What would you do differently next time?

Communication Templates

Plain Language Translation Guide

Technical	Plain Language
“Statistically significant difference (p < 0.05)”	“This difference is very unlikely to have happened by chance”
“Negative correlation (r = -0.72)”	“As X increases, Y tends to decrease”
“Thematic coding revealed 5 emergent categories”	“When we looked for patterns, we found 5 main themes”
“Inter-rater reliability was 0.84”	“Two coders agreed 84% of the time”

“So What?” Template for Each Finding

DATA: [State what you found]
MEANING: [What does it mean?]
ACTION: [What should we do about it?]

EXAMPLE:
DATA: 78% of respondents prefer format A over format B
MEANING: Most users find format A easier/better
ACTION: Recommend switching to format A; monitor user satisfaction

Resources for Phase 5

🎨 Data Visualization for Presentations

Beginner

Tips for creating effective slides that tell your story without overwhelming viewers.

[Content to be added]

📝 Executive Summary Template

10 min

One-page brief template for decision makers.

[Content to be added]

🎤 Presentation Skills Checklist

Beginner

Guidelines for confident delivery, handling Q&A, and managing presentation anxiety.

[Content to be added]

What Success Looks Like

By the end of Phase 5, you should have:

✅ Story Outline - Clear narrative with findings + “so what?” for each
✅ Slide Deck or Brief - Professional, audience-appropriate presentation
✅ Plain Language Translations - Key findings explained for non-technical audience
✅ Presentation Delivery - Presented findings (live, recorded, or written)
✅ Reflection Piece - Journal entry on lessons learned + future improvements
✅ Week 11-13 Journal Entries - Reflections throughout delivery phase
✅ Archived Project - All materials organized for future reference

Milestone Timeline

Week	Activity	Deliverable
Week 11	Story outline + narrative	Research story outline
Week 12	Create deck/brief	Slide deck or one-page brief
Week 13	Present + reflect	Presentation + reflection journal

Sample Presentation Structure (7-minute version)

Slide 1: Title (30 sec) - Research question - Your name - Date

Slide 2: Why This Matters (1 min) - Context - Why we’re investigating this

Slides 3-4: The Findings (2.5 min) - Finding 1 + visual - Finding 2 + visual - Finding 3 + visual (if time)

Slide 5: What It Means (1.5 min) - Key takeaways - Answers to your research questions - So what?

Slide 6: Limitations (1 min) - What we’re uncertain about - Caveats on conclusions

Slide 7: Next Steps (0.5 min) - What comes next? - How should findings be used?

Total: ~7 minutes + Q&A

Celebrating Your Work

You’ve completed a full research cycle! Take time to:

✅ Reflect - What did you learn about research? About yourself?
✅ Archive - Save your project materials in 03_Project/ for future reference
✅ Share - Consider sharing your process/findings with peers or on social media
✅ Celebrate - You did real, meaningful work!

Looking Forward

Skills You’ve Developed

Research Design - Asking good questions
Data Management - Organizing and documenting
Analysis - Finding patterns and meaning
Communication - Translating for different audiences
Reflection - Learning from your process

These Skills Transfer To:

Graduate research
Professional data analysis
Project management
Team communication
Any field requiring evidence-based thinking

Final Reflection Prompts

Write a final journal entry answering:

What surprised you most about this research process?
What was hardest? How did you overcome it?
If you did this project again, what would you do differently?
How will you use these skills in the future?
Who helped you succeed? How can you pay it forward?

Congratulations! 🎉

You’ve moved through all five phases: - 🧭 Phase 1: Understood your role - 🔍 Phase 2: Asked good questions - 📖 Phase 3: Defined your variables - ⚙️ Phase 4: Collected & analyzed data - 🎯 Phase 5: Communicated impact

You are now a Communication Liaison. Go build something great. ✨