Dear Dr. Kjartan Skogly Kversøy ,

It is great to find a simple language to pass the idea of your research to participants, interested, and even attract non-interested to the subject. I think it is one of the important success kind, which needs skill, training, and study to reach that level.

So, this ties directly into the design thinking aspect of scientific research that I suggest needs more attention: Preprint Reforming Science

While research for the sake of research is just fine, we can also do a much better job of listening to the interests and concerns of our stakeholders, which really include every single person. That means open dialog with the general population, surveys, and so on, to see what interests the population, what worries them, and so on.

Dera Kjartan,

I would say that my research is relevant when it tries to answer to, say, "irritating" questions, that is, questions whose answer advances knowledge and leads us to a better knowledge of the unkowon. My research is also relevant when it has beneficial effects on the betterment of this world. So, basic or fundamental reasearch is important, but this is also the case of applied research.

Kind regards,

Orlando

My research is relevant to me when it addresses a question that puzzles me personally. Others may not care about my questions or whether they can be answered. More generally I think that anything that enhances our understanding is relevant to our human condition, even if the enhancement is minor and not widely recognized. I sympathize with the poor medievalist who has to defend his research on some obscure topic to the bean-counters who define relevance in terms of "impacts", "business partnerships", or "grants received".

Dear Dr. Kjartan Skogly Kversøy , thank you for this good question.

For me, I understand this term is the extent to which research addresses a problem of interest to society whether this society is the scientific research community or the actual larger society in which we live.

Regards.

Shaden M H Mubarak I agree with you. I often discuss science with people that are not part of the scientific research community and am worried that me and other scientist have a job to do in the way we communicate our research and the way we recognize the participants in our research.

Dear Dr. Kjartan Skogly Kversøy ,

It is great to find a simple language to pass the idea of your research to participants, interested, and even attract non-interested to the subject. I think it is one of the important success kind, which needs skill, training, and study to reach that level.

Add on, there is a little crucial point in the end, I think most of the researchers are shocked at the end by this question from the non-scientific participant: "In the end tell me please, is this your research is the solution to my problem?" or "Is this the therapy for my disease? Will be cured by this?".

Often the answer is: We need more research!

Regards.

Shaden M H Mubarak I have done experiments with action research methodology and have included layman participants even in some of the analysis of data. The consequences have been interesting. The transparency and the democratic participation have strengthened both the research and the participants. I have great belief that most people can understand most research if only the scientific researcher is willing to represent their work in a down to earth way. One hero in this sence is Takoa Furuno, the japanese ricefarmer and researcher who has changed rice production in Japan at more that 10.000 farms across the country. I recommend his PhD dissertation «The Power of Duck». It is about economical and ecological rice farming. Even my 13 year old nephew could understand it. It is easy to read and understand but not in any way light research.

For an article to be relevant it must not only be interesting, applicable and current to the needs of the practitioners but should also be written in an accessible and simple style.

Research Should Benefit the Community :It is essential that research studies benefit the communities where the research occurs. Research studies should be in tune with the communities’ needs and wants, and the results should be made available to them and research should not be for personal benefit .

Really fantastic what you are doing Dear Dr. Kjartan Skogly Kversøy . Frankly, I find it somewhat difficult to communicate a genetic research idea, for example, to a 13-year-old child. I must read more about this wonderful skill.

Regards.

Khansaa Azeez Obayes Al-Husseini I think what you are writing is very unde—communicated, but it is possible if researchers are willing.

Hello, relevance means in terms of a journal article, and how scholars can increase the relevance of their research

Original work

To me, I think research is relevant when it can be applied or when it leads to increased higher order thinking About a tooic with new insights, questions.

I shall answer this question by asking questions !

Assume that a chemist in a Zimbabwe university has done research to prepare the compound (2,2,3,3,4,4- hexamethyldecane) by a novel method, what is the relevance of carrying out this research & then publishing it to that African country ?

Knowing that the resources for this research will most probably come from this university, what will the Zimbabwe communities gain in return ?

Assuming that this chemist did more research on the mentioned compound regarding its properties until he got the necessary points for promotion, who will pay the increases in the salary of this academic?

Of course, the preparation of the compound & its properties will catch the interest of chemists in developed countries and these chemists will reap "real" advantages (if there are any). Here, relevance is a reality but to foreign persons working outside Zimbabwe.

Is there a new type of "colonialism" through research activities that many 3rd world scholars are not aware of ?