Broadening Legitimacy of Scholarly Podcasting as Knowledge Dissemination: Metrics, Opportunities and Considerations

Abstract

Scholarly podcasts offer one way to make research freely available to a broad public audience for the purposes of knowledge dissemination. Some researchers may find it difficult to engage in public knowledge sharing while aligning with their institution’s demands for positive impacts on the university’s standardized metrics and rankings. This interpretive single case study addresses the value of scholarly podcasts, measured and communicated through factors of impact and success. With qualitative and quantitative data, through Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory, we aim to define and quantify the impacts of scholarly podcasting. For podcasting to become an institutionalized part of the research dissemination process, a fundamental shift must occur in how researchers and academia valuate public scholarship. Findings indicate that basic quantitative data—such as number of downloads and geographic reach, and the Podcast Success Index with supplementary data—may support scholarly podcasters to communicate the value of their work.