The games we play in science and research communication

Much of the content on The Grey Lit Café is pragmatic, concerned with how to improve the creation or management of grey literature ('greylit'). And some of it is conceptual. concerned with how to inform our thinking about greylit.This episode seeks to make a contribution by combining the two sets of concerns.From a pragmatic point of view, we consider how to improve the processes involved in the creation of such documents as grant proposals and responses to peer review.From a conceptual point of view, we consider how the key processes involved in greylit represent a form of game-playing. We draw here on the notion of 'homo ludens' as articulated by Johan Huizinga in his great work, Homo Ludens (1938)Recognizing the games involved in such processes as obtaining funding or getting a paper accepted for publication helps writers to interact effectively with other players (such as grant committees, editors, and peer reviewers) and to produce successful texts.ReferenceJohan Huizinga, Homo ludens (Angelico Press, 2016)Further listeningIf you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might particularly enjoy the following:Why we need to talk about silver literatureWordclouds: a neglected form of grey literatureCreditsSound production: Bart HallmarkMusic: from Handel's Water Music, courtesy of the United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber OrchestraSupport the showAbout the publisherThis episode is published by Frontinus Ltd. We're a communications consultancy that helps organisations and individuals to communicate scientific, professional, and technical content to non-specialist audiences. We provide consultancy mentoringediting and writingtrainingand work on presentations, bids and proposals, and publications (for example, reports and papers).To learn more about services or explore ways of working together, please contact us via our website, http://frontinus.org.uk/.