Scientists told to scrap the jargon

Canada's largest granting agency wants scientists to express themselves in clearer language when applying for funds.

The National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada wants an improvement in the language applicants use to explain their proposed studies to make them more intelligible to those outside the field.

"We are asking that researchers provide a public summary in plain language, which would explain and justify their research in language that their teenage children or parents would understand," wrote council president Tom Brzustowski, in Contact, a newsletter for the more than 16,000 NSERC grant-holding professors and graduate students.

Dr Brzustowski said that researchers needed more than ever to communicate better with the public. "We have never needed more public understanding for funding agencies than we do today," he said.

Peter Norton, a chemistry professor at the University of Western Ontario, said: "The public generally does not trust experts. But science can get so complicated that, like you do for your doctor, at one point you have to trust the person conducting the research."

The granting agency also claims that the plainly written introduction will help in better sifting through applications. It will also help council spokesmen to defend a research project to critics.

The council will frown upon instances where applicants use language in their summary introductions that can only be understood by their peers. The main part of the grant application will still be jargon-friendly.