Limitations and future directions
While this study revealed the potential for SCOPE to significantly impact research language use, given the nascency of this topic and methodology, there are potential limitations that warrant further study. First, the present work compared SCOPE to a control that did not receive evidence in a way we can track; there is more work to be done to compare this theory-based model to one that follows the first-generation “push” approach to dissemination.Further, the estimates of the effect may be an underestimate, given that legislators within a state legislature are inherently connected—sharing buildings, committees, and often even staffers—which may contribute to a spillover effect. The social use of evidence for earning trust, demonstrating credibility, educating others, and enhancing debate and collaboration between lawmakers has been documented in previous studies [Finally, it is unclear how the current pandemic context affected demand, access, and uptake of research information; therefore, the findings are not generalizable to other time periods or other topic areas (e.g., climate change) and there is a need to replicate this experiment. Converse to generalizability across issue areas is a need to differentiate strategies for different types of policymakers. For instance, while state legislators are critical for public communication and enacting new policies, agency officials may be another audience of interest for future intervention testing given their role in implementing policy. Similarly, research use patterns may vary by political affiliation as prior studies have illustrated different research use patterns, emphases, and impact of research communication approaches across party lines [SCOPE could be replicated in future science translation efforts that embed both the relational nature of the enhanced dissemination method and routinized evaluation for continuous quality improvement. To improve access to trusted, nonpartisan research evidence and to facilitate its use, research translation teams must embrace best practices such as personalizing to the needs of policymakers. Those seeking to apply these findings should adhere to the relational aspect of this work, such that the science that is distributed is drawn from interacting with policymakers, and the dissemination effort itself encourages further interactions between researchers and policymakers. More broadly, these findings could be built upon by further increasing the reach of the research syntheses in this effort, such as using different interpersonal tactics or framing strategies [