”Publicly funded research should be accessible to all”
How do media narratives about brain research shape our understanding of the human psyche? This is the focus of a new article by Robert Ohlsson, researcher at Stockholm University – and the first to be published in SU Dynamica, the university’s open access platform.
Hi, Robert Ohlsson! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research?
– I am a senior lecturer in education and an associate professor at the Department of Education at Stockholm University. I have a background in psychology, and my research focuses on mental health – how we talk about and make sense of psychological wellbeing and distress. In previous projects, I have studied self-help groups and media representations of mental illness. That led me to questions about the brain and how neuroscience influences our ideas about the mind.
What is your article about?
– The article examines how scientific knowledge about the brain is communicated to a wider public through the media – in this case, the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet over the course of one year. I’m particularly interested in the implications this has for how we think about ourselves, about diagnoses, treatments, and the human psyche.
Why did you choose to publish in SU Dynamica?
– I discovered SU Dynamica through the university’s website and was really pleased that Stockholm University has its own open access platform. It’s free to publish, and all submissions undergo peer review. Another benefit was the flexibility regarding article length – which is especially important in qualitative studies where findings are often presented in more detail.
What does it mean to you that your article is open access?
– It’s a matter of principle. The research is publicly funded, so I believe the results should be available to both the research community and the general public. It’s also a benefit not having to transfer copyright to a commercial publisher.
Do you have any advice for other researchers considering SU Dynamica or similar platforms?
– I think it’s a great option that more researchers should be aware of. SU Dynamica offers open access, is free of charge, and has a robust peer review process. It’s a valuable complement to traditional journals.
Further reading:
Understanding brain and mind: representations of neuroscience in Swedish mass media (SU Dynamica)
Publishing Support on Staff website
Text: Cecilia Burman
What is SU Dynamica?
SU Dynamica – SUstainable publishing is a publishing platform currently available exclusively to researchers at Stockholm University. It allows researchers to publish open access articles free of charge, with peer review. Articles receive a DOI and will eventually also be registered in DiVA.
The platform is open to researchers from all disciplines, regardless of field. Peer review is open, and the platform automatically matches submitted manuscripts with suitable reviewers based on their subject expertise.
SU Dynamica is not a traditional journal, but a publishing platform, and therefore does not have an editor-in-chief. Stockholm University is the official publisher.
Last updated: June 10, 2025
Source: Stockholm University Library