Bridging academia and the Nordic societies

The peer-reviewed journal Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (NAD) has a dual role in that the journal strives to be internationally relevant, but also solidly anchored in a Nordic context. How does one achieve that successfully?

Which language to choose?

NAD accepts submissions not only in English, but also in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, in order to help Scandinavian researchers express ideas and develop concepts in their native languages. This is important , as much of the content concerns local questions and contexts, and research must be communicated in a language that makes it possible to apply and relevant for the people involved. For NAD, the language question has always been reoccurring, and there has always been a tension between English and the Scandinavian languages. Over the years the journal content has slowly come to be dominated by the English language.

A part of the community

When perusing older issues of NAD, one can find reports from various Nordic meetings, seminars and conferences, as well as news bulletins and country reports. There is more material that deals with praxis and policy, and the content reflects an engagement with a much wider community of people working with alcohol- and drug-related issues in the Nordic countries.

The popular scientific website PopNAD was originally established in 2012 to preserve this dialogue between research and policy/practice. The original idea with PopNAD was to disseminate research in a popularised form in Scandinavian languages. PopNAD serves as a bridge between academia and the Nordic citizens, civil society, policymakers and welfare professionals. Since 2018, PopNAD also publishes articles in Finnish and English – the authors get to choose their preferred language.

The value and task of popular scientific publishing

Popular scientific publishing is crucial and has inherent added value, especially in times of fake news and industry misinformation campaigns. Many research funders and universities are today formulating new third task requirements to communicate to broader audiences.

Last year, 2023, PopNAD published 47 articles written for the website by researchers, debaters and journalists from across the Nordics. Approximately half of the articles are in English. A quarter of the articles published on the site originate directly from NAD. For example, these three articles written in English –

1. a Norwegian study exploring whether various interventions had any impact on drug overdose trends (Amundsen et al.)
2. a Swedish study investigating possible associations between problematic familial alcohol use and adolescent outcomes (Wahlström et al.)
3. a Danish study focusing on the dilemma-filled relationship with drinking and partying among young Muslim women in Denmark (Bærndt & Frank)

have corresponding articles published in PopNAD (Amundsen; Wahlström and Fjellerup-Bærndt) written in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish, respectively.

The mission: a one-stop shop for Nordic ANDTG

In addition to popularised versions of NAD- articles, the content on PopNAD stems from or serves as commentaries to research reports, data, policies, debates, conference reports and developments from the Nordic region from the whole Alcohol, Narcotics, Doping, Tobacco, and Gambling (ANDTG) field. Over the years, one of PopNAD’s most popular services has been the section on alcohol statistics, providing concise information on alcohol markets in all Nordic countries and areas, including Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland Islands.

PopNAD’s presence and activities on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn and X (Twitter)) also underscore its availability as a one-stop shop for anyone interested in Nordic ANDTG questions.

The article is written by

Tom Kettunen, editor for NAD

Mikaela Lindeman, editor for PopNAD