Two | 2024
A selection of current news items for managers of Early Career Researchers.
Note: Access to some of the publications referenced here is metered and/or involves a free registration of basic details, and we hope you find the material worth any such inconvenience. We try our best not to include paywalled articles, but there are sometimes differences between jurisdictions. We hope that your institution’s subscriptions will allow you to see any pieces that do turn out to be restricted in your location.
Research matters
Quality culture. A recent study out of Harvard focuses on five themes affecting research culture and a four-pronged approach to making improvements.
Behaviour change. Improving academic research culture is a long game that depends heavily on individuals.
Literacy lag. For teachers facing students with poor reading and writing habits, extensive reflections on why this is and what it means for education.
Self-regulation is failing. Research misconduct is a crime with real consequences and needs to be penalised accordingly.
Keeping it real. An associate dean who took three goes to get her PhD champions the value of being frank about failure at all levels in academia.
Must do better. More study evidence that assessment methods are still falling way short in evaluating research credibility and quality.
Transparency test. Some view sharing raw data and publishing preprints as risky, but there are big benefits to open science.
Draft; submit; repeat. A grant guru shares tips road-tested with 100 experts in the art of writing applications.
Going public. Researchers engaged in outreach say it’s not only intrinsically beneficial but can also attract funding.
Embedding engagement. Seasoned research managers talk through the nuanced challenges in supporting and recognising impact.
Ideas to action. Four facets to getting research noticed by policy-makers and other end-users.
A new normal. Many universities are yet to develop policies and consistent standards of conduct for AI use.
No AI natives. Just because young people are being educated in the age of AI doesn’t mean they have an innate ability to use it.
Check your contract. There has been shock at the recent sale by publishers of authors’ research to AI companies without consulting or compensating researchers.
Get updated. GetFTR is partnering with Crossref to speed up communication of retractions and errata to researchers.
Management matters
Barriers laid bare. Issues around career trajectory were a problem for over 80% of postdocs in a 2023 US survey, the worst being a lack of clarity about pathways.
Policy of misuse. A straight-talking paper decries what the authors call ‘exploitative promotional practices’ by universities.
Postdoc priorities. The experience of two German institutes seeking potential improvements to the working lives of their postdocs.
Careers gateway. The EU’s new one-stop researcher development platform brings together existing services like Euraxess and announces a ‘careers observatory’, now under development.
Growing confident supervisors. An open-access collection of helpful and much-needed advice for new and experienced PhD supervisors alike.
Vital but undervalued. They provide pivotal support and continuity for research groups and programs, but RA roles are too often precarious and under-appreciated.
Team talk. A brief three-part article series on ‘best practice’ in creating and maintaining effective research teams.
Picking partners. The art of combining enthusiasm with educated caution when it comes to considering collaborations.
Keeping house. Thoughts on the central value of academic admin roles, who should do them and on what terms.
Academia’s ‘addition sickness’. It’s time for over-burdened administrators to push back against the all-too-prevalent phenomenon of ‘managing by addition’.
Head GEEK. Reflections on leadership style and skills from a department head who wasn’t ready to lead.
Personal press
Mentor map. To cover the different areas where we need support, there’s a ‘constellation’ of potential mentor relationships to consider, whether you are an academic or alt-ac.
Lessons applied. How to transfer the underlying principles of writing retreats into everyday writing practice.
Catch the eye. Thorough research, a tailored approach and personal connections are three of the keys to a stand-out job application.
New leaf. If you’re seeking a new identity outside academia, the best way to find it is through other people.
Inbox inhibitor. There’s always too much email but much of the hassle it creates can be managed.
AI in the house. The esteemed Thesis Whisperer explains how her AI ‘husband’ is giving her more of her own life back.
Negative benefits. If your workload is yelling that you have to say ‘no’ this time, you should: really, truly, firmly!
No FOMO. A no-regrets follow-up story about the scholars who decided to say ‘no’ to extra work.
See the gain. Ways to avoid focusing too much on others’ successes and acknowledging instead your own progress.
Serious research
Subordinate Clauses… Left-field cartoons from the ever-reliable Sidney Harris on all things Christmas - with warmest wishes of the Season from PostdocTraining!
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