The popular view of research is that it produces answers. This is not untrue. If you need answers, research is going to help you find them. The problem is that research also produces questions. In fact, it produces more questions than answers, which can have a big impact on your ability to publish and on your […]
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From Conference Presentation to Journal Article
In my earlier post, I suggested that conference presentations make great first drafts of journal articles. The hard part is actually sitting down to turn that excellent first draft into something good enough to submit to a journal. Dealing with criticism. Maybe someone in your conference session asked some awkward questions. Or made some suggestions […]
Read More »Do Conference Papers Count?
This is a question I get asked a lot. Whether it is for hiring, tenure, or a research grant, researchers seem unsure of the value of conference papers. It’s all about impact Conference presentations feel like they have more impact than other forms of dissemination. There are real people in the room listening. They ask […]
Read More »Getting the most from conferences
Are you going to a large disciplinary conference? Are you worried about your conference presentation? Or excited about meeting up with colleagues you don’t see in person very often? Is this your first time? Are you unsure about what it’ll be like? What to wear? Who to talk to? How your presentation will go? Don’t […]
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Life is like a video game
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Life is like a video game Caveat: I am not a gamer but friends who are have confirmed that what I’m going to say here makes sense. One of my posts for the Careers Cafe at University Affairs compared life to a video game. Video game developers write stories […]
Read More »Maybe sitting at your desk to work is the problem
Do you struggle with research because you think you need to be sitting at your desk to do it? I know that schools are really big on sitting still and being quiet as the necessary precursor to doing academic work. You did well in school. But just because that’s how school trained you, doesn’t mean […]
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There will always be things you don’t know
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · There will always be things you don’t know You are an intelligent person. You have successfully completed an advanced degree, secured a position, maybe even already have tenure. You may have won competitive scholarships along the way. (If you are still doing your PhD, you have still accomplished much. […]
Read More »Taking responsibility for your career
Every week or so we see another article in the mainstream or Higher Education press telling smart young people that going to graduate school in the humanities is a waste of time and money. We seem to be coming to the point qualitative researchers would call “saturation”, where new data doesn’t really add anything knew […]
Read More »“Cutting” words
A participant in A Meeting With Your Writing admitted that she was discouraged. She needs to cut 2000 words from a paper. She thought it would be easy but it turned out to be really hard. This is one place where counting words works against you. You wrote all those words for a reason, dammit. […]
Read More »Stop diminishing your accomplishments
Whether it is in the weekly e-mail that clients send me, in tweets, or in casual conversations I’ve been noticing that academics seem to diminish their accomplishments. “I’ve had a slow week.” “I only marked 2 essays.” “I only wrote [insert number here] words today.” “I only read 10 articles this week.” Negative talk demotivates By […]
Read More »Start thinking about your post-doc early
Are you within 12 – 18 months of finishing your dissertation? I know that’s a hard question. And you can’t really know with any certainty. Do you feel like you are approaching the end of this process? Have you considered a post-doctoral fellowship? Even if you are closer to finished or have already defended your dissertation, […]
Read More »You always have time for yoga, mama
When you’re busy, it’s easy to forget to look after yourself. You feel like you don’t have time to go to the gym, to go for a run, for yoga, for meditation, for sleep, to eat properly … If you’re lucky, your kids or someone else who loves you will remind you that you always have time. […]
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