tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74807265881093121632024-03-14T05:32:54.437+11:00The RED AlertLa Trobe University research experiences, strategies, and insightAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13665039261183177128noreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-80913364215063026922024-02-20T08:00:00.002+11:002024-02-28T18:03:25.030+11:00My staycation experience: an online writing retreat in my hometown (Tara Williams)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZGj8Bne86xEgNcbR1_QVnsz__HJiEHGtD312pC_eFauDhavR-7z8qR6GfQWhIB8_QhdWSvg-CIUL8C1QM4N7c_Rzrk_IagNdpca9jzH8bZddQ-v06HAkbWHgDyCNSssd3wwjEl4iQu2-YxBIAS6P2Zf_8IGgFhrTlsGbUlKCjM8vapu2IQH-Xql6FdE/s985/Nick%20Morrison%20-%20unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="985" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZGj8Bne86xEgNcbR1_QVnsz__HJiEHGtD312pC_eFauDhavR-7z8qR6GfQWhIB8_QhdWSvg-CIUL8C1QM4N7c_Rzrk_IagNdpca9jzH8bZddQ-v06HAkbWHgDyCNSssd3wwjEl4iQu2-YxBIAS6P2Zf_8IGgFhrTlsGbUlKCjM8vapu2IQH-Xql6FdE/w640-h480/Nick%20Morrison%20-%20unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="text-align: left;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@nickmorrison?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash" style="text-align: left;">Nick Morrison</a><span style="text-align: left;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/macbook-pro-near-white-open-book-FHnnjk1Yj7Y?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash" style="text-align: left;">Unsplash</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Imagine this: The idea of a writing retreat without the hassle of navigating airports or a long road trip to a distant location. </p><p>In late November 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in the three-day RED Writing Retreat while staying in a hotel in my hometown of Mildura. This meant that I was involved in an online retreat with over forty people while staying right I am. You might wonder, "Why a staycation?" and "How did it go?" </p><p>Well, let me share my experience! </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><strong>Why a Staycation?</strong></p><p>When I was thinking about how I could be most productive during the RED Writing Retreat, the idea of taking a staycation provided me with the perfect solution. </p><p>While the idea of a staycation - or vacationing in your own town or city - might seem odd to some, it offers several benefits. First, it provided another way to switch up my writing routine, offering a refreshing change of scenery without sacrificing the comforts of home. Second, there was no need to research possible destinations or navigate unfamiliar surroundings. I could soak in the calm and familiarity of my hometown without the hassle and cost of travel. And, finally, it gave me a quiet environment and dedicated space to focus on my writing without my usual home and work distractions. It was the perfect blend of ease and productivity that I needed.</p><p><strong>Planning for a Staycation</strong></p><p>Effective planning was the key to my successful staycation writing retreat.</p><ol>
<li><b>Choose the Right Accommodation: </b>I chose a quiet, comfortable hotel with kitchen facilities and windows that opened for fresh air. It was essential to have a space where I could write for long periods, including a decent desk, chair and reliable Wi-Fi. The hotel was also within walking distance of all the essentials: coffee shops, a supermarket (to replenish snacks), local restaurants and a walking track along the Murray River.</li>
<li><b>Outline your writing goals:</b> Be clear on your goals and what you want to achieve during the writing retreat to give yourself direction and purpose. To keep myself on track, I created daily goals and a checklist to keep me motivated, track my progress and provide a sense of achievement.</li>
<li><b>Plan your days: </b>Before the retreat, the RED Team sent out a schedule of writing blocks and break times over the three days, which helped me to develop a clear plan aligned with dedicated writing hours, balanced with breaks for meals, relaxation and sleep.</li>
<li><b>Pack Accordingly:</b> Even though I was in my hometown, I packed as if I were going on a regular vacation but with all the essentials – laptop and chargers, printouts and reading materials, stationery, favourite coffee cup and drink bottle, essential oil diffuser (clarity and focus blend for concentration), exercise clothes, yoga mat and bath bomb. Going back home, if I forgot something, was not an option! </li>
<li><b>Communicate your goals </b>to work colleagues, family, and friends to ensure minimal interruptions during work hours.</li>
</ol><p><strong>Making the Most of Your Staycation</strong></p><p>Once you're there, it's all about balancing work and rest to be productive in your writing. </p><p>Prioritise your most critical tasks during your peak concentration hours and share your progress with others during the scheduled breaks. The days are long, and the intensive writing sessions are hard. </p><p>Schedule breaks, take short walks or engage in activities that refresh your mind. In my case, I packed my yoga mat and walked along the river in the afternoon to clear my head and stretch my legs after long hours of sitting at a computer. You can explore local coffee shops and restaurants during leisure time, and even discover hidden gems that you've overlooked in your hometown. Use the hotel amenities to unwind in the evenings, ensuring a good night's sleep to boost productivity the next day. This balance kept me motivated and energised throughout the three days.</p><p><strong>Wrapping Up</strong></p><p>
</p><p>My staycation turned out to be a valuable and motivating experience. The change in my writing environment helped minimise distractions and enhanced my creativity and productivity, all while in the shared online company of fellow academics. So, if you are considering a new way of escaping the mundane of your usual writing space without venturing too far, consider a staycation writing retreat. Your writing will thank you for it. I'm already considering where to stay for next year's RED Writing Retreat! </p><p>----------------------------</p><p><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/t3williams"></a></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAv4qVbcavEBiPMoJgGN6c3ZMu50s-ivjA1ArqmShtFSgkuWbbh2WlBa6I4hwfTGLYNycNNawzh1_OZVroM9JHkHeqlMUNdbEGD0okbvEICB4UokvoJFoYQRyKju8h0y-4TBHc6rwBfxSHzp3QM5d2oYrgVAauLsuNfZ-9Rgna0Kt5gCKeaQHXSXckaQ/s214/Tara%20Williams.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="196" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAv4qVbcavEBiPMoJgGN6c3ZMu50s-ivjA1ArqmShtFSgkuWbbh2WlBa6I4hwfTGLYNycNNawzh1_OZVroM9JHkHeqlMUNdbEGD0okbvEICB4UokvoJFoYQRyKju8h0y-4TBHc6rwBfxSHzp3QM5d2oYrgVAauLsuNfZ-9Rgna0Kt5gCKeaQHXSXckaQ/s1600/Tara%20Williams.jpg" width="196" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br /><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/t3williams">Tara Williams</a> </b>is a Nurse Academic at the Mildura Campus of the La Trobe Rural Health School with teaching experience and curriculum development in community nursing and primary health care. </i><p></p><p><i>Tara completed a Master of Public Health in 2016 and is currently undertaking a PhD investigating how rural communities reduce loneliness through volunteering. Tara has a strong interest in rural health, the social determinants of health and cross-sector collaboration.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-87997958787466011462024-02-13T08:00:00.001+11:002024-02-13T08:00:00.247+11:00Getting your work in the media - what's it like? (Angela Russell)<div style="text-align: left;"><i><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotq8h2VpY1aQHBaReyg69x1edIpDHvy19AT9DaQBvTCG7C4BBQ6GTP_ryDJe0YKE55gEa2DTaGTY_BWh8HmlTIf_Ui67ybdExAtyiI0iNTDfGDRiAghsJVx2oo7XenMb2XoqYBiXNiMusUA_2sYx09GOvvMzizH4RWyVPskzMTGlQLj4mCKlQ8cE4jHc/s1920/annie-pm-Ox0ppJImhpE-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotq8h2VpY1aQHBaReyg69x1edIpDHvy19AT9DaQBvTCG7C4BBQ6GTP_ryDJe0YKE55gEa2DTaGTY_BWh8HmlTIf_Ui67ybdExAtyiI0iNTDfGDRiAghsJVx2oo7XenMb2XoqYBiXNiMusUA_2sYx09GOvvMzizH4RWyVPskzMTGlQLj4mCKlQ8cE4jHc/w640-h426/annie-pm-Ox0ppJImhpE-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo by annie pm on Unsplash</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />If you’ve ever wondered how researchers write opinion pieces, or where you can get your research published to reach a wider audience, this post from PhD Candidate Ange Russell - about her experience of writing on (and being interviewed about) kangaroo poo </i><i>-</i><i> is a great read. </i><i>Y</i><i>ou can also sign up for our RED workshops on Writing Opinion Pieces during the next <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/researchers/grs/red/initiatives/ltuacwrimo" target="_blank">Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo)</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>------------------------------ <i><br /></i><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div>I wanted to give you a brief insight into my experience of getting an article about my research published, with the hope that it might demystify the process and encourage you to consider doing something similar.<br /><br />My research is on marsupial gut microbiomes, which means part of my work involves collecting poop. The idea to write about this for a broader audience all started with my confirmation of candidature, when the Chair said he thought my thesis introduction would make a good opinion piece. Not knowing what an opinion piece was, I turned to the <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/researchers/grs/red/workshops-seminars" target="_blank">RED Program website</a> and saw there was an upcoming session on writing opinion pieces. Perfect!<br /><br />Meagan Tyler and Dan Walder took the workshop and talked us through the basics of writing for non-academic audiences and they mentioned <i><a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></i>, a news website focused on publishing the work of academics and researchers. I hadn’t heard of it before but hung around after the session for a chat and Dan thought the poop-collecting angle (I sometimes think of it as a Poo-h-D) might work for an interesting pitch.<br /><br />I had already written a <a href="https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/blog/the-poo-h-d/">short blog</a> for the website of a grant provider and received very positive feedback from them. On the other hand, my supervisor had been initially horrified, as it was mainly about poop, and the volunteers who collected and posted it to me. That piece had been suitable for the purpose it was written, but not exactly cutting-edge science or a topic with especially wide appeal. So, I didn’t necessarily think I had a publishable story.<br /><br />In a way, it was useful that I knew little about <i>The Conversation</i> itself, as I might otherwise have found the whole thing more intimidating. I’d also been encouraged by some to wait until after my PhD was completed before pitching an opinion piece about my research. But I took it as a challenge and headed straight for <i>The Conversation</i> website and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/pitches">pitches page,</a> which was quite off-putting in saying they get so many submissions they can only publish a few. The world of opinion pieces can be quite brutal and competitive.<br /><br />But ten minutes was all it took to write a short synopsis of my poop article and I chalked it up as an educational experience for when I really had something to say. It was a good practice run. The next day, I received an email from the deputy editor saying they thought my pitch was “an interesting and refreshing take on scientific research” and how soon could I submit a first draft? As I had already written the article, I sent it off within half an hour, having tidied and expanded it a little. Again, they came back to me within 24 hours, loved the draft, said they would give it some light editing, and asked me to provide photos to accompany the article. They sent me the edited copy for my approval and suggested a publishing date between Christmas and New Year, as they felt it would make excellent holiday reading.<br /><br />A relative was the first to congratulate me after reading my article in <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2023/dec/28/i-collect-roo-poo-and-our-research-could-save-many-marsupial-lives">The Guardian</a></i> and it was then I learned that other news sites can pick up stories from <i>The Conversation</i> and repost them under <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/republishing-guidelines">Creative Commons licensing</a>. It has also appeared over at <i><a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2024/01/roo-poo-database-helps-save-orphaned-joeys/">Australian Geographic</a></i>. Since it was published in December, my little article about kangaroo poo has been read by more than 30,000 people, I’ve done three radio interviews (not my forte!) about my work, and been contacted by two other researchers wanting to meet up and discuss some collaboration.<br /><br />So, if you’re thinking about writing an opinion piece, go for it, I say. It may open new doors, help your research, and looks good on a CV. Imagine how many conferences you would need to attend to get 30,000 people to hear about your research! It doesn't matter if it's words of encouragement or discouragement that spur you into action. Someone may be looking for a story right now about your niche subject to share with the world.<br /><br /></div><div>------------------------------ </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioipeB3xe6dYGrwmHKz3kcnmYMi6EVLeChIJGdFc8Szgtde2zKTprcvwVPu-rPAqEhiTkm1C5QTUhRwJcLaqHGFcRI1hJKYMhdm9_ccuoB7F_8S9CENdVieIlYKP7_smv9d4SYJ9YZtg2KWv8u5VONHpkWcS6QzYfzUJ6X5iA9o-VO-QoMzx3Of9LoO8I/s620/Ange%20Roo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="414" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioipeB3xe6dYGrwmHKz3kcnmYMi6EVLeChIJGdFc8Szgtde2zKTprcvwVPu-rPAqEhiTkm1C5QTUhRwJcLaqHGFcRI1hJKYMhdm9_ccuoB7F_8S9CENdVieIlYKP7_smv9d4SYJ9YZtg2KWv8u5VONHpkWcS6QzYfzUJ6X5iA9o-VO-QoMzx3Of9LoO8I/w186-h277/Ange%20Roo.jpg" width="186" /></a></div><i>After careers in small animal and wildlife veterinary nursing and with the Queensland and Metropolitan Ambulance Service, <b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/a2russell" target="_blank">Angela Russell</a> </b>commenced study in Biological Science at La Trobe University in 2011. She graduated in 2015 and was accepted into the Honours programme where she completed a thesis into road-kill patterns of marsupials, achieving first-class results. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Angela had a break from studying for several years before returning to La Trobe as a graduate researcher. <br /><br />The focus of Angela's research is the structure of the marsupial microbiome, and how rearing and release rates of orphaned marsupials can be improved by supporting the development of microbiome structure and supplementing it when necessary.</i></div>Meagan Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00834250735869788995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-18974151836838783562024-02-05T13:33:00.010+11:002024-02-14T11:52:34.894+11:00Networking and boosting research skills in one: 23 Things International<p> <b style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgulvbghqGKSWDHgMRpACzg6yKrjwKCqhCvAFtId4RALlMSRAlod4yLfokTX-yu42VPC1UIgZMaP8ZZYTd_eiLhqD3kWPq5KtS5XroyzOjSkMilRcdmrwT9pXKvLWOl7wZEJBmfarAw5_At0eWeQ-hL_p6e_8OqApgt9q8oUrlegvIqNLq4KcJrCjCm0/s847/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20154008.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="847" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgulvbghqGKSWDHgMRpACzg6yKrjwKCqhCvAFtId4RALlMSRAlod4yLfokTX-yu42VPC1UIgZMaP8ZZYTd_eiLhqD3kWPq5KtS5XroyzOjSkMilRcdmrwT9pXKvLWOl7wZEJBmfarAw5_At0eWeQ-hL_p6e_8OqApgt9q8oUrlegvIqNLq4KcJrCjCm0/w640-h376/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20154008.png" width="640" /></a></b></p><p><b></b></p><p>If you're keen on learning about research tools and strategies AND get a bit of networking done, we have the ideal opportunity for you! </p><p>La Trobe University is a program partner for the first time with 23 Things International. This unique global program is tailored for researchers interested in learning new tools to enhance their research, build and engage in research communities, and build their profile. It is open to doctoral and Masters by research students, their supervisors, and Early Career Researchers from all disciplines.</p><p><i>Registration is now open for 23 Things International 2024! </i></p><h3><strong>WHAT IS IT?</strong></h3><p><a href="https://www.23thingsinternational.com/">23T is a self-directed online program</a>. Each week we release two blogs – Things – covering a topic that can enhance how you work. It’s an easy way to find out the basics, with time to experiment a little and resources for taking things further when you want. With fresh content from field experts every year, we’re responsive to current needs, issues and debates, as well as the latest tools/technology. For example, this year will feature using AI in your research, project planning for grants, creative sharing of research, and research community building. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>A huge benefit is that when you join the program, we put you in a ‘Pod’ with other researchers from around the world; through our dedicated Discord server you can meet, share experiences and maybe plan for future collaborations. Essentially, we want to help you build up a mini-network that goes beyond the obvious links within your institution or field and connects you with people you might otherwise never meet. </p><p>For 2024, we’re grouping people using the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">17 UN Sustainable Development Goals</a> - now of central importance to many research programs and funders - so whatever your discipline or career stage, you’ll be meeting people with similar passions and priorities.</p><p>The Pod creates an instant network of researchers with overlapping research interests and leads to fantastic collaborations and friendships. Some of the Things include small group tasks, helping you to explore topics further together.</p><p>On top of all this, there is a Discord channel for discussion and networking, and we’re mixing in some live events, too – cross-time-zone coffee socials and a 48-hour writing retreat.</p><p><strong>Our partners are leading universities and networks:</strong></p><p></p><ul><li>The Africa Research Excellence Fund (UK & pan-Africa)</li><li>Auckland University of Technology (NZ)</li><li>University of Bath (UK)</li><li>Cambridge University (UK)</li><li>University College Dublin (IRL)</li><li>James Cook University (AUS & SG)</li><li>Kings College London (UK)</li><li>La Trobe University (AUS)</li><li>Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (IDN)</li><li>Wollongong University (AUS)</li><li>University of Otago (NZ)</li><li>Royal Holloway University of London (UK)</li><li>University of Surrey (UK)</li><li>Sydney International School of Technology (AUS)</li><li>Techne Doctoral Training Partnership (UK)</li><li>The Whisper Collective (International)</li></ul><p></p><p>We expect to have around 800 participants for 2024, from all areas of research.</p><h3 class="related-text-title">SCHEDULE</h3><p></p><div class="related-text-content"><p><b><a href="https://otago.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9tbOuSPjb6G9cKa">Registration for the 23 Things program</a> is open now, and closes on Friday 23 February. </b><strong>The first ‘Thing’ will be released on 4 March</strong>, and you will also meet your pod that week. The course runs for 14 weeks (including two break weeks).</p><p>The time commitment is very flexible. It’s designed to take about an hour a week (on average) to read the blogs and complete the small tasks, but you can tailor your involvement to suit your own interests and availability. There is no obligation to complete all the tasks, and each pod will decide how and how often they would like to meet. At the end of the program you can claim a certificate and digital badge. We also invite you to take part in a questionnaire and focus group, which supports our further research into online learning and how researchers adopt and adapt technologies to their needs.</p><h3 class="related-text-title">How do I join?</h3><p></p><div class="related-text-content"><p><a href="https://otago.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6fDgNV5adtdlTjo">You can <strong>register</strong> by filling in this form.</a> Once the pods have been allocated, we’ll provide you with introductions. Each pod will have a nominated chair, who is responsible for arranging the first online meeting.</p><p><a href="http://www.23thingsinternational.com/"><strong>Subscribe to the website</strong></a> to make sure you receive a notification when each blog post goes live.</p><p>For more information, please email Dr Tseen Khoo (t.khoo@latrobe.edu.au). </p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-10187884845360015412023-12-08T16:22:00.007+11:002023-12-13T12:37:10.406+11:00Don't want to lose that writing feeling? (Tseen Khoo)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzeQDNXng9tCwwNOl6XTgKF0Z9lWRwnJNgdYZTgiMSzZdKr7o_xi1shXXpV7nwP9tLs2AK8rryk01_Nwhcvo5jKwZppLTGfJ995GTPwh4YJw1JrcV7ofotSZa9qZYL0vPowkanqiWhS-4fjI_3HPUntneIsBqzf1GdOL-6Rm9dKv-ZswySpSYC3wG4AuA/s2048/Firefly%20writing%20on%20laptops,%20summer%20scene,%20community%20feeling,%20realistic%20beavers%2076540.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzeQDNXng9tCwwNOl6XTgKF0Z9lWRwnJNgdYZTgiMSzZdKr7o_xi1shXXpV7nwP9tLs2AK8rryk01_Nwhcvo5jKwZppLTGfJ995GTPwh4YJw1JrcV7ofotSZa9qZYL0vPowkanqiWhS-4fjI_3HPUntneIsBqzf1GdOL-6Rm9dKv-ZswySpSYC3wG4AuA/w640-h640/Firefly%20writing%20on%20laptops,%20summer%20scene,%20community%20feeling,%20realistic%20beavers%2076540.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image created by Tseen Khoo using Adobe Firefly</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Well, that was quite the few weeks! And now it's over. <p></p><p>November - AcWriMo (Academic Writing Month) - was full of events and sessions, and we encouraged folks to set goals and find ways to be helpfully accountable for them. It's a bit of a whirlwind, as those who participated across the month will testify. </p><p>But what happens when it's all over, like now? </p><p>It can be difficult to maintain the momentum that you've set for the month to reach your goals when the writing festival ends and life and work distractions return to previous levels. </p><p>The intention of this post is not to imply that you should all be writing across summer rather than relaxing into a well-earned break. It is for those who would like to continue the momentum they gained through November, or who may have pressing deadlines early in the new year that mean they need to maintain their writing mojo. Sometimes, it can feel better to keep things on the radar and get things done in smaller pieces. </p><p>Below are a few ideas to help you find ways to continue post-November productiveness, especially as we go into the 'summer holidays' (in inverted commas because parents whose kids are home from school every day across this time may beg to differ). </p><p>At their heart, these suggestions provide ways for you to boost the sense of community and accountability around you. They don't seek to change your routines or processes in any radical way and, most often, they are things that can be sustained across your changing routines whether we're in an active semester or not. </p><p>--------------------</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Long live SUAW (Shut Up and Write)</b></h3><p>We often wax lyrical about the fabulous opportunities SUAW sessions offer and I'm going to do it again here. If you're a stalwart, you already know what I mean and you can skip to the next suggestion. Those of you who've never tried SUAW, whether out of trepidation or because this is the first you've heard of it, <i>give it a go</i>. </p><p>I've had a few people ask questions about how things work at SUAW and here are a couple things worth clarifying for those who have yet to try it: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>It's informal and organic. </b>You don't have to stay for a whole session and no-one 'monitors' you. Many researchers come along even if they have teaching or regular meetings that overlap with the session - it's the regularity of showing up and getting some work done that is an ingredient in the secret sauce. </li><li><b>You can be as social as you want. </b>This means you can choose not to chat at all (though we're all kinda friendly 😀), or work through breaks if you're on a roll with your work. Hosts provide a general structure but you can tweak it for yourself however you'd like.</li></ul><p></p><p>As one of my original SUAW buddies Kate Warren said, "#SUAW really helped my productivity and confidence in writing my thesis, and the best part has been establishing a network of like-minded researchers, even if they are often in completely different fields" (<a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2016/03/01/suaw2/">Shut up and Write - so hot right now: Part 2</a>). This writing community that works alongside you during your thesis often follows you even after you've submitted the dissertation. It's a precious, wonderful thing indeed. </p><p>If coming along to one of our sessions where there's a group of researchers isn't something that you can do regularly, or if it's not your cup of tea, you can still DIY SUAW. Our keenest SUAW folks swear by structured study/writing sessions on YouTube that do the timing for you (e.g. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TheSherryFormula">The Sherry Formula</a>)</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>DIY retreat</b></h3><p>To sequester focused writing time and leave yourself otherwise footloose and enjoying the summer sunshine, you might consider a writing retreat or three. There is no limit to these and they don't have to be events organised by others - you can DIY a writing retreat to whatever scope you want. It could just be you and one other person, a few friends/colleagues, or your whole department. They could be in person or online. Get creative, or go with the basics - it's in your hands! </p><p>Some DIY retreat inspiration for you: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Here's one I prepared earlier! It talked about how you can engage with our facilitated retreat and still be with your own crew - you can just drop us from the equation and use the ideas for running something on your own: <a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2023/10/make-retreat-experience-your-own-tseen.html">Make the retreat experience your own</a></li><li><a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2018/09/04/writing-retreats/">Residential writing retreats: three wishes for academic output</a> (by Bronwyn Eager)</li><li><a href="https://www.herdsa.org.au/publications/guides/academic-writing-retreats-facilitators-guide">Academic Writing Retreats: A Facilitator's Guide</a> (by Barbara Grant) - this guide is available at La Trobe Library</li></ul><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Accountability buddies</b></h3><p>If you don't necessarily need to write with others but you'd like to have clarity and encouragement for your writing goals and progress, you can line up an accountability buddy. Regular SUAW goers can often lean on the group as a bunch of folks to whom they are accountable about their goals. For you to set up your own version of that, it could be this simple: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Ask a friend or group of friends to get involved - it can be just you checking in with them, or you could all check in with each other. </li><li>Have a set time that you've set goals for and have weekly (or fornightly, or monthly...) check-ins where you report back on: </li><ul><li>what has been achieved</li><li>what derailed or distracted you (and what might stop that happening again)</li><li>what you want to get done by the next check-in.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p>That's it. And if you can't meet (in person or online), you can just phone or email a check-in. There are many ways to make it suit your schedule and keep it regular. </p><p>Another idea that's a bit more involved and can work across a longer span of time is to set up a "<a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2018/03/20/goal-setting-with-a-group/">Monthly Weeklies group</a>" (by Jonathan Williams). </p><p>--------------------------</p><p><b>Other AcWriMo blogposts that may interest you: </b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>2023: <a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2023/10/make-retreat-experience-your-own-tseen.html">Make the retreat experience your own</a></li><li>2023: <a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2023/11/writing-with-your-supervisor-after.html">Writing with your supervisor after completion</a></li><li>2023: <a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2023/11/reflections-on-running-writing-retreat.html">Reflections on running a writing retreat for Indigenous researchers</a></li><li><a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/search?q=acwrimo">All Academic Writing Month - AcWriMo - posts</a> (delve into the treasure trove of entries from past years!)</li></ul><div>---------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1bfciTEOFYIBOCsTRQStyjpu_PYrLBo44YUlrQ4Idqv_ZwoSH1aEhV8UWmLq3TTIdPb8wz2WbjRARRbgqOrvG4uERyt9GJYkwAnlwAuifRKr_SPU7H1WTTpn7KofwjsaHgVk6vUg_oTyFupZ1k8s60dCa7P0XvTx_1hXU1neZzvqgBeuQdnaFvRrjL0/s190/TLK.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="190" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1bfciTEOFYIBOCsTRQStyjpu_PYrLBo44YUlrQ4Idqv_ZwoSH1aEhV8UWmLq3TTIdPb8wz2WbjRARRbgqOrvG4uERyt9GJYkwAnlwAuifRKr_SPU7H1WTTpn7KofwjsaHgVk6vUg_oTyFupZ1k8s60dCa7P0XvTx_1hXU1neZzvqgBeuQdnaFvRrjL0/s1600/TLK.jpg" width="190" /></a></div><i><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/tkhoo">Dr Tseen Khoo</a> </i></b><i>is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED team at La Trobe University. Melbourne. She researches in the field of critical university studies and has published on early career researcher experiences, digital academic identities, and racial diversity issues. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Tseen created and manages <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/">The Research Whisperer</a> with Jonathan O'Donnell. She's around the internet as @tseenster and you can also find her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tseen-khoo/">LinkedIn</a>. </i></div></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-13275691299959921522023-11-23T13:28:00.001+11:002023-11-23T13:38:37.832+11:00Reflections on running a writing retreat for Indigenous researchers (Tristan Lenaz)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdaB8Nel4_fpRf336eEcCKOywEOGlSmIMMMQqOq4_8rASryCK3AqBhbpSrfWxi9USAnXkW6iaGxYYxUbu4FMbWLbqnLAmOFd8wdqmEiqEKg2DrX2ERMQc1L1K1TzSq5tz3cKctPHnL_4KFxlEKqCF9HpzWmT1tmMp-m_bv3Zo2aIQQlXuGIO5jFLKfCc/s451/Tristan%20blog%20crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="451" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdaB8Nel4_fpRf336eEcCKOywEOGlSmIMMMQqOq4_8rASryCK3AqBhbpSrfWxi9USAnXkW6iaGxYYxUbu4FMbWLbqnLAmOFd8wdqmEiqEKg2DrX2ERMQc1L1K1TzSq5tz3cKctPHnL_4KFxlEKqCF9HpzWmT1tmMp-m_bv3Zo2aIQQlXuGIO5jFLKfCc/w640-h496/Tristan%20blog%20crop.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Photo courtesy of Tristan Lenaz</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As part of my role as an Indigenous Research Coordinator, I recently organised a writing retreat – in collaboration with the University of Tasmania (UTAS) – for ten LTU Indigenous postgraduate students. This was the first event of its kind for La Trobe and a powerful experience for both the organisers and participants. Here, I explain a bit about the retreat, provide some reflections, and offer advice for others who might wish to try something similar.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Like many writing retreats, one of the key aims for us was to make time for thinking and writing in a supportive space, removed from normal, daily distractions. But we also designed the collaboration to be a more holistic experience for our students so that they could further experience Indigenous culture in Tasmania and listen and learn from established Indigenous researchers.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Our writing sessions followed the <a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/p/shut-up-and-write-suaw-is-series-of.html">‘Shut Up and Write’ (SUAW)-style structure, using the Pomodoro method</a>. This is a way of working that I’ve only started using this year and have found it to be a great set up for people to hook into work but also have that five-minute breather. In that five minutes, you have a yarn and then it feels like you get a more productive working period by breaking up the intensity. The SUAW style was new to most of our postgraduate researchers but it worked really well.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Aside from focused writing time in the mornings, we organised guided sessions on topics such as how to publish research work, helping the cohort that travelled with us to better understand the options available to them (and I learnt a lot from this too!), as well as off-campus activities.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">One of these activities was a very moving First Nations Tour of the <a href="https://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/collections_and_research/first_peoples_art_and_culture">Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery</a> which included a lot of rich Palawa history. This was an unbelievable experience but also a heart-breaking one for me and many others, as we confronted stories of colonial atrocities in some of the excellent exhibitions (including <i>parrawa parrawa! Go Away!</i>, which you should definitely check out next time you’re in Hobart).</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This meant, in many ways, that the overall experience was much more than just a writing retreat. On a personal note, my time on this trip was full of spiritual connection, especially being from Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural roots. The fact that I hadn’t been back to Tasmania since I was a little boy was very cleansing for my soul and something I'd been missing for a long time.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And it was through these broader experiences and activities that I was able to connect with a lot of our postgraduate students that I hadn’t met yet, hearing their stories and where they're from, and just hanging out with other mobs and the UTAS Indigenous staff.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I’m also happy to report that we really developed our relationship with UTAS and that the retreat was such a success that we are already starting to plan another one for 2024. To reciprocate the generosity of our hosts at the UTAS <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/uni-life/aboriginal-students-riawunna">Riawunna Centre</a>, we hope to invite our Tasmania-based colleagues over to our campus in Bundoora, involve them in local Wurundjeri culture and show them what La Trobe has to offer.</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We’ve also found a way to keep the momentum and connection going through setting up a recurring, all-Indigenous SUAW session on Friday mornings, which I’m looking forward to running (if you’re an Indigenous student or researcher at La Trobe and you’d like to join us, get in contact with me!)</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><br style="color: #222222;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, for anyone else looking to create something similar, I would highly recommend having each day planned out well, beginning the day with focused writing sessions, but also ensuring that you have a broader range of activities to bring everyone together and provide a more immersive sense of learning. And be prepared for a lot of travel admin!</span><br /><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">-----------------</span><b><span></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With huge thanks to all of the participants, Professor Julie Andrews (LTU), Associate Professor Sadie Heckenberg (UTAS) and Huw Peacock (UTAS) for making this event possible.</span></span></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></p><!--more--><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">-----------------</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAt2I-ekZtKCzwqva9bi4z9hkYj2keIsH91axYiLO69pvPllS-jQEcvGFOAYDFcow4qjgl649ehC0uvdtRFBCknU5ByeEbK03yRMxIhmdGvjzrH6dlw6APj9tCBNZd1NG9b4bULlkp2bWCc497Htf4OUAy1U5Qt226tq6C1drGQ_A4iBTSQ1PY_gN18II/s256/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(3).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="177" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAt2I-ekZtKCzwqva9bi4z9hkYj2keIsH91axYiLO69pvPllS-jQEcvGFOAYDFcow4qjgl649ehC0uvdtRFBCknU5ByeEbK03yRMxIhmdGvjzrH6dlw6APj9tCBNZd1NG9b4bULlkp2bWCc497Htf4OUAy1U5Qt226tq6C1drGQ_A4iBTSQ1PY_gN18II/w138-h200/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(3).png" width="138" /></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Tristan Lenaz is an Indigenous Research Coordinator and part of the Research Education and Development Team and the Office for Indigenous Strategy and Education at La Trobe University.</i></span></span></p><p></p><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>He is a proud Trawlwoolway man who grew up in country north-east Victoria and who appreciates family, friends, and a sense of community. Tristan is passionate about promoting Indigenous education ningina tunapri (to give knowledge and understanding).<br /><br />You can email him at: <a href="mailto:t.lenaz@latrobe.edu.au">t.lenaz@latrobe.edu.au</a> </i></span></div>Meagan Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00834250735869788995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-53426476162301938942023-11-16T10:38:00.127+11:002023-11-17T16:00:47.221+11:00Writing with your supervisor after completion: What's it like and what should you consider? (Meagan Tyler)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container">
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</table><div class="separator"> </div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who, and what, are your supervisors to you once your project is complete? The shift in relational dynamics after you finish a graduate research degree is significant and can have practical implications for your future research and writing intentions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You might need to think about writing or research associated with your thesis that is still in process (e.g. co-authored journal articles or book chapters in review). You might need to return to discussions around <a href="https://patthomson.net/2017/04/10/co-writing-with-your-supervisor-the-authorship-question/">expectations and authorship</a>. You might also want to think ahead to potential new collaborations, together.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">To help navigate these (sometimes tricky) waters, I’ve called on three (very generous) colleagues – each in different fields, and at different points in their careers – to reflect on their own, ongoing collaboration with former supervisors and to offer some guidance.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are three key points that echo through each account: </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you want to work with a supervisor after completion, this can be both beneficial and a positive experience;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">But continuing collaboration works best if you get along and share mutual respect;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s important to have discussions about collaboration opportunities </span><i>before</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span><i>after</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> you complete.</span></li>
</ol><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can read their thoughts, in full, below. </span>Hopefully, these vignettes help prompt your own reflections about what kind of post-completion collaboration you and your supervisors might want and help to get conversations started about writing after graduation.</p><p>-----<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator">
<p class="p1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>NATALIE (Senior Research Fellow)</b></i><i><b>:</b><span style="color: #454545;"> </span></i></span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator"><p class="p1"><span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">After I finished my PhD, I wanted to stay in touch with my supervisors and collaborate with them but didn’t know how to get the conversation started. I remember going against all of my instincts and actively asking them for opportunities… My co-supervisor was really welcoming and gave me the opportunity to work as her research assistant.</span></span></p></div><div class="separator"><p class="p1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">This experience was one of the best I have had in my career, and taught me foundational skills to have in academia, both in terms of research and leadership. My former supervisor and I collaborated like equal colleagues, and I was asked for my input throughout the data analysis process all the way to publication.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p></div><div class="separator"><p class="p1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Some people talk about needing to transition from student to colleague, but I felt that this happened quite naturally in my experience. Because of this early opportunity, I was able to establish my research career. I have continued to write and do research with my former supervisor because she respects me as a colleague, values my perspectives (even when they conflict with her own), and not only cares about the output we produce, but also the effect this output will have on people’s lives.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p></div><div class="separator"><p class="p1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Overall, I would argue that the relationship you have with your supervisor determines how well you will work with them once the supervisory relationship ends.</span></p></div></blockquote><div class="separator">
<p class="p1"><br /></p>
</div><p class="p1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>ANONYMOUS (recently completed PhD):</b> </i></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Writing/working with your supervisor after you've completed your PhD and have moved from being "their student" to more of a colleague (albeit still unequal in the academic hierarchy) there may be some establishing of a new professional working relationship that needs to happen…This may involve having discussion/s with the former supervisor early on to clarify roles and expectations around particular tasks, the specific journal article etc., or project.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">By the end of a PhD, hopefully most students will feel fairly confident in their own work and research capabilities - communicating this to your former supervisor may be necessary. The supervisor/student relationship can be hard to define as it can cross the boundary between professional and personal relationship, it's important to remember that in a professional work context your supervisor is first and foremost your boss, not your friend. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Often, it is easier to work with people you have established relationships with, and your supervisor will often have access to networks and will be established in certain areas that are beneficial to you. However, it is important to try to strike a balance between your own work and interests and that of your supervisors. Try to carve out your own trajectory, within the confines of your role.</span></p></blockquote><p> </p><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MIKE (Associate Professor):</b></i><i style="font-family: inherit;"> </i></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I was very fortunate in that for two decades after my PhD I did most of my research and publishing with my former supervisor. It was an incredible privilege and I am still very engaged with research issues with him. The process of beginning writing felt pretty organic because we had done a few shorter prices of writing [together] (articles and journalism)… I think part of that is the sort of academic your supervisor is – [are they] generous, inclusive and engaged? But also the question of how your thesis topic links to or builds from the research of your supervisor is really important.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I guess the key here is that over your thesis you will develop a long-term relationship with your thesis adviser and the depth and length of that relationship will be determined by personal and research-related matters.</span></p><p class="p1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">On reflection I can only stress that the three lessons I came away with are: 1) supervisor selection is crucial - you want someone who is a smart and generous person, 2) topic selection is also crucial - it should be at the frontiers of research in the field and close enough to the supervisors own interests to make collaboration possible and mutually beneficial, and 3) don't wait until the end of the thesis - start with some small collaborations and see how they work out.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">If you are lucky enough to have the sort of post-thesis research collaboration with your supervisor that I have had, you will have an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding research career.</span></p></blockquote><p>-----------------</p><p><em><strong></strong></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUDDjzeGVNwN8nP3_MM4ttZcAk1Y3nAjS-dQaNxVolClIABJvdTcmWBrrVuPzN_t5J1R9RrYTHNIoqb_6HXfurhRYCPIUfgEY2FAY-we7_zsgnbK2Pwak8ME8ncOd1nAvPz7mDNZPQNdWEx1kdFBOyczeuLEl8aYxb6l8nLZQwroW5qgtTxl-3qPRkrQ/s300/Meagan%20Tyler%20-%20head%20shot%202019.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="300" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUDDjzeGVNwN8nP3_MM4ttZcAk1Y3nAjS-dQaNxVolClIABJvdTcmWBrrVuPzN_t5J1R9RrYTHNIoqb_6HXfurhRYCPIUfgEY2FAY-we7_zsgnbK2Pwak8ME8ncOd1nAvPz7mDNZPQNdWEx1kdFBOyczeuLEl8aYxb6l8nLZQwroW5qgtTxl-3qPRkrQ/w171-h160/Meagan%20Tyler%20-%20head%20shot%202019.jpg" width="171" /></a></strong></em></div><em><strong><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/metyler">Dr Meagan Tyler</a></strong> is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED (Research Education and Development) team at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. </em><p></p><p><em>Her interdisciplinary research work has focused mostly on analysing gender inequality and violence against women across a range of social, organisational and policy contexts. </em></p><p><em>She’s passionate about public engagement and building better universities.</em></p><p></p>Meagan Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00834250735869788995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-41168905124997938302023-10-31T08:00:00.013+11:002023-10-31T08:00:00.151+11:00Make the retreat experience your own (Tseen Khoo)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W9tGf6Jdx8lUIybp50f041CnY5j4B7hhWYzqfaweL8877LgzWmGYTeUoti6HAvsjoFWdLvbd51LAi902fdNa5GGPmsJ9dZsgBE_badTzVazxzCN7qZodlxjflR3vShLwYGhvPjmZJ9AcbRV5GCMKo-pgIkTxCI50FtX5usjlTaOsw0xryep7doS0D0A/s2048/Firefly%20dogs%20and%20cats%20using%20laptops%20in%20a%20cafe%2081863.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W9tGf6Jdx8lUIybp50f041CnY5j4B7hhWYzqfaweL8877LgzWmGYTeUoti6HAvsjoFWdLvbd51LAi902fdNa5GGPmsJ9dZsgBE_badTzVazxzCN7qZodlxjflR3vShLwYGhvPjmZJ9AcbRV5GCMKo-pgIkTxCI50FtX5usjlTaOsw0xryep7doS0D0A/w640-h640/Firefly%20dogs%20and%20cats%20using%20laptops%20in%20a%20cafe%2081863.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Image created by Tseen Khoo using Adobe Firefly</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Coming up in the final week of November is the famous three-day <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2023-red-writing-retreat-tickets-716947217427?aff=oddtdtcreator"><b>RED Writing Retreat</b></a>, the finale for <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/research/red/initiatives/ltuacwrimo">Academic Writing Month</a> each year! </p><p>This event always has an excellent turn-out and great feedback, with participants who are coming for the fifth or sixth time (or more!) as well as first-timers. There are professors and other senior academics, first year PhD researchers, and colleagues from other institutions. Everyone works together to boost their quality writing opportunities and meet their own publication goals. And often talk about their favourite pastry shops - you know who you are. </p><p>As with recent years, our retreat in 2023 will be held online. This ensures that all our researchers can be a part of it, no matter where they are located. </p><p>But having the structure and facilitation of the retreat provided online doesn't mean that you only have to experience it online. <span></span></p>
<p></p><p>Whether you want to do 100% of the retreat with others in the same physical room as you, or have in-person social breaks, or use post-retreat outings each day as a reward system for yourself and your friends, there are options. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>The key thing to keep in mind is that RED will be hosting the retreat and facilitating <b><i>online only </i></b>- but how you choose to experience the retreat as a whole can be adapted to what suits you best! </p><p>Here are a few ways to mix up the three days so it can be an online AND in person experience: </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Meet at a pre-booked RED Writing Retreat room </b></h3><ol>
</ol><p>If there is enough demand, there will be rooms made available at a range of locations. You can meet up with fellow retreat-ers in person and be together in the same room. Everyone will need to bring their own laptops and headphones/ear-buds to ensure they're able to be in the Zoom room online. This is more or less what you'd do for an in-person SUAW session. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>2. Book a retreat location of your choice </b></h3><ol start="2">
</ol><p>Sometimes, doing the retreat as an actual, physical retreat to another location is a desirable possibility. You - and your friends and colleagues! - can: </p><ul>
<li aria-level="1">Book an AirBnB option (or similar) for the duration of the retreat, or</li>
<li aria-level="1">Organise to have it at your place if you have room for a few friends and a good space for everyone to write/focus, or </li>
<li aria-level="1">Have a 'staycation' at a local hotel so you can be in a different context to 'home' but not necessarily too far away. The nimble folks among you could combine ideas - take advantage of a possible pre-booked retreat room on campus while staying nearby to access it easily each day. </li>
</ul><p>Several RED Writing Retreat veterans have done versions of these suggestions previously and found them to be effective ways to block out the time to focus on their writing and goals for the three days. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>3. Do the writing stints online but meet up with colleagues and friends each day for lunch and/or breaks. </b></h3><ol start="3">
</ol><p>If you have colleagues and friends in the neighbourhood, you could spend blocks of the morning and afternoon in the facilitated online retreat while making time to meet up with folks at lunch time or breaks (if they’re close by enough!). It’d be good to stay in the zone with fellow retreaters but it’d also be fine to step away from the screen and have a fresh approach when you re-start. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>4. Decompress with others after a hard day's writing at a local venue on one (or all!) of the evenings.</b></h3><ol start="4">
</ol><p>Similar to the third point in this list, it can be a good circuit-breaker and fun to meet up with colleagues after a retreat day - whether it’s each day, or at the end of the whole thing. This could be one of the goal rewards you set yourself! </p>
<p>And you can obviously do all of the above in some form or other if you'd like. The key here is that there are ways to plan for companionable and stimulating social aspects that suit how you work best, what your time and financial budgets are like, and where you’re located. However you decide to experience the writing retreat, we look forward to seeing you there! </p><p>You may also be interested in the following posts: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2022/11/prepping-for-writing-retreat-tseen-khoo.html">Prepping for a writing retreat</a></li><li><a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2016/01/more-than-words-on-page-inaugural-red.html">More than words on a page - the inaugural RED Writing Retreat</a> </li><li>Posts <a href="https://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/search/label/AcWriMo">tagged with AcWriMo</a> on this blog</li></ul><p></p><p>--------------------------</p><p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQLsNngcEVVFljWMPU0AcE-F9_UEgXruj6AivyZaad2dyhvx0TwNe0BzZuiwgGkxtmU6gFJ1HL-q4KNOscVKhl2fwJKYDWN1WZ-Gn9rujpe0kx5L3NkVwWoJN-x4A1X6XwjZujza94vX7teKzugzAvgVw6BvBj-V3XlLZ-aNRTOtgZk4ny-6CuzsRa9A/s190/TLK.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="190" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQLsNngcEVVFljWMPU0AcE-F9_UEgXruj6AivyZaad2dyhvx0TwNe0BzZuiwgGkxtmU6gFJ1HL-q4KNOscVKhl2fwJKYDWN1WZ-Gn9rujpe0kx5L3NkVwWoJN-x4A1X6XwjZujza94vX7teKzugzAvgVw6BvBj-V3XlLZ-aNRTOtgZk4ny-6CuzsRa9A/s1600/TLK.jpg" width="190" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/tkhoo">Dr Tseen Khoo</a> </b>is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED team at La Trobe University. Melbourne. She researches in the field of critical university studies and has published on early career researcher experiences, digital academic identities, and racial diversity issues. </i><p></p><p><i>Tseen created and manages <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/">The Research Whisperer</a> with Jonathan O'Donnell. She's around the internet as @tseenster and you can also <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tseen-khoo/">find her on LinkedIn</a>. </i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-67129580954445659952023-10-04T13:12:00.009+11:002023-10-04T13:12:49.483+11:00 Curating my authentic professional identity on LinkedIn (Fung Lay)<p><i>Having a strong LinkedIn presence can be one of the most effective elements in a professional digital portfolio. </i></p><p><i>While it is notorious as a platform that is rife with self-congratulation, it doesn't have to be that way! LinkedIn can be a rich space for building a community of colleagues and diverse networks, discussing your research and its outcomes, and offering you access to the latest news in your area. In this thoughtful post, Dr Fung Lay shares his practices around creating an authentic professional self on this platform. </i></p><p>----------</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYv2t72fkcy8bXhkaD0MaU_32aQm9NmvclDFnWMomREWwL5OCpZHPiuYFn22hOovHm7I4pBKc7_4K93OVW3Lirm6mT7TeBz8UoQUflCTL0Hn9pZSN69i_kC_nvjhdyzjnCIhEKU9E3oFoNVK5PDgExYpOTunfjwdo0zYeC7pdZ2aIpx7S8gzubrWh8c9g/s1280/funglay-linkedin1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYv2t72fkcy8bXhkaD0MaU_32aQm9NmvclDFnWMomREWwL5OCpZHPiuYFn22hOovHm7I4pBKc7_4K93OVW3Lirm6mT7TeBz8UoQUflCTL0Hn9pZSN69i_kC_nvjhdyzjnCIhEKU9E3oFoNVK5PDgExYpOTunfjwdo0zYeC7pdZ2aIpx7S8gzubrWh8c9g/w640-h360/funglay-linkedin1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo courtesy of Fung Lay</span></td></tr></tbody></table><strong><br />Why do I choose to invest my time and energy into LinkedIn?</strong> </p><p>My answer is quite straightforward. It serves as a powerful online portfolio that transcends the limitations of traditional resumes or CVs (which it technically represents). It allows me to showcase my skills, experiences, education, certifications, and accomplishments in a dynamic and visually appealing manner, creating a record of my evolving professional journey. Moreover, it provides a forum that can help to create and establish my personal brand to a global audience. My previous engagement on social media, primarily Facebook (yes, I am of that generation) was largely for social sharing of photos and life events with family and friends. I was captivated by how individuals I followed used LinkedIn authentically to enrich their professional identities, and this influenced my own perspectives.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p>As a full-time researcher at La Trobe University (including completing a BSc(Hons), PhD and 14 years as a postdoc where I worked on intriguing host innate immunity proteins called ‘<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-two-defensin-superfamilies-fung-lay/"><strong>defensins</strong></a>’), my time as a practicing scientist <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_it-was-great-to-be-able-to-close-out-the-activity-6338261096520085504-8ity"><strong>came to an end</strong></a> and I transitioned into a new role – that of a lecturer at the same institution. This shift felt like a natural progression as my journey as a teacher commenced (or continued) with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_inspiration-research-mentoring-activity-6468314314615951361-Vqki"><strong>supervising second year research students</strong></a> in the Master of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics program. I also coordinated the third-year undergraduate biomedical science subject, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-wil-third-year-molecular-science-students-fung-lay/"><strong>MED3PRJ</strong></a>, that year where students were embedded into research labs at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science for a semester of researcher experiences.</p>
<p>Engaging with students and colleagues in this new role brought immense fulfillment, not discounting the level of joy I had as a researcher. What changed was it ignited my desire to more intentionally document and share my teaching and learning journey, as well as the experiences of those around me. This marked the beginning of my advocacy for LinkedIn. It is a public platform that not only inspired me but also gave me a voice. For a couple of the subjects I taught, I even introduced LinkedIn as a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_linkedin-latrobeuni-bio5bbm-activity-6914401423392718850-e9yj"><strong>pedagogical tool</strong></a> to instruct students on the use of LinkedIn to build their professional identities. In fact, effective use of LinkedIn is a critical part of La Trobe University’s <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-linkedin-professionalidentity-activity-7039004587818696704-EKT0"><strong>Career Ready Advantage Award</strong></a> program.</p>
<p>LinkedIn became and continues to be my creative outlet. I started crafting and sharing content, from short posts enriched with my own photos and videos to longer articles. I also used carousels as a visual tool for conveying messages. I made a commitment to post regularly and after each post, would capture my creation as a screenshot to my computer. As time passed, these screenshots transformed into its own digital archive, and I have been able to rekindle the nostalgia of the printed photo album by ‘<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_linkedin-reflection-journal-activity-7034650711254597632-hYMc"><strong>scrapbooking</strong></a>’ these life moments.</p>
<p>I enjoy the critical reflective process offered by this platform and will share content (including projects, research articles, presentations, and other media) that I feel adds value and showcases my passions and expertise to my network. I also engage with others though reactions, sharing and/or commenting, further providing tangible proof of my capabilities and contributions. This in turn helps to shape how others perceive my professional identity and expertise.</p>
<p><strong>So, what do I post on LinkedIn?</strong> </p><p>This <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_my-digital-persona-and-personal-brand-activity-6940900136491315200-7O65"><strong>carousel</strong></a> perhaps offers a quick summary. For example, I recently posted on my own and others’ achievements. My own was the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-teaching-learning-activity-7099989491301445632-lWuW"><strong>attainment of a professional accreditation</strong></a> as Fellow of Advance HE, UK, aka FHEA, and for others' I shared <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-phdone-defensins-activity-7102908984956784640-KUyK"><strong>successful submission of PhD theses</strong></a> and the completion of an <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-smbb-masters-activity-7104329547197685760-JhoY"><strong>assessment milestone by Master’s research students</strong></a> (just a couple of examples). Importantly, these posts are often the result of what happens in my daily life so are spontaneous and current. I normally couple these posts with compelling visuals and will draw others explicitly into my narrative through tagging their names. This resonates with my network and is a well-practised approach for LinkedIn users. Some of my posts also situate my interactions with others from the workplace under social settings (e.g. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-research-culture-activity-7100325576103641088-oZCY"><strong>birthday celebrations</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-psbacademy-partners-activity-7107224940164091906-7Qw8"><strong>a shared lunch</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_latrobeuni-labculture-teambonding-activity-7103287682834862080--fmB"><strong>a game of tenpin bowling</strong></a>, or a <a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2019/03/lab-family-retreat-building-stronger.html"><strong>weekend away to a beachside retreat</strong></a>). This presents a holistic view of me as a real person.</p>
<p>In another example, I’ve shared about my involvement in dragon boat racing through <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_reflection-gratitude-teamwork-activity-6920977619773534210-DAT1"><strong>videos</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/funglay_auschamps2023-nationals-dragonboatvictoria-activity-7057580506162368513-_5N1"><strong>posts</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seven-predictors-auroras-success-fung-lay/"><strong>articles</strong></a>. This might seem off tangent for a professional networking platform but dragon boating is, after all, the ultimate team sport where unity, synchronicity, and teamwork are vital to success. This can highlight my personal attributes of being committed and accountable, as well as working well with others. This also speaks to my own blend of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/work-vs-play-balance-boat-fung-lay/"><strong>work–life balance</strong></a>.</p>
<p>LinkedIn isn't just about the ‘humble brag’ and self-expression; it's a hub widely used by potential employers to evaluate job candidates and recruiters to source talent. By actively curating and updating my profile, I increase my visibility to those I want to attract and connect with. The platform often features job openings, making it an invaluable resource for job seekers. Moreover, it is a treasure trove of knowledge, providing access to webinars, courses, articles and people to foster continuous learning.</p>
<p>One of the most significant benefits I've personally experienced from using LinkedIn is its networking potential. I've connected with colleagues, peers, industry leaders, and potential mentors, not just locally but on a global scale. It has surprised me in the past when I’ve been approached by people at events who seemingly know a lot about me purely through my exposure on LinkedIn (i.e. my reputation). They have become valuable connections and may one day lead to valuable career opportunities, collaborations, and insights I wouldn't have found elsewhere. As the popular adage goes, “it's who you know, not what you know” that may matter in the end.</p>
<p>In summary, LinkedIn has played a transformative role in allowing me construct and refine my professional identity from that of researcher to educator. By actively engaging with the platform, I've been able to curate a compelling narrative of my career journey, including colleagues and students along the way. I’ve been able to connect with like-minded peers and stayed informed about developments in the higher education, research and education landscapes. </p><p>For all academics, researchers and students who have yet to engage or fully use the platform, here are my parting words: Be authentic in your narrative, be active and consistent in your engagement, provide value by sharing and contributing to discourse, and above all, use visuals. Get on the bandwagon and share and celebrate your story.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p><i><strong></strong></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIC6XduR2smErzNgJym4idqw3Zss4ryOlbsN0ovCXhy8gnW9w_5it5o8ahZEZMYx6RjEhlvLXAjC9R40I-QDrEwtrsqFHvLQ_6b_fkIzN_zU0NxslrxaYPrQubysixF0ysnDKaOM-TgUEA3gr5mj7xpJECMLf2XVLo5bfA6vt8ehP5_azhi541NnpnOQY/s200/fung-lay%20-%20200px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIC6XduR2smErzNgJym4idqw3Zss4ryOlbsN0ovCXhy8gnW9w_5it5o8ahZEZMYx6RjEhlvLXAjC9R40I-QDrEwtrsqFHvLQ_6b_fkIzN_zU0NxslrxaYPrQubysixF0ysnDKaOM-TgUEA3gr5mj7xpJECMLf2XVLo5bfA6vt8ehP5_azhi541NnpnOQY/s1600/fung-lay%20-%20200px.jpg" width="200" /></a></strong></i></div><i><strong>Dr Fung Lay</strong> is both a Lecturer in the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment and an Academic Coordinator for the La Trobe University Transnational Education Partnership with PSB Academy in Singapore where he supports the offshore management and delivery of the Master of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics course. </i><p></p><p><i>He is passionate about supporting students and having a positive impact on their experience while studying at La Trobe University and beyond. He can be found on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/funglay/"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a> and periodically contributes to the <a href="https://twitter.com/SABE_latrobe"><strong>@SABE_latrobe</strong></a> Twitter account.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-51753771318620974992023-08-31T08:00:00.009+10:002023-08-31T16:21:49.786+10:00So, you want your research to influence policy? (Helen Slaney)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9Q7p5nHE7xuH6sGSbPBxCwLuxMSdoNOulJTzQAWUnq8A_WAajcI7Uv1Rpt0xkhfRSPB_PlbqMaHuKiD6naXzF59lrygDOB9-0zwqwo45zMx1jp7pAsp6FF10LIpAn_I8RcGuSx667TxcndxzHWYWUUvGTvxZd0wYmjVFkixF6lLez1BKe9bz_8aKuag/s1920/dan-cristian-padure-BxgVEo_rF-o-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9Q7p5nHE7xuH6sGSbPBxCwLuxMSdoNOulJTzQAWUnq8A_WAajcI7Uv1Rpt0xkhfRSPB_PlbqMaHuKiD6naXzF59lrygDOB9-0zwqwo45zMx1jp7pAsp6FF10LIpAn_I8RcGuSx667TxcndxzHWYWUUvGTvxZd0wYmjVFkixF6lLez1BKe9bz_8aKuag/w640-h480/dan-cristian-padure-BxgVEo_rF-o-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo by Dan Cristian Pardure | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>One of the most powerful vehicles for research impact is policy change. So it’s not surprising that one of the FAQs that we’re often asked is how researchers can influence policy-makers. We thought it would be helpful to summarise the general advice we would normally give on this topic.</p>
<p>This post is based on content we delivered during the June 2023 RED Researcher Development intensive.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>What is meant by “policy change”?</strong></h3>
<p>By “policy”, we mean any rule or directive that applies to a designated group of people (e.g. “Victorians”, “nurses”, or “drivers”). New state or federal legislation is obviously top of the list but it’s not the only example. Another route is partnership with a government department or agency to collect and analyse data, or conduct evaluation. Evidence of impact could also include citation by a Royal Commission, Select Committee or United Nations report. Alternatively, your research findings may inform the development of industry or clinical guidelines. Here we’re focusing mainly on the political but the principles are applicable elsewhere.</p>
<p><em>If you don’t think your research will change the minds of those in power, you can derive impact from data and/or advice supplied to inform evidence-based campaigns run by opposition or minor parties, advocacy groups, peak bodies, NGOs or specialist committees. If the campaign is successful – that’s a bonus!<span></span></em></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"> <strong>Connecting with policy-makers</strong></h3>
<p>Influencing policy is equivalent to commercialising your research and requires cross-sector relationship-building. The main reason cited by policy-makers for selecting an academic to approach for advice is “Other people I work with are connected”, closely followed by “I had an existing contact”. Conversely, academics find that the main barrier to communicating research is “Not having contacts”, or “Contacts have moved on”.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p>
<p>So, how do you get yourself into the right people’s little black books? Here are a few things that can help:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Get to know who’s who.</strong> This could include local government, advisory channels, agencies and departments. Who is likely to be receptive to your recommendations?</li>
<li><strong>Know the major policy issues in your field</strong>, and understand the policy development process.</li>
<li><strong>Introduce yourself! </strong>
<ul>
<li>Leverage existing contacts and academic collaborations.</li>
<li>LinkedIn can be a great resource, especially for sharing your work in alternative formats.</li>
<li>Ensure you have a policy brief available, or can whip it up at short notice (see next section)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Don’t waste anyone’s time chasing unresponsive contacts.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"> <strong>The policy brief</strong> [see slide]</h3>
<p>A policy brief is a document that summarises a topic for a non-academic audience, and includes recommendations that could help with decision-making.</p>
<p>The image below features the key parts of a policy brief – we know it’s too small to see the detail so <a href="https://latrobeuni-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/tkhoo_ltu_edu_au/EYLBGt0QO6ZPk3h0Qs6bbHYBSwnTzNOQVsPPph717QE-CA?e=mzelT1">VIEW THE HIGHER RES SLIDE HERE</a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC6rnoJP6MMlahj_P5ky0vZkxMyvrDazTadOuhKby9LQZB_IlIK5qoXllzuHykxht5Dkg6_AXv8qrbY0Yp-sCaPeCNd6duJdFtdSO82-gZBC2HO9j_16_EVVDBw8EDmEwj0A-tdHgyxmBw6imhfSDYfpjwctWZa4a5cRLrTuqp2c2U2LN1ZYfHBAsTylo/s905/Screenshot%202023-08-30%20150540.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="905" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC6rnoJP6MMlahj_P5ky0vZkxMyvrDazTadOuhKby9LQZB_IlIK5qoXllzuHykxht5Dkg6_AXv8qrbY0Yp-sCaPeCNd6duJdFtdSO82-gZBC2HO9j_16_EVVDBw8EDmEwj0A-tdHgyxmBw6imhfSDYfpjwctWZa4a5cRLrTuqp2c2U2LN1ZYfHBAsTylo/w640-h373/Screenshot%202023-08-30%20150540.png" width="640" /></a></div><p><strong><br /><br /></strong></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>How do you know if you’ve been successful?</strong></h3><p></p>
<p>In many cases, your personal relationships and networks will inform you but sometimes you might not be able to track the effects of your contribution directly, or you may not be able to trust what contacts are telling you. If cause and effect cannot be reliably determined, consider applying <a href="https://thechangeagency.org/power-mapping-template/">network mapping</a> or to make an argument according to probability. You could also take an <a href="https://monitoring-toolkits.civicus.org/toolkit/outcome-harvesting/">outcome harvesting approach</a>, i.e. working backwards from an event to determine its contributory catalysts.</p>
<p>For more advice on evaluating policy impact, see <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/using-research-engage/policy-engagement/guidance-and-resources/how-do-i-monitor-evaluate-and-learn-about-policy-engagement">How do I monitor, evaluate and learn about policy engagement? </a> (developed in collaboration with LTU’s own Prof. Chris Roche and Dr Ujjwal Krishna).</p>
<p><em>When negotiating delivery of a report, always build in a mechanism for following up after 12 or 24 months to find out how your recommendations have been received and/or implemented. Suggest a follow-up contract for evaluation, if applicable.</em></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Overton Policy Index</strong></h3>
<p>To find out whether your research is being cited by policy-makers, check out the <a href="https://www.overton.io/">Overton Policy Database</a>. Overton cross-references your publications with over 7 million Australian and international policy sources, including legislation, white papers, briefings, clinical guidelines, and more.</p>
<p>La Trobe now has a subscription to this fantastic new resource, so to register for an account or find out more about how Overton can help track your policy impact, contact <a href="mailto:impact@latrobe.edu.au">impact@latrobe.edu.au</a>.</p><p>---------------</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> George Slim (Office of the PM’s Chief Science Advisor, NZ). <em>Survey of academics and policy-makers: enablers</em>. Unpublished</p><p>---------------<br /><br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKOZzp4QKOHfDzlwwdDFyMDCAWBq4WGlw1MQRoC2ZOlyLl1f0LEca6_H8KlWpe1FvoZP4jJPGUTVbz-Ryq2wOxokaDeMFxVvwi3c0QDhqOrHBv5Qcuw8UQ0eN5VyKO6tJFdvwmAdil_uuNMv1F6tvbshXUKUlWbyO-3hxNNszTQrI5BJQSce2LZVd9Ck/s259/HSlaney%20-%20cropped.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="200" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKOZzp4QKOHfDzlwwdDFyMDCAWBq4WGlw1MQRoC2ZOlyLl1f0LEca6_H8KlWpe1FvoZP4jJPGUTVbz-Ryq2wOxokaDeMFxVvwi3c0QDhqOrHBv5Qcuw8UQ0eN5VyKO6tJFdvwmAdil_uuNMv1F6tvbshXUKUlWbyO-3hxNNszTQrI5BJQSce2LZVd9Ck/w136-h176/HSlaney%20-%20cropped.jpg" width="136" /></a></b></div><b><i>Dr Helen Slaney </i></b><i>is La Trobe University's Research Impact Manager, located in the Research Performance team.</i><p></p><p><i>Having worked in research management since 2016, Helen completed her PhD at Oxford University in 2012, where she was based at the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama. She subsequently held a Junior Research Fellowship at St Hilda's College, Oxford, followed by a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014-16).</i></p><p><i>In a research administration capacity, she was previously Research Bids Manager at Roehampton University in London. In 2020-21, she led the team responsible for implementing OPAL (<a href="https://opal.latrobe.edu.au/">Open@LaTrobe</a>), the university's Open Access platform.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-15512458780250428792023-08-01T11:00:00.003+10:002023-08-01T13:27:28.029+10:00Managing stress and creating community (Wen Cotter)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3zUjME9pu4FFAEOTKFCFelETsNLgo7-nrNVUNqp-RHc0XnvhJgfbb4E-HCA_q1NuXlhc0QkgHKAtkMli-Vfni0lrintOaal2jXOyjTeTiPBmqJ5gQ41w8hVXGBWSiSIxpTOUV3SrORwyZg9BIaj7T3eiskLzzNEjtq_kWDZn53hyY_znm2Jz_0mcWjw/s800/ABSS%20group%20photo%20-%20RED%20Alert%20-%20cropped%20for%20socials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="800" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3zUjME9pu4FFAEOTKFCFelETsNLgo7-nrNVUNqp-RHc0XnvhJgfbb4E-HCA_q1NuXlhc0QkgHKAtkMli-Vfni0lrintOaal2jXOyjTeTiPBmqJ5gQ41w8hVXGBWSiSIxpTOUV3SrORwyZg9BIaj7T3eiskLzzNEjtq_kWDZn53hyY_znm2Jz_0mcWjw/w640-h446/ABSS%20group%20photo%20-%20RED%20Alert%20-%20cropped%20for%20socials.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><i>From L-R: Aylwen Cotter (President ABSS). Rachel Davis (Vice President ABSS), Kellie Maybery-Reupert (Secretary ABSS) and Laura Steel (Treasurer ABSS)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div><br />For many graduate researchers, doing a Masters or PhD is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, wins and losses, sleep deprivation and aiming to be fantastic at time management. However, under the confident surface of most faces is self-doubt, stress and the feeling of being an imposter.<p></p>
<p>The organising committee for the Agribio Student Society (ABSS) are all very familiar with this and started using their connection to each other as a method of sharing these experiences. I remember asking one of the other committee members ‘how do you know you are doing enough for your PhD?’. I was really stressed that I wasn’t where I should be, or doing all that I should be. She suggested creating a diary - not one to look at week to week as a guide of progress but to look back on over a month. I did this and the diary has helped me with so many other issues such as planning experiments, listing upcoming tasks to ensure I don’t forget them and also as tool to see just how far I have come.</p>
<p>Realising that our committee can’t be the only ones feeling like this, and with the funding support of the <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/research/red/initiatives/intellectual-climate-fund">Intellectual Climate Fund (ICF)</a>, we convened a stress management workshop for our community of researchers.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p>The goals of the stress management workshop were to create awareness that mental health is very important and provide helpful self-care strategies. We also wanted to provide an opportunity to develop a supportive network of like-minded people who understood these issues, one that was open to anyone and everyone.</p>
<p>Being from an agricultural science background, the ABSS asked for the help of the Strategy Prevention and Education Team here at La Trobe for some guidance on the most relevant information for students for mental health and wellbeing. They provided us with two wonderful speakers, Kellie Muir and Rose Wimbush, whose breadth of knowledge guided us towards areas we could relate to. They were easy to approach for questions, too!</p>
<p>The event was divided into two sections. The first being the workshop and the second being a networking meet-and-greet. The second part was catered by Caffeine, a café in the Agora at La Trobe. The organising committee were blown away by the positive feedback from attendees as they circulated the room, introducing themselves and starting to create that supportive local network of fellow researchers. Many were comfortable talking about their experience, mental health and challenges they have faced. It was refreshing. The ABSS Treasurer, Laura Steel, gave a quick talk about her experiences during her PhD to conclude the event. Laura’s talk helped open up the discussion and made things more relatable to the participants, connecting with the topics discussed by the guest speakers.</p>
<p>Event participants left with a small token from the day in the form of a stress ball or bracelet. These served as reminders that, as researchers, we’re not alone. There is a community of like-minded people out there and we can reach out if we need it. Kellie and Rose sent us links about the support networks available to everyone here at La Trobe University, in case you’d like to know more.</p>
<p>As President of ABSS, it was great to be part of this project. It provided our graduate researchers with a learning and community-building opportunity. As someone who’s doing my PhD and as prone to stress as anyone else, this event really made me see that I need to tailor my PhD to my needs if I’m to get the most out of it. I don’t need to push through all the time. It’s good to take the time to evaluate and decide what will work best for me to get the job done - and that might not be a 9-5 work day!</p>
<p><strong>La Trobe University links from the Stress Management Workshop: </strong></p>
<ul>
<li>La Trobe Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion webpage that contains many other resources <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/students/support/wellbeing">edu.au/wellbeing</a></li>
<li>Direct booking link here <a href="https://latrobe-advocate.symplicity.com/care_report/index.php/pid422176?">Submit an Enquiry | La Trobe University - Symplicity Advocate</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Links to a couple of techniques outlined by the speakers during the workshop:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30VMIEmA114">5-4-3-2-1 Grounding technique</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuQn2-RAUek">Sky as your observing self metaphor</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Understanding how feelings and emotions like anxiety can create more anxiety</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCp1l16GCXI">The struggle switch</a></li>
</ul>
<p>----------------------------- </p>
<p><strong><em></em></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lNoJX1CdZJLpBtW0jmcmhOK6380MF0DbKzsCfeiwuI2IRucpC1WetC1UTzMipvO-ZjutjUlYNF8AUnaNy0QX1yGva7qItVAKISbnUv2jU_XIQzaCGsHmvkz7Rvqg9w37q_qVHrvZZLeGblIWp4moZVhMRRkRh_9n1vFR6CgZu2ct-XVdfMfA72yh4V8/s131/Wen%20Cotter%20-%20RED%20Alert.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="131" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lNoJX1CdZJLpBtW0jmcmhOK6380MF0DbKzsCfeiwuI2IRucpC1WetC1UTzMipvO-ZjutjUlYNF8AUnaNy0QX1yGva7qItVAKISbnUv2jU_XIQzaCGsHmvkz7Rvqg9w37q_qVHrvZZLeGblIWp4moZVhMRRkRh_9n1vFR6CgZu2ct-XVdfMfA72yh4V8/w144-h144/Wen%20Cotter%20-%20RED%20Alert.jpg" width="144" /></a></em></strong></div><strong><em>Aylwen (Wen) Cotter</em></strong><em> is a PhD candidate at La Trobe University in the Animal, Plants and Soil Sciences department. Her research focusses on early detection of fungal pathogens for agricultural crops. </em><p></p>
<p><em>She is currently the President of the Agribio Student Society (ABSS) and dog crazy. </em></p><p><em>You can find Wen on LinkedIn </em><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aylwen-cotter-8a196a5b/?originalSubdomain=au"><em>here</em></a><em>. </em></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-51391896209221994052023-05-30T08:00:00.002+10:002023-05-30T08:00:00.162+10:00 The connective work of an industry scholarship experience (Karly Edgar)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QaJUYXUZVgN6_k18q9wHgOzfXmOi1DFl7cLcXueTifx3SVDHh1ohKFnkwQM4cZZvv--8WLe4JK7QKAhc3RJt3o368a3maWN5X9FUTJ-I838Q5_2nirm7pBNjdPDeIwXiKRRsE7seOWdLFBJZAMI8uoDt6sQbkMa71jzVRTA4wMnExdP_DqYoP0kk/s1511/Collage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1511" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QaJUYXUZVgN6_k18q9wHgOzfXmOi1DFl7cLcXueTifx3SVDHh1ohKFnkwQM4cZZvv--8WLe4JK7QKAhc3RJt3o368a3maWN5X9FUTJ-I838Q5_2nirm7pBNjdPDeIwXiKRRsE7seOWdLFBJZAMI8uoDt6sQbkMa71jzVRTA4wMnExdP_DqYoP0kk/w640-h354/Collage.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">Collage image of PhD moments provided by Karly Edgar</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I’m coming to the end of my PhD research, having started January 2020 and I am due to submit soon - fingers crossed!</p>
<p>I have been researching the <a href="https://www.epc.asn.au/biography"><em>Biography Program</em></a> that Eastern Palliative Care Association Inc. (EPC) offers as part of their volunteer services. EPC provides specialist care to palliative patients in their homes, and any patients can participate in the Biography Program. If they do, a volunteer will visit them in their home, or meet with them online/over the phone if they prefer, and record them telling life stories. The volunteer then transcribes their stories and works with them to produce a written life story.</p>
<p>I hadn’t heard of an industry scholarship before applying for one and didn’t understand what it meant until after I had begun. It means that a business/organisation (in my case, EPC) has partnered with La Trobe to provide a scholarship to research a particular subject (the <em>Biography Program</em>). It ended up being a fantastic opportunity and, if they were all like my experience, I’d highly recommend it!<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikReMuYE0wOFbDABk4GGjveQX0OzzPgHAPJIO2pjW0WXJdkJpy9Uvj2wNgr3e2dCZqY84rWeSxfe9CRrnMAhrnE2WLDLdFCsfdWy1DmTsgREtkN9XlUQ3EUTxZKlsAuSzsH81x5WxuIHOoY6dp5SLabpRl54UkznrFbI18AQQoy8PLSMfy_SP5cnCb/s1107/Once%20Upon%20a%20Research%20Story%20Invitation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="800" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikReMuYE0wOFbDABk4GGjveQX0OzzPgHAPJIO2pjW0WXJdkJpy9Uvj2wNgr3e2dCZqY84rWeSxfe9CRrnMAhrnE2WLDLdFCsfdWy1DmTsgREtkN9XlUQ3EUTxZKlsAuSzsH81x5WxuIHOoY6dp5SLabpRl54UkznrFbI18AQQoy8PLSMfy_SP5cnCb/w357-h495/Once%20Upon%20a%20Research%20Story%20Invitation.jpg" width="357" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><i>Flyer for Karly's EPC talk in March 2023</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As with most things as a doctoral researcher, though, I think a lot comes down to the people around you. I was fortunate. My supervisors, Drs Bruce Rumbold, David Azul, Fiona Gardner, and previously Susan Furness, all came with similar yet varying areas of expertise, and each offered unique and valuable perspectives. They were all very open in encouraging me to follow where the research and my interests led. Just as important as this supervisory support was that my industry contact was wonderful to work with. My primary contact at EPC was Krystal Wallis, their Volunteer Services Consultant. She ensured I received relevant training and access, connected me with appropriate people, and helped me understand and navigate EPC’s structure and operational dynamics.</p>
<p> As the student researcher, I became the lynchpin between La Trobe’s focus on research and EPC’s on healthcare. As La Trobe and EPC each had established operating modes, I had to work between my supervisors and Krystal to ensure I met the expectations and followed the correct protocols for both. I had to submit research plans, ethics applications, and ongoing reports to both and I gave presentations each year to groups from each organisation - so, there’s a bit of administration to manage!</p>
<p>One of the wonderful things about industry research for me was that there was a ready-made research participant pool and plenty of volunteers, which eliminated, or at least reduced, any issues with finding research participants. In addition, while I understand the significance of publication, I felt it was important to produce research that was relevant and easily accessible for those for whom the research directly makes an impact. I’ve given a variety of presentations (<a href="https://www.karlymichelle.com/research">you can see a selection of them here</a>), which culminated recently in a detailed presentation at EPC, with the video of the presentation now available - check <a href="https://www.epc.asn.au/once-upon-a-research-story">https://www.epc.asn.au/once-upon-a-research-story</a>. As well, Bruce Rumbold secured a grant to make a six-episode podcast series a reality. We’re currently mid-production, with the first three episodes available at <a href="https://onceuponastorypodcast.podbean.com/">https://onceuponastorypodcast.podbean.com/</a> and more about to be released.</p>
<p>If I were to offer any advice for doing industry research, I’d say you need be proactive.</p>
<p>You are working between two distinct organisations so it is essential to learn how each works (which can take a while). This relies on clear communication and asking many questions to discover the questions you need to be asking! There is also the work of ensuring understanding from the industry partner of La Trobe’s requirements as the academic partner. It includes figuring out what the research expectations are of the industry partner and perhaps offering some education on what the vast landscape of research can look like, as La Trobe has far more experience in this than any industry partner is likely to. I am not sure EPC was expecting the narrative research I’ve provided when they started this process but, so far, I’ve only received positive responses. Each relationship and dynamic will differ, which is why good communication is so vital.</p>
<p>Overall, it has been a great experience and, even though I - as we all - had to adjust to the COVID-19 context, I could still continue.</p>
<p>I would do some things differently if I were to start again, but mostly because I now understand the processes better. They would be things like adjusting how I manage the dynamics, information, and administration between the two organisations. I certainly wouldn’t change the research subject, or the people!</p>
<p>Although, if we are talking about changing things, I’d change COVID-19 lockdowns. But, unfortunately, we can’t control everything - something we all learn when undertaking any research!</p>
<p>-----------------------------------</p>
<p><em><strong></strong></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSTi2oizUfwReoIHtJNc1XxGGzmmqw-XJ-6NlSXcG703RA2BCMMMHJj_iLWEklrEGeql2G_e0JzvcrgvV57cDCgbBzrGknEVlkIprNAB1Ae9BL80ng5q3RLNZP_sk9p6Mq854URid9_J0SYW_1Zslito8bONAU4xa24_CXHtutpvZiUg_2Tbzvb24/s180/karly%20edgar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="180" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSTi2oizUfwReoIHtJNc1XxGGzmmqw-XJ-6NlSXcG703RA2BCMMMHJj_iLWEklrEGeql2G_e0JzvcrgvV57cDCgbBzrGknEVlkIprNAB1Ae9BL80ng5q3RLNZP_sk9p6Mq854URid9_J0SYW_1Zslito8bONAU4xa24_CXHtutpvZiUg_2Tbzvb24/w144-h144/karly%20edgar.jpg" width="144" /></a></strong></em></div><em><strong>Karly Edgar</strong> is a PhD candidate in the Palliative Care Unit within the Dept of Public health. Her research is a joint project between La Trobe and Eastern Palliative Care Inc. (EPC) researching EPC’s award-winning Biography Program.</em><p></p>
<p><em>Karly has a <a href="https://www.karlymichelle.com">personal website</a>, and you can find her <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlyedgar/">on LinkedIn</a>.</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-88192403649963393202023-03-06T08:00:00.002+11:002023-03-07T15:43:40.632+11:00 Is it impact? (Helen Slaney)<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoSQvqyvUEqBvYzrgqG0ClsSTCVvJDaJ4cpA53qS-Nn9DZCVgwkGazg2mUx8eTWzF_F9Hn4cYh2iIYYoMtbWiWWIO-GdvYc1zZpuA9WyF1YRBoBa80YA_y3ec4IyGVJx7UMV1w8ZCwdJ6zdJcSWshso9kttfgr5YmvpRhuCow2KF3mNzoF0JqpK94/s1920/johan-nilsson-QcZrEkxGTro-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoSQvqyvUEqBvYzrgqG0ClsSTCVvJDaJ4cpA53qS-Nn9DZCVgwkGazg2mUx8eTWzF_F9Hn4cYh2iIYYoMtbWiWWIO-GdvYc1zZpuA9WyF1YRBoBa80YA_y3ec4IyGVJx7UMV1w8ZCwdJ6zdJcSWshso9kttfgr5YmvpRhuCow2KF3mNzoF0JqpK94/w640-h426/johan-nilsson-QcZrEkxGTro-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo by Johan Nilsson | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p>Do you think your research will change the world? Many of us do!</p>
<p>The element of ‘research impact’ is now a widely considered part of the research life cycle. By necessity, discussion about impact must be more evidence-based and demonstrable than aspirational when you’re including it in grant applications, impact assessment exercises, or job applications.</p>
<p>As the University’s Research Impact Manager, one question I’m frequently asked is whether certain outcomes “count” as research impact. This post aims to demystify what can be claimed as research impact and how you might talk about it.</p>
<p>It’s not straightforward to define precisely what research impact is However, in alignment with the Australian Research Council and international equivalents such as UK Research & Innovation, La Trobe understands impact broadly as “measurable, demonstrable and beneficial change occurring outside the university as a result of our research”.</p>
<p>Each component of this statement is important:</p>
<ul>
<li>We need to be able to measure what has changed against a baseline condition and provide evidence to support our claims;</li>
<li>the change should benefit organisations or communities beyond the academic sector; and</li>
<li>original research must be associated with the impact, ideally recorded in peer-reviewed publications (although reports and other non-traditional outputs are also valid).</li></ul>
<p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Engagement and impact: what’s the difference?</strong></h4><p></p>
<p>There is often a bit of confusion around what constitutes engagement or impact. Engagement refers to activity that you have undertaken to make your work available to external users. It might involve networking, presentations to stakeholders, serving on advisory boards, community co-design, or commercial licensing. The most effective modes of engagement will depend on your field and intended beneficiaries. Impact refers to the change which happens as a result. Engagement is how you influence your stakeholders to apply your research and make that change.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Primary and secondary impact</strong></h4>
<p>If your research findings have been applied by an external organisation – for example, they have changed policy or guidelines – this constitutes <strong>primary impact</strong>. It is not necessary to pursue evidence for <strong>secondary impact</strong>, or the follow-on effects of the policy change, although it can certainly enhance your impact narrative.</p>
<p>For example, the work of Dr Chris Maylea (Law) on involuntary mental health treatment led to legislative change via the Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (<strong>primary impact</strong>). While it may then be informative to consider how the Act is in turn having an effect on practice (<strong>secondary impact</strong>), this next level of evaluation is not essential.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Impact for Indigenous communities</strong></h4>
<p>Distinct impact criteria may apply to research involving Indigenous community collaboration. The exact criteria in each case will depend on the outcomes established as meaningful by the community. For example, impact may include preservation of cultural knowledge, such as language or oral history; provision of employment; or funding for community initiatives. A truly decolonising approach may require professional self-effacement from the researcher to ensure that the university is not profiting from Indigenous knowledge. Please see the end of this post for further reading in this area.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>What is <u>not</u> impact… and the exceptions</b></h4>
<p><strong>1) Knowledge transfer to students</strong> enrolled in degree courses.</p><p><strong>Exception:</strong> Short courses offered as in-service professional development to existing practitioners (e.g. the <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/school-education/about/spotlight">SOLAR lab</a>).</p>
<p><strong>2) Citations in academic publications. </strong>Confusingly, the same word – “impact” – is used in both contexts, but it means two different things.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Exception:</strong> If you publish in biomedicine or elsewhere in fundamental science, and your results or methods are applied in adjacent field <em>en route</em> to public or commercial benefit. However, in this case citations constitute a “pathway to impact”<em>,</em> rather than the impact itself.</p>
<p><strong>3) Media coverage of your work.</strong> This may be evidence of attention, but it is not evidence of change.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Exception:</strong> If one of the indicators you are measuring is a shift in public discourse or the terms of a debate, media coverage can demonstrate where this is occurring. However, you would need to identify a specific metric such as a key phrase to track usage. </p>
<p><strong>4) Consultancy without associated publications</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Exception:</strong> If you are able to use the data gathered over the course of a consultancy as the basis for a research output, your narrative can state that the impact resulted from engagement conducted prior to publication. Alternatively, you may be able to make the case that prior original research determined your approach to the consultancy. </p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Other FAQs</strong></h4>
<p><strong>Q: Can I count citations in Royal Commissions, Senate inquiries, Parliamentary debate, etc?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>A:</b> Yes, as evidence, but ideally you will also need to show the legislative change that resulted. You do not need to demonstrate the mechanism.</p>
<p><strong>Q: Are audience or participant surveys evidence of impact?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>A:</b> Not really, because they don’t show change. You will need to conduct a baseline survey and/or follow-up.</p>
<p><strong>Q: My drug or therapy is undergoing clinical trials. Has impact resulted yet, or does it need to be on the market?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>A:</b> It depends who is conducting the trials, as in <a href="https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/EI/Web/Impact/ImpactStudy/1031">this example </a>from University of Queensland.</p>
<p><strong>Q: Is a patent evidence of impact?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>A:</b> It should be included as part of the narrative, but doesn’t necessarily prove change or benefit in itself.</p>
<p><strong>Q: I have done R&D (research and development) for an external company which improved one of their products. Is that impact?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>A:</b> Yes, as in <a href="https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/EI/Web/Impact/ImpactStudy/684">this example </a>from UTS – provided you have also published the results.</p>
<p>---------------------------------</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>I still have questions: </strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>about impact: <a href="mailto:impact@latrobe.edu.au">impact@latrobe.edu.au</a></li>
<li>about commercialisation: <a href="mailto:industry.engagement@latrobe.edu.au">engagement@latrobe.edu.au</a></li>
<li>about industry partnerships: <a href="mailto:industry.engagement@latrobe.edu.au">engagement@latrobe.edu.au</a></li>
<li>about community involvement: <a href="mailto:researchgrants@latrobe.edu.au">researchgrants@latrobe.edu.au</a></li></ul>
<p>---------------------------------</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Further resources:</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/research/research-office/research-impact-resources">La Trobe Research Impact resources</a> (intranet)</li>
<li><a href="mailto:https://researchwhisperer.org/2022/10/25/so-youre-new-to-research-impact/">So you’re new to research impact?</a> (blogpost on Research Whisperer)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>There is a growing body of literature on decolonizing research practice. </strong>Some discussions mentioning impact in this context include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Datta, R. 2017. ‘Decolonizing both researcher and research and its effectiveness in Indigenous research’. <em>Research Ethics</em>2, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1747016117733296">https://doi.org/10.1177/1747016117733296</a></li>
<li>Jones, J. 2021. ‘Acknowledging Sovereignty: Settlers, Right Behaviour and the Taungurung Clans of the Kulin Nation’, <em>Law and History</em> 2 (117-43).</li>
<li>Tsey, K. et al. 2016. ‘Evaluating research impact: the development of a research for impact tool’. <em>Frontiers in Public Health</em> 4, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00160">https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00160</a></li>
<li>Tuhiwai Smith, L. 2018. ‘The Art of the Impossible: defining and measuring Indigenous research’ in Spooner & McNinch (eds.) <em>Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education</em>. Regina: University of Regina Press.</li>
</ul>
<p>---------------------------------</p>
<p><strong><em></em></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich_VR11rs7iRIGjhIr-Ngalw3cBlZkSDZgDCntLwiGJHOjBVIptf2Zaw2leh8QbLiI2FimTzbVDl_jAqjG70ZvSaKDvVXkzWfe2ZE8uEhcXYxGnSha_hw-Dq67O1_rFo3daLFAhA6nh6J6tYpEZAoF-sqpZCybtofB_1A03WnSTXn0r9MPLRsIhQd/s259/HSlaney%20-%20cropped.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="200" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich_VR11rs7iRIGjhIr-Ngalw3cBlZkSDZgDCntLwiGJHOjBVIptf2Zaw2leh8QbLiI2FimTzbVDl_jAqjG70ZvSaKDvVXkzWfe2ZE8uEhcXYxGnSha_hw-Dq67O1_rFo3daLFAhA6nh6J6tYpEZAoF-sqpZCybtofB_1A03WnSTXn0r9MPLRsIhQd/w140-h182/HSlaney%20-%20cropped.jpg" width="140" /></a></em></strong></div><strong><em>Dr Helen Slaney</em></strong><em> is La Trobe University's Research Impact Manager, located in the Research Performance team.</em><p></p>
<p><em>Having worked in research management since 2016, Helen completed her PhD at Oxford University in 2012, where she was based at the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama. She subsequently held a Junior Research Fellowship at St Hilda's College, Oxford, followed by a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014-16).</em></p>
<p><em>In a research administration capacity, she was previously Research Bids Manager at Roehampton University in London. In 2020-21, she led the team responsible for implementing OPAL (<a href="https://opal.latrobe.edu.au/">Open@LaTrobe</a>), the university's Open Access platform.</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-11447907392147678932022-11-29T08:30:00.004+11:002022-11-29T11:12:19.089+11:00Prepping for a writing retreat (Tseen Khoo)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULmktyGtocibPtR4aO9v7CRXglHDREpDOJUnGiyJTYDn_L4GgZVPe6FoTaLr6AkFuW04P8c8USfK6Ur7I61m8mt7gVj2nirPEQwPL1MVZyQKT5R9y_hJHFyap9Ng0b-ovtO1A8qiCwP3fGAGkJqSPEG7TSaCJtgTBS2D951BdHYQYMRDhYjbvmyW_/s1920/mark-olsen-bjyvVEPmZXw-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULmktyGtocibPtR4aO9v7CRXglHDREpDOJUnGiyJTYDn_L4GgZVPe6FoTaLr6AkFuW04P8c8USfK6Ur7I61m8mt7gVj2nirPEQwPL1MVZyQKT5R9y_hJHFyap9Ng0b-ovtO1A8qiCwP3fGAGkJqSPEG7TSaCJtgTBS2D951BdHYQYMRDhYjbvmyW_/w640-h360/mark-olsen-bjyvVEPmZXw-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Image by Mark Olsen | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />It's the tail end of Academic Writing Month (#AcWriMo) and we've just held our regular, much-anticipated 3-day writing retreat. <p></p><p>Over these days, about fifty researchers gathered to focus and write. Many were working on sections of dissertations or drafting papers and book chapters, others were responding to reviewers' comments or editing first drafts, still others were rewriting grant applications or final project reports. It's usually an extremely productive time for participants and many returnees declare it the highlight of their year for writing momentum. </p><p>Three days is a long time to devote to writing and it really helps you make the most of it if you prepare well. There are several necessary elements that will determine whether you'll be making the most of your retreat time. </p><p>I canvassed various researchers who are RED Writing Retreat stalwarts and fans, most of whom were at the one we've just completed. I asked what kinds of preparation tips and strategies they'd suggest for others who are wanting to make the most of the retreat. They very generously offered the following gems. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>If you're thinking of attending a writing retreat, these are excellent points for reflection and wise ways to take action! </p><p><b>Phil Maude, a Professor in the La Trobe Rural Health School</b>, says: </p><p style="text-align: left;">"To make the most out of the writing retreat do some pre-preparation. Have some goals set and think about what you need to do in preparation for writing. That might be gathering literature and critiquing it, or setting out an outline for your writing. If it is a journal article, make sure you have identified beforehand the journal you intend submitting to and know the submission requirements. This will save you a lot of time. You want to be able to write during the retreat and the more prep you put in before, the more you will be able to focus on writing. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The other thing to know is that the retreat is fun, inclusive, and supportive but it can be tiring. So, do reward yourself with snacks, keep the fluids up, and take the opportunities to break, stretch, and even dance a little during the retreat activities." </p><p><b>Ilan Abrahams, a PhD researcher in the School of Psychology and Public Health</b>, responded with this succinct list: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Respect the way your brain works and go with it (regarding snacks, naps, start times end times etc.). You will know the difference between when you are going with your flow and when you are avoiding your wholehearted path. </li><li>Don't be afraid to ask for what you need from other writers and the RED team. Chances are, they'll be more than happy to oblige or might want it, too. </li><li>Complex, good work takes a long time. Three days is not that long, so be realistic about what you might achieve. </li></ul><p></p><p><b>Lael Ridgway, a PhD researcher in the School of Nursing and Midwifery's Judith Lumley Centre</b>, had a wealth of advice to share and I'm questioning why I didn't just ask Lael to write me a whole post! Here's her take on how to prepare for a three-day writing retreat: </p><p><i>1. “Book it in, Danno!”</i></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Waiting only gives you an opportunity to fill the free spaces the way we always seem to do</li></ul><p></p><p><i>2. Protect the time and recognise its value</i></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Treat it like a conference you’ve paid for and are presenting at – you’ve really committed to it now, so you’ve gotta do it. </li><li>Remind yourself, the retreat is work/study time and it’s appropriate for you to be there. </li><li>Make it official – tell colleagues you’re participating in a university-supported retreat and won’t be available for three days. Put an out-of-office response on your email if necessary. Invite your colleagues to make it a department ‘thing’.</li><li>Tell your family and friends that you’ll be available in the breaks but they might need to call on another person instead of you while you’re ‘away’. </li></ul><p></p><p><i>3. Prepare</i></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Find work you’ve had trouble completing or getting started on but is always in your head. A paper, a chapter, an application, data analysis? Doesn’t matter. The protected time for focussed work is what you’re looking for. </li><li>Find a dedicated space that you don’t have to pack up at the end of the day (if you can). Make sure it includes the tools and resources you need to get – and keep – going.</li></ul><p></p><p><i>4. Set goals</i></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>What’s realistic for you to get done in this time? It might not get finished but you can make a big dent in it and getting started can get the ‘elephant’ off your back. </li></ul><p></p><p><i>5. Bring your enthusiasm (and snacks)</i></p><p><i>6. Don’t forget self-care. Move and hydrate regularly</i></p><p><i>7. Celebrate all achievements</i></p><p>You too can be the eminent/interesting/enlightened writer your emails think you are!</p><p>-------------------------</p><p>So, there you have it - three wise views on making the most of writing retreat time. If you want to read more about the whys and wherefores of writing retreats, here are a couple of links to posts about the idea of writing retreats in academia - one is very practical and the other is excellent stimulus for justifying your retreat planning: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2017/03/21/writing-retreats-academic-indulgence-or-scholarly-necessity/">Writing retreats: Academic indulgence or scholarly necessity?</a> </li><li><a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2018/09/04/writing-retreats/">Residential writing retreats: three wishes for academic output</a></li></ul><p></p><p>-------------------------</p><p><br /></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9sjYQ4DKsL9pQ_uO2tToqL3GI7HTxdauEkrY1-gCflCBfwzHowVBo6KYHa5QdXTdpe-nL3_EBFGms6fatHuFgke-QChSKmzsBHrwgqp_Szji-DU2tZ5bg6VBXhyX_HdPIJOAuoWNK5iNe7GDIiv6hRwjV7BqUoHS8h8W6ZFci2W7hjsCmfFZA4pO/s190/TLK.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="190" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9sjYQ4DKsL9pQ_uO2tToqL3GI7HTxdauEkrY1-gCflCBfwzHowVBo6KYHa5QdXTdpe-nL3_EBFGms6fatHuFgke-QChSKmzsBHrwgqp_Szji-DU2tZ5bg6VBXhyX_HdPIJOAuoWNK5iNe7GDIiv6hRwjV7BqUoHS8h8W6ZFci2W7hjsCmfFZA4pO/s1600/TLK.jpg" width="190" /></a></i></div><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/tkhoo">Dr Tseen Khoo</a> </b>is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED team at La Trobe University. Melbourne. She researches in the field of critical university studies and has published on early career researcher experiences, digital academic identities, and racial diversity issues. </i><p></p><p><i>Tseen created and manages the <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/">Research Whisperer</a> with Jonathan O'Donnell. She's on Mastodon at @tseenster@aus.social and not really on Twitter at @tseenster.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-29325467879650842982022-11-22T14:08:00.007+11:002023-08-03T10:59:43.248+10:00I wanna write with somebody (Tseen Khoo)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDJhwBBPLiof2XCMxeiP-mJr54_IDuczNMx1o9z0rF-FPdSAt3OUW-brDfOn171XsU_Gd3qcYvmh24gZCkl_TDhN4VLgU5aJZRujLqQDkjnQptC6x9xUuPRZCdFWcqe6f1PPWFYTLFgS4zH7p-aRvhxpsFIjPxDbXT8MRYOyadD5nVqGJW4jkiCyS/s1000/the-coherent-team-9AdfBC1XC4U-unsplash%20-%201000px.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDJhwBBPLiof2XCMxeiP-mJr54_IDuczNMx1o9z0rF-FPdSAt3OUW-brDfOn171XsU_Gd3qcYvmh24gZCkl_TDhN4VLgU5aJZRujLqQDkjnQptC6x9xUuPRZCdFWcqe6f1PPWFYTLFgS4zH7p-aRvhxpsFIjPxDbXT8MRYOyadD5nVqGJW4jkiCyS/w640-h480/the-coherent-team-9AdfBC1XC4U-unsplash%20-%201000px.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Image from The Coherent Team | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I often hear from researchers that they really wanna write with somebody (pace, Whitney Houston). <p></p><p>I'm not talking here about co-authoring or collaborating on a piece of writing but about being part of a writing group or community, feeling the solidarity of fellow writers and knowing you're together for a purpose. Often, folks who want these communities are interested in combining productivity, some socialising, and a foundational level of support for one another's endeavours. </p><p>There are many ways you can establish this for yourself and this post offers models that you can tailor to suit your personality, location, and preferred style of working. What you choose to do may be in-person or online. </p><p>For example, my preference is for online sessions, using the pomodoro method, with a relatively organic take on attendance (that is, groups that aren't too uptight about strict attendance for a duration). I don't mind who's in the mix as I normally keep the socialising to a lower level. You may have different priorities. I know some of our researchers are hankering for in-person writing sessions, others prioritise the socialising in the breaks a lot, others still just like having others around them but don't need to have conversations. </p><p>It's worth working out whatever the setting is that enables you to work at your best. This post offers a few ideas for ways to write with others that you can tap into straight away, or which you can tweak to suit you better. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Shut up and write sessions</b></h4><p>My go-to suggestion if someone is hunting for a writing group or writing companionship is always 'shut up and write' (SUAW) sessions. These are now well established as a part of many university research environments. <a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/p/shut-up-and-write-suaw-is-series-of.html">Here's a SUAW overview</a>, giving you more information about what they are and how we run them online. We host many sessions here at La Trobe University - one every day of the week, in fact! You can check out those sessions <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/research/red/initiatives/shut-up-and-write!-suaw">here</a>. Basically, SUAW is a group of people who get together regularly to work on their writing projects and the event format is structured by using the <a href="https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique#what-is-the-pomodoro-technique">pomodoro technique</a>. </p><p>If you prefer a smaller group that is more local or known to you (e.g. your department or School), then see if there's a SUAW already around. If not, think about starting one up! <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KaU2P3q5ynfU-jbLJz4Fs3mAPrY7j7zq/view">Here are some SUAW guidelines</a> for how we run our sessions that can be a starting point as you think about creating your own - adapt them to suit you! The people you'd like to gather for SUAW sessions could be a range of combinations: you and a single buddy, peers in the same discipline across different universities, anyone who wants to come and heard about it from your colleagues...it can be as open or closed as you'd like. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Loosening the time </b></h4><p>Pomodoros can be different durations if you'd prefer longer focused stints (e.g. 40 mins rather than 25 mins). Indeed, you don't even have to run writing groups in a typical pomodoro / SUAW style. You can still have the accountability and sociability by setting much larger, looser blocks of writing time. For example, you can: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Meet up in the morning, </li><li>Have a chat about what you're doing, </li><li>Go and do your stuff, and </li><li>Meet up again at lunchtime to decompress and debrief. </li></ul><p></p><p>This works for in person or online and can be rinsed and repeated through several days if you'd like to have a low-key multi-day writing retreat. </p><p>In addition, you could write alongside others without any kind real structure at all. There are researchers who meet up with writing buddies regularly, often online, and just hang out with each other for a work day without structuring that time beyond turning up and leaving at the end of the day. It can be enough to know that someone else is 'in the room' with you. Bronwyn Eager wrote about the concept of 'body doubling', which is the "practice of having another person present while you try to complete a task", and this is exactly what some researchers are after when they are looking for writing companionship (<a href="https://broneager.com/body-doubling">read Bronwyn's full post here</a>). </p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Writing accountability across a month</b></h4><p>A few years ago, a colleague introduced me to the 'Monthly Weeklies' - find out all about it and how to run one in <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2018/03/20/goal-setting-with-a-group/">this post by Jonathan Williams</a>. This alternative writing group model is asynchronous and online so could include anyone from around the world. Basically, it "runs in monthly cycles with weekly check-ins" (Williams). I was part of one group, off and on, for a couple of years, and it really helped hone my goal-setting skills. </p><p>Being asynchronous, and our group being distributed across the world on various timezones, I was initially sceptical that I'd get to know other people at all. But the check-ins, and how folks embraced the sharing around what worked for them in a given week, what the challenges were, and how that might modify their next set of goals - all that helped in learning about others and their approaches, personalities, and priorities. It was a wonderful revelation. There was capacity for commenting on each others' check-ins and progress and that's where a lot of the bonding happened. </p><p>------------------</p><p>So, there you have a few ideas for finding or creating the kind of writing companionship that you're after. Writing with a group can make a huge difference to how much you achieve, and it's usually a great way to get to know new and existing colleagues better without any big 'I am networking' vibes.</p><p>------------------</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOv8vYxK1rhaz-syuasfuTxPNALW6g7n26lMLBMAQmV2ElIJ0EjEvnNIavYH1jdqNKmgd5blpHUcjz8skzT-M3C-vlk9Poytgy3RNanlNQu1NkSKv76F2mAfZQB7i8ij2hFs8SFW2NATi75glXAs8FuTaJzANUdU0dLdmgzMn8pQSN3v9R6s0WS0Zi/s190/TLK.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="190" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOv8vYxK1rhaz-syuasfuTxPNALW6g7n26lMLBMAQmV2ElIJ0EjEvnNIavYH1jdqNKmgd5blpHUcjz8skzT-M3C-vlk9Poytgy3RNanlNQu1NkSKv76F2mAfZQB7i8ij2hFs8SFW2NATi75glXAs8FuTaJzANUdU0dLdmgzMn8pQSN3v9R6s0WS0Zi/s1600/TLK.jpg" width="190" /></a></div><i><b>Dr Tseen Khoo </b>is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED team at La Trobe University. Melbourne. She researches in the field of critical university studies and has published on early career researcher experiences, digital academic identities, and racial diversity issues. </i><p></p><p><i>Tseen created and manages the <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/">Research Whisperer</a> with Jonathan O'Donnell. She's on too many social media platforms as @tseenster.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-2479120915226006542022-11-15T08:00:00.003+11:002022-11-15T15:40:02.534+11:00Making the most of your writing time (Tseen Khoo)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytxXP4Ijpo7b8K6EOHnk9Wk-p3M1XTCk4f753FNTBI8qGBaAlRvtj17XkBEozqBkiu6jxOVPilG_yDnjYfhqPSzvjRE95m2cMi-WYcfaKBzfo3i2lNe_0q1bWfYjcDfVFpF_6mZmSiJkwx54I2B-eHlI9Ew1r6PdpJb7410xox1wcWFFQR9NO61zG/s1000/designecologist-973350-unsplash-1000px.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Different coloured fabric leaves hung along a string. Image by design ecologist from unsplash.com" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytxXP4Ijpo7b8K6EOHnk9Wk-p3M1XTCk4f753FNTBI8qGBaAlRvtj17XkBEozqBkiu6jxOVPilG_yDnjYfhqPSzvjRE95m2cMi-WYcfaKBzfo3i2lNe_0q1bWfYjcDfVFpF_6mZmSiJkwx54I2B-eHlI9Ew1r6PdpJb7410xox1wcWFFQR9NO61zG/w640-h426/designecologist-973350-unsplash-1000px.jpg" title="Image by design ecologist from unsplash.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Image by design ecologist from unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I am not someone who finds writing in my academic voice easy. </p><p>This is due to a range of reasons, which includes having a well developed case of imposter phenomenon (or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome">imposter syndrome</a>) that's spanned my time as a scholar in universities. Coupled with my high-level procrastination skills - something that's unfortunately very transferable to other work contexts - my writing practice can be patchy at best and non-existent at worst. </p><p>Over the years, I've found ways of making writing work happen and this post is a reflection on my own practices that have been effective - or not. One thing I have understood better over the years is that finding your best process for writing can be highly personal, necessary, and subject to change. <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2022/05/19/lives-change-across-academic-careers-so-should-your-academic-writing-habits/">This latter point about changing writing habits has been borne out by research</a>. </p><p>Finding writing time and making space for yourself to focus on writing is one thing that occupies a lot of air-time for researchers. </p><p>Once you've actually made the time, though, what are the most effective ways to use it? <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>Here are two practices that generate the most value for my writing momentum: <p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Chunking the work and knowing what I need to do when I sit down. </b></h3><p>That's a very unglamorous way of saying that I get organised with the work that needs to be done and have a clear plan to proceed each time I sit down to write. This sounds so basic and it is, but it's also one of the hardest things to do consistently when you are spending a lot of time running around in the frenzy of a normal, busy life. </p><p>Having the clarity of knowing exactly where you are with your projects and writing requires a lot of articulation work. In their podcast <i>On the Reg</i>, Inger Mewburn and Ben Kraal discuss articulation work - here's a very quick primer from their notes: </p><p>"Articulation work is a fancy way of talking about:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Putting tasks in an order (to complete some arc or work)</li><li>Doing tasks sequentially or simultaneously (to complete some arc of work)</li><li>Assigning people to do tasks (to complete some arc of work)"</li></ul><p></p><p>And here's the episode if you want to listen for yourself: <a href="https://onthereg.buzzsprout.com/1187141/9095260-articulation-work-isn-t-just-a-cool-research-paper-from-1992-even-though-it-kind-of-is">Articulation work isn't just a cool research paper from 1992 even though it kind of is</a>. </p><p>So, it's the work you do before you can do the work. This process is extremely valuable and usually takes longer than you think.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>2. Writing with others. </b></h3><p>This elements works in two ways: writing with others in terms of co-authoring (I have spent a significant part of my research career as <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2017/11/07/academic-lone-wolf/">a lone wolf academic</a>) and also writing alongside others at Shut Up and Write (SUAW) sessions. </p><p>Co-authoring makes things more fun, me more accountable, and the work better because of the synthesis of others' perspectives and wells of knowledge. My colleague Meagan Tyler wrote about <a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2022/11/the-unexpected-joys-of-collaborative.html">the unexpected joys of co-authoring</a> and I couldn't agree more. These joys are what have kept me in academia. Producing work together, sharing in the triumphs over (life and work) challenges, and just plain good fun with colleagues. It's a heady combination. </p><p>SUAW sessions have given me the focus and discipline to get through the things I've been avoiding. They provide me with companionship and solidarity in the grind of getting through first drafts and subsequent edits, and have given me some of the best friends I've ever had (many of whom are still my buddies today). I even wrote <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2016/02/23/suaw1/">a 2-part blogpost about our gang's appreciation of SUAW</a>. </p><p>-------------------</p><p>Conversely, here are two practices that do not work for me anymore, even though they were more or less fine in the past: </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Pulling all-nighters</b></h3><p>I don't know whether I'm meant to say this, being someone who now advises others on good, sustainable work practices, but I was a researcher who counted on all-nighters to get to the finish line on thesis chapters, conference papers, and maybe perhaps possibly even an Honours thesis. I have always over-achieved on the procrastination front and completed work down the wire of a submission deadline. This was never a very good strategy but, when it was my go-to, I had a lot of buffering in my life in terms of discretionary time and a low number of ongoing commitments so it was do-able, if not entirely wise. </p><p><b><i>Why it doesn't work for me anymore:</i></b> I don't have as much time to play with and a whack-ton more in terms of ongoing commitments. Such a significant disruption, which requires recovery time, doesn't sit well alongside a crowded routine with dependents and many other commitments.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">2. Skimping on the articulation work</h3><p>I would sit down to do writing and spend the first little while (anywhere from about 15 mins to....um...about an hour) sorting out what I was going to do for the day. This was fine when I was a research fellow, which was for more than a decade of my working life, because I was 100% research and just about my whole day, every day, was spent on research. Then kids came along. Then I wasn't a research fellow anymore. Time became much more restricted and playing fast and loose with when I do things was a lot less possible and led to much higher stress levels. A couple of years ago, I realised I was in a 'stuck' place with my research projects. </p><p>And the things is that I have read and heard the advice repeatedly about preparing to do the work, but it wasn't until I was interviewed by Chris Smith (who co-founded and runs <a href="https://prolifiko.com/">Prolifiko</a>) and Chris very kindly and generously gave me some impromptu coaching that I really put things into practice. I still remember the key thing that made me suddenly more productive: ensuring that each time I was stepping out of research work zone, I'd have planned the three things I'd be doing in my next appointment with my research or writing. That's it. Sounds basic but it's a process that's full of critical reflection on project approaches and setting feasible goals.</p><p>So, there you have it. My writing practices past and present, warts and all. </p><p>Has your writing practice changed over time? Are you alert to when your practice may need to be altered? I find a writing routine needs to be flexible, responsive to my present circumstances, and sustainable. It is very difficult to force a routine on yourself. </p><p>--------------------------------</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1zfi9YBdfYkvZ8VKC17TOWobNsc4Evu5gwRFnwSMnLOokCmznh-uRWoaYjS87F2AZU4nMOkI5FRZqd-11Xl2Yqmaya8ElF9H5ctYEKH3AiOrigT2e2STiAiYOA6JX1iGsfXgPZ3z8xRPk6yrExI2IQf-dQbTz97Eh-N1HlnRRkKH9AsRGtkAxSdU/s190/TLK.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="190" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1zfi9YBdfYkvZ8VKC17TOWobNsc4Evu5gwRFnwSMnLOokCmznh-uRWoaYjS87F2AZU4nMOkI5FRZqd-11Xl2Yqmaya8ElF9H5ctYEKH3AiOrigT2e2STiAiYOA6JX1iGsfXgPZ3z8xRPk6yrExI2IQf-dQbTz97Eh-N1HlnRRkKH9AsRGtkAxSdU/w185-h185/TLK.jpg" width="185" /></a></b></div><b><i><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/tkhoo">Dr Tseen Khoo</a> </i></b><i>is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED team at La Trobe University. Melbourne. She researches in the field of critical university studies and has published on early career researcher experiences, digital academic identities, and racial diversity issues. </i><p></p><p><i>Tseen created and manages the <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/">Research Whisperer</a> with Jonathan O'Donnell. She's on Mastodon at @tseenster@aus.social and not really on Twitter at @tseenster.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-44847466201712228812022-11-08T12:11:00.004+11:002022-11-08T12:11:31.834+11:00Things to consider when planning to publish (Dan Bendrups)<p><a href="https://theresearchwhisperer.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/alexander-grey-gyxvsezazxu-unsplash-800px.jpg"><img alt="Black Labrador dog, head tilted, looking at the camera questioningly." class="size-full wp-image-11509" height="427" src="https://theresearchwhisperer.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/alexander-grey-gyxvsezazxu-unsplash-800px.jpg" width="640" /></a> <span style="color: #999999;">Image by Alexander Grey | unsplash.com</span></p><!--wp:paragraph-->
<p></p>
<!--/wp:paragraph--><p>Thesis writing and academic publishing go hand-in-hand in contemporary academia, and it should come as no surprise that publishing is a frequent source of angst for graduate researchers. </p><p>Electronic thesis submissions, together with the ascendance of online article databases, make publications and thesis submissions more deeply intwined than they were a generation ago, and universities have adapted examination policies and processes to enable this (as discussed in this <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Doctoral-Examination-Exploring-Practice-Across-the-Globe/Kumar-Taylor-Sharmini/p/book/9781032049922">forthcoming book</a>). Theses that include publications are widespread, though as noted in this <a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2021/11/including-publications-in-thesis-what.html">previous blog post</a>, not universal, and there’s still enough difference between disciplines to create some confusion for graduate researchers.</p>
<p>When I commenced my own PhD (more than two decades ago, in a humanities context), things were no less confusing. I worked with supervisors who were prolific scholars but we never talked directly about my own publishing aspirations. I quietly assumed that I’d find publishing opportunities if I stuck close to them and followed their leads. I never assumed that they might <em>want</em> to write with me or that I might propose this as a possibility. Meanwhile, a colleague doing their PhD in the sciences had a different journey, working on a project with publishing expectations that were established before their candidature even commenced.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p>While our experiences were quite different, we had one thing in common: we both lacked a critical, reflective approach to our respective publishing journeys. Their journey was predetermined, formulaic, and somewhat lacking in agency, while mine was comparatively free (but also a bit directionless), and I sometimes wonder what I could have done differently had someone encouraged me to think more critically about my intentions. </p><p>Based on my current work supporting graduate researchers and their supervisors, I know that these questions are still valid, as there are plenty of current candidates who might also benefit from some hard discussion around publishing. It's with this in mind that I’m offering a series of questions in this post, in case this is helpful with developing a good sense of direction and purpose. </p><p>Here we go: </p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Question 1: why publish?</strong></h4>
<p>At the risk of seeming a bit obvious, have you asked yourself why you want to be published? There are no wrong answers to this question (well, only one: anyone thinking of making an income directly from academic publishing is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/04/the-guardian-view-on-academic-publishing-disastrous-capitalism">likely to be sorely disappointed</a>), but it is a question that only you can answer for yourself. People planning to pursue an academic career will likely need academic outputs, but the same can’t be said for other careers or industries where other types of outputs may be more highly valued. Thinking clearly and honestly about your academic writing aspirations is an important - but often skipped - first step in one’s publishing journey.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Question 2: is this paper <em>really </em>necessary?</strong></h4>
<p>This question requires a good dose of self-awareness and honesty. I’m one of the many academics to have produced publications that seemed good at the time but which, in hindsight, may not be that great. I once worked with a professor who admitted to never reading their own work once it was published as they didn’t want to risk feeling any disappointment. I worked with another professor who was known to exclaim that ‘the last thing the world needs is more academic books’… while also writing various books. We also live in a world of extreme research productivity with some cultures of practice producing pretty outrageous expectations (what does ‘authorship’ mean to a researcher who is named on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06185-8">more than 72 papers a year</a>…one every 5 days?).</p>
<p>As a gift to your future self, take the time now to interrogate exactly what contribution your planned publications aim to make and if this is hard to answer then that’s worth exploring further. Of course, in some cases, the answer may be determined by expectations beyond your control (e.g. your funders, supervisors, or university policy requiring candidates to publish), but asking this question will still likely yield better results. Also consider this: is the paper needed now, or is its timing not an important factor?</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Question 3: who’s involved?</strong></h4>
<p>Does your discipline favour sole-authorship or teamwork? Does author order matter, and how is this decided? How you answer these two questions will already tell you something about who might be involved in the publication journey. There are merits to all sorts of authorship arrangements – what matters most is that they have been arranged via a mutually agreed process that is fair and transparent. The <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-code-responsible-conduct-research-2018">Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research</a> offers very clear advice on co-authorship, and there are also <a href="https://theplosblog.plos.org/2022/01/contributorship/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=openscience&utm_content=credit_ad2&twclid=2-25jbp57y5ht4bzef1pzkftx2k">various scholarly perspectives</a>.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Question 4: who’s the audience?</strong></h4>
<p>Academics spend quite a bit of time deciding where to publish. This is in part to do with perceptions of quality (see question 5, below), but also to do with audience. Different people access different resources and, in a world full of content producers, you need to know that the right people are reading your work if it is to have impact. So, think hard about who your audience is. You may have more than one audience – would they find your work in the same place or might you need to diversify? Is language significant? Who matters most to you at your current career stage? Who most needs to hear what you are saying? What do you want to be known for as a research professional? Who might offer future opportunities for you? Answering these variously pragmatic and altruistic questions will help you to prioritise your publishing choices.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Question 5: what form will it take?</strong></h4>
<p>Some disciplines (and some work environments) hold up the monograph as the pinnacle of scholarly writing. In others, you’d be considered unusual if you said you were writing a book. Some disciplines consider conference proceedings to be important because they are rigorously vetted and quicker to publication, but others do not. You need to understand the dynamics of your discipline to be able to make informed publishing choices. Does open access matter to you? What about online accessibility or print quality? Hardback or softcover? Purchase price? Depending on your topic and your audience, these questions may or may not matter, but it is worth taking the time to think them through.</p>
<p>While your answers will be unique to you, there are some broad criteria than can help. For example, if you are located in Australia, the Australian Research Council defines specific publication categories that are <a href="https://www.arc.gov.au/sites/default/files/minisite/static/4551/ERA2015/s4-1_research-outputs-type.html">‘counted’ as valid scholarly outputs</a>. Scholarly books, book chapters, and peer reviewed journal articles count for all disciplines but conference proceedings only count in specific cases. Creative and other ‘non-traditional’ works are valid only in their respective disciplines. The ARC also lists other publication categories that are explicitly not considered scholarly research, so it’s worth understanding the difference.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Question 6: how do you define quality?</strong></h4>
<p>As noted above, career academics care about publication quality: as a proxy for rigor, for personal prestige, and sometimes to satisfy institutional demands. Academic journal rankings (determined nationally and globally, like <a href="https://www.scimagojr.com/">this example</a>) are a major feature of this, but not the only measure, and need to be balanced against other considerations (such as audience, above). Graduate researchers may be naturally unaware of rankings that are professionally important to their supervisors. While it is good to strive for quality, it is also important to be pragmatic and recognise that a very early career researcher may not yet have the track record to be competitive in the highest ranked journal in a discipline. It’s a good idea to actively ask supervisors and other established mentors about the circumstances surrounding journal rankings. A similar but less well-defined system applies to scholarly books, with certain university presses (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago) deemed more prestigious than other publishers but, again, this varies considerably by discipline.</p>
<p>One firm rule to following the Australian context is to avoid vanity and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03759-y">‘predatory’ publishers</a>. Vanity publishing (usually for books) are presses with low (or no) levels of editorial oversight, that will publish work on pre-payment. While convenient, these presses are low in professional standing for academics. Predatory publishers (usually for journals) are usually online journals that lack disciplinary accreditation and/or reliable peer review processes and are known to indiscriminately trawl for content by cold-emailing potential authors. Publishing with these outlets will not lead to professional recognition and may detract from an author’s standing in the scholarly community.</p>
<p><strong>What next?</strong></p>
<p>These questions will likely lead to further sub-questions. This is a good thing. You may not have immediate answers – this is also a good thing, as you can have these discussions with your supervisors and co-researchers. Addressing them together will help you to build your discipline knowledge and capacity for scholarly judgement.</p>
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<p><i><b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7480726588109312163/5643412698754117777#" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" title="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7480726588109312163/5643412698754117777#"></a></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRr4KRG8hjiJL8ov4OKIKkUTpUVGOokY3XjsCM2s7QnIX1LQq-thqmbNv3VBMYvb6CNdf-0gjqQCOdmxjhKCWwkh7b8RTSWyTyuDcacqSq7oai-qoE6d6ImLMnAvW5oT-iCrBWS7L_h42hShQ7CaXaL3IHZo_0End0dEb0PKyIlSDUo_93dzJxYZqV/s250/dan-bendrups-crop.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRr4KRG8hjiJL8ov4OKIKkUTpUVGOokY3XjsCM2s7QnIX1LQq-thqmbNv3VBMYvb6CNdf-0gjqQCOdmxjhKCWwkh7b8RTSWyTyuDcacqSq7oai-qoE6d6ImLMnAvW5oT-iCrBWS7L_h42hShQ7CaXaL3IHZo_0End0dEb0PKyIlSDUo_93dzJxYZqV/w188-h188/dan-bendrups-crop.jpg" width="188" /></a></b></i></div><i><b>Dr Dan Bendrups</b> is the Director of </i><i>the RED team and a Senior Lecturer. </i><p></p><p><i>His disciplinary background spans anthropology, cultural studies, and creative practice, and he is known internationally for his work concerning Rapanui (Easter Island) cultural heritage. As well as researching in these domains, he also provides broad-based doctoral supervision in ethnographic methods. </i></p><p><i>He has a particular interest in doctoral supervision and leads the RED supervision portfolio.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-41797342224121201452022-11-01T08:00:00.010+11:002022-11-01T08:00:00.202+11:00The unexpected joys of collaborative writing (Meagan Tyler)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfdrJHwbypmH-D3m4HXEi0UBOIfhrKR_d90tfmAKsszhJYNoWI5irOa0tSTuSiXYRCjQRnOBsUEk7bHKMX0q5nf00Z90a5QbqexbGGgAF__dKBlsYa_sVY6kRFJRhGlOBY8DN-JrsY1UzotBj5ldfs8qIyhwuuyO3RGNa8ucp9V0Hbn84Dyrw7V4OY/s800/hello-i-m-nik-UNCQklgSUd4-unsplash%20-%20800%20px.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Three Lego mini-figs of different colours are working together to hold a straw." border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="800" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfdrJHwbypmH-D3m4HXEi0UBOIfhrKR_d90tfmAKsszhJYNoWI5irOa0tSTuSiXYRCjQRnOBsUEk7bHKMX0q5nf00Z90a5QbqexbGGgAF__dKBlsYa_sVY6kRFJRhGlOBY8DN-JrsY1UzotBj5ldfs8qIyhwuuyO3RGNa8ucp9V0Hbn84Dyrw7V4OY/w640-h464/hello-i-m-nik-UNCQklgSUd4-unsplash%20-%20800%20px.jpg" title="Image by Hello I'm Nik | unsplash.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Image by Hello I'm Nik | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />There are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6237291/">solid lists</a> and <a href="https://ideasonfire.net/coauthoring/">words of advice</a> out there on what makes a collaboration successful or <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/2019/05/07/learning-to-be-a-co-author/">how to be a co-author</a>. I’m not seeking to recreate or evaluate that sort of guidance here. Rather, I’d like to take a moment during this Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) to acknowledge the joys of writing together. Partly because, when I reflect on my own experiences, it’s not always the publications that stay with me, as much as I still cherish some of them, it’s the enduring and very human connections that come from collaborating on writing and research.<p></p><p>When I look back, the thrown-in-the-deep-end collaborative situations from early on in my career bore almost no resemblance to any of the sound suggestions that circulate about developing good co-authorship practice! Like many academics not long out of PhD studies, I’d picked up work on someone else’s project. The team chose me, so ‘choosing your co-authors wisely’ wasn’t exactly an option. There was almost no discussion of deadlines, writing practices, or processes. </p><p>But I learned a lot, and much of what I learned was not at all what I’d expected.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Yes, the various practical elements that are frequently mentioned in <a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/136/">discussions of co-authorship</a> were part of my experience. The benefits of splitting the workload, greater motivation to meet deadlines, sharing ideas and skills, reaching new audiences, and critically reflecting on one’s own approach were all evident. What really struck me was the way that these processes could change my <em>feelings</em> about writing. I’d never had someone else to tackle reviewer comments with and it turns out it’s really nice to be able to rant about Reviewer 2 with someone who's just as invested in the paper as you are. Troubleshooting revisions together is not only more effective, it’s generally far more pleasant than drawing up a table of responses on your own. It’s quite wonderful to have at least one other person to share in the buzz of publication, or the commiserations of rejection.</p><p>Sometimes, the joys can be anticipated. It <em>is</em> validating to collaborate and publish with someone whose work you have admired for years. It <em>is</em> more fun to write with people who have become friends as well as colleagues than to write alone. But did I know how good it would feel to have worked with someone for so long, and to know their writing so well, that I smile every time I edit a draft with ‘nevertheless’ repeatedly overused? No, reader, I did not.</p><p>Styles of collaboration are varied and so are our levels of connection through that collaboration. There are differences by discipline and individual preference and also across projects and papers. I’ve written manuscripts where I’ve only exchanged a few emails with a co-author from start to finish. Others were done through regular online meetings and lights-up-like-a-Christmas-tree-levels of track changes.</p><p>One paper in particular was done while I sat with a group of close collaborators, writing – almost in its entirety – a manuscript from a co-author’s kitchen table. That paper stays with me most, especially because it was written over the worst of the pandemic in Melbourne, between lockdowns. I’m convinced that I would never have written anything about that data set if left to my own devices during that highly disrupted time, but our sessions together were about more than productivity. They became a welcome source of solidarity and comfort. Debates about analysis, structure, and style were punctuated by cups of tea, slices of pizza, long silences of concentration, and lots of laughter. I can’t recall a time when I’ve so looked forward to writing or a time when I’ve been so consciously grateful that this kind of activity can actually be part of the job.</p><p>Not all experiences are so soul-nourishing, of course, and most researchers have at least one horror story about the challenges of co-authorship from some point in their careers. At its best, however, this kind of collaboration is a beautiful reminder that, despite the treadmill of rankings and the increasingly automated publishing systems that surround us, we can find meaning and connection with each other, providing inspiration, care, and empathy. </p><p>We’re not always afforded the time or space to say ‘thank you’ to colleagues and co-authors in the way we might like – but expressing that appreciation is going to be one of my goals this AcWriMo, and you might like to join me.</p><p><em>Welcome to a month of celebrating writing! </em><em>This post is simultaneously published on the <a href="https://researchwhisperer.org/">Research Whisperer</a> blog for #AcWriMo (Academic Writing Month). </em></p><hr /><p><em><strong></strong></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVikEeuZVYgt8jSQJFQ7IeTnJgqFRrV80RS_qjHolVW0FfjEYKzOj2Id647eD0jX9lCR5E8sU8JEn4-UbDKQo8gjGs7kyCxbwdrp3M5Sf9JZYu0t7-uLGpQ66F1tUI_GFYeCTfT3XXBZxxycZKjjrxVobAACui2ont0orOSUbRwTGvpVAmBWHrq9zY/s300/Meagan%20Tyler%20-%20head%20shot%202019.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="300" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVikEeuZVYgt8jSQJFQ7IeTnJgqFRrV80RS_qjHolVW0FfjEYKzOj2Id647eD0jX9lCR5E8sU8JEn4-UbDKQo8gjGs7kyCxbwdrp3M5Sf9JZYu0t7-uLGpQ66F1tUI_GFYeCTfT3XXBZxxycZKjjrxVobAACui2ont0orOSUbRwTGvpVAmBWHrq9zY/w185-h172/Meagan%20Tyler%20-%20head%20shot%202019.jpg" width="185" /></a></strong></em></div><em><strong>Dr Meagan Tyler</strong> is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED (Research Education and Development) team at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. </em><p></p><p><em>Her interdisciplinary research work has focused mostly on analysing gender inequality and violence against women across a range of social, organisational and policy contexts. She’s passionate about public engagement and building better universities.</em></p><p><em>Meagan tweets from <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMeaganTyler">@DrMeaganTyler</a>.</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-52522317794350478632022-08-17T08:00:00.001+10:002022-08-17T08:00:00.173+10:00Enabling public involvement to boost research translation and impact<p><b><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAqyNGpLZmOh2U73e6QdMsDdpTlLIb6gr5dJ-xHM9dtaDDIZHKIGuY5EWahYQfTtxoB-iET8SONWV98x5N_PqfJYML3M99QKAUgB7i4MQGQkJa_3frI38o5vnMK0g-JvxSCZIcw59WRqgI-SpuU_I2mTe4WMq7NhiyEDSTgpYEHNTwAlxV22rGwLa/s800/2979572825_eca233eb17_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="800" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAqyNGpLZmOh2U73e6QdMsDdpTlLIb6gr5dJ-xHM9dtaDDIZHKIGuY5EWahYQfTtxoB-iET8SONWV98x5N_PqfJYML3M99QKAUgB7i4MQGQkJa_3frI38o5vnMK0g-JvxSCZIcw59WRqgI-SpuU_I2mTe4WMq7NhiyEDSTgpYEHNTwAlxV22rGwLa/w640-h428/2979572825_eca233eb17_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Graphic conversation | Marc Wathieu | https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcwathieu</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Public involvement in research – from conception through translation – leads to research that is more relevant, rigorous, and impactful. </i></b></p><p>Most major research funding bodies in Australia including the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), as well as health charities such as Cancer Council Australia, increasingly recognise the importance of public involvement in research, requiring researchers to evidence how people and communities who could be involved in or impacted by the research have contributed meaningfully to the design of their research, as part of the grant application process.</p>
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<p>The language that we use to talk about public involvement in research can be confusing; terms are used interchangeably: patient and public involvement, consumer and community engagement, stakeholder consultation. That said, at their core these terms refer to people with lived experience of care and treatment who can make a meaningful contribution to research efforts in a range of ways. Hence, and going forward as a university, we encourage colleagues to use the term <b><i>public involvement</i></b>. </p>
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<p>Many researchers acknowledge the importance of public involvement in science but struggle with how to do it in a meaningful and authentic way. As Theme Leads for the 'Healthy People, Families and Communities' and 'Understanding and Preventing Disease' themes, we recognise the importance of supporting La Trobe researchers to work with the public in developing their research ideas. </p><p>In this post, we share an overview of La Trobe University initiatives which support best practice in public involvement in research to deliver maximum research impact.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
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<p>La Trobe was created as a university focused on access and social justice, and its vision is driven by a need to make a difference to the communities we all serve. Public involvement is therefore core to La Trobe University’s ethos. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">How can we do this well? </h4>
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<p>In July 2021, we convened a public involvement in research working group, chaired by us as Theme Leads, that comprised academics with an interest in public engagement in research, including those with lived personal experience. The task of this group was to inform a university public involvement plan, raise awareness, celebrate exemplar practice, and identify resources, tools, and systems to do this well. </p><p>Ultimately, our aim is for La Trobe to be recognised as a leading university internationally for our public engagement in research. Our achievements to date include:</p>
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<ul><li>Establishing a public involvement resources intranet site (that can be accessed <a href="https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/research/involving-the-community-in-our-research">here</a>)</li><li>Promoting the La Trobe university C<em>onsumer Engagement Toolkit</em> (<a href="https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/152829/Consumer-Engagement-FAQ-for-LTU-Researchers_July-2018.pdf">here</a>)</li><li>Facilitating an <em>Understanding public involvement in research</em> workshop (<a href="https://latrobeuni.sharepoint.com/teams/O365-ConsumerInvolvementinResearchWorkingGroup/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fteams%2FO365%2DConsumerInvolvementinResearchWorkingGroup%2FShared%20Documents%2FConsumer%2Dled%20event%5F14%20Oct%202021%2FConsumer%2DEngagement%2Din%2DResearch%20Workshop%2020%20Oct%202021%2Emp4&parent=%2Fteams%2FO365%2DConsumerInvolvementinResearchWorkingGroup%2FShared%20Documents%2FConsumer%2Dled%20event%5F14%20Oct%202021&p=true&ga=1">here</a>)</li><li>Running a <em>Consumer and the community: fad or future?</em> university event (<a href="https://echo360.net.au/media/ff1ff1d9-e015-4465-be4b-7e4449b7c468/public">here</a>)</li><li>Ensuring that public involvement is a core part of the research pipeline process</li><li>Embedding public involvement in theme plans and school research strategies</li><li>Incorporating public involvement as a core part of the university’s internal investment schemes</li></ul>
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<p>The process of researchers involving the public in research is one of continual reflection, learning and improvement. Members of the working group have shared their challenges of involving the public in their research. Looking back, they have reflected that their early efforts could be considered rather tokenistic; seeking affirmation that their ideas were good. They discussed how they developed the necessary skills (particularly interpersonal ones) for doing research “with” (rather than to) the public.</p>
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<p>To continue building on these initial achievements with a view for sustainability, there is a need for a long-term vision and strategy for public involvement. To this end, the University has appointed a Public Involvement Strategic Lead, who starts work in September. They are charged with working with Schools and Research Centres to design a university “Public Involvement in Research” plan. A key component of this plan will be the involvement of members of diverse communities including Indigenous and regional populations. At a more practical level, the Strategic Lead will facilitate workshops on how to engage the public in research and demonstrate how this can best be evidenced in funding applications.</p>
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<p>Through authentic public involvement we can ensure that our research is relevant, meaningful, and impactful for the communities we serve. </p><p>We encourage all La Trobe researchers to access our resources and find out more about public involvement. Looking forward to working with the La Trobe community on this important initiative! </p><p>------------------------------</p><p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETgQWf5kq1cZyYixJNjf87xHSfoEZItKrOge7edmyRO8S8vXr6ejy8XyPqQSlBqUx0h5EOu5rJgq8GUsopwN2c8E0md-SNq2YLFu79fc4eS4W_cLKF5zxkmf0PfPNY9GHATlVNWQnS-RNcA7nrWhSkVSEeBgwXgMsuGrIYClAjaIZgjOeOEOZYjTH/s300/gray_photo_2%20-%20300px%20cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="300" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETgQWf5kq1cZyYixJNjf87xHSfoEZItKrOge7edmyRO8S8vXr6ejy8XyPqQSlBqUx0h5EOu5rJgq8GUsopwN2c8E0md-SNq2YLFu79fc4eS4W_cLKF5zxkmf0PfPNY9GHATlVNWQnS-RNcA7nrWhSkVSEeBgwXgMsuGrIYClAjaIZgjOeOEOZYjTH/s1600/gray_photo_2%20-%20300px%20cropped.jpg" width="300" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/r2gray">Professor Richard Gray</a></b> is the Theme Lead for 'Healthy People, Families and Communities'. He trained in Mental Health Nursing at King’s College in London. </i><p></p><p><i>Richard became a professor in 2008 at the U of East Anglia and moved to Australia to join La Trobe U in 2017. He has held senior clinical and academic leadership positions in both health service and university sectors. </i><i>The focus of Richard's research is on developing and testing novel psychosocial interventions for people experiencing mental ill-health. </i><i>He is on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/DrRichardGray">@DrRichardGray</a>.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiDY9n8ECLyFnQ4Bfp_JP69zC6qrdV3_2NHrqGjm-7vXyBSI8wKvZacDwXz39N_KtOQN23bjlyMY_RrTUOA6IoaSTIrEvi9egCOPshYMhpZGJww5Oef4SCteuWfopoXcmea4I2nEnsIrBdOb3mF1EX1FtuI22HEOgbgPw_qEDi2Iri4vQxLEz8Mlt/s190/Patrick%20profile%20pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="181" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiDY9n8ECLyFnQ4Bfp_JP69zC6qrdV3_2NHrqGjm-7vXyBSI8wKvZacDwXz39N_KtOQN23bjlyMY_RrTUOA6IoaSTIrEvi9egCOPshYMhpZGJww5Oef4SCteuWfopoXcmea4I2nEnsIrBdOb3mF1EX1FtuI22HEOgbgPw_qEDi2Iri4vQxLEz8Mlt/s1600/Patrick%20profile%20pic.png" width="181" /></a></i></div><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/phumbert">Professor Patrick Humbert</a> </b>is the Director of the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Sciences (LIMS) and Theme Lead for 'Understanding and Preventing Disease' at La Trobe University. </i><p></p><p><i>Patrick is a recognized international leader in cancer research with PhD training in immunology at the WEHI, Melbourne, postdoctoral training in genetics and cancer research at the MIT, Boston, and led a lab for over 15 years at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, before becoming La Trobe U's inaugural Professor of Cancer Biology in 2016. His current research is focussed on the evolutionary origins of cancer, re-establishing tissue organisation to prevent cancer, and how space and microgravity can impact on regeneration and cancer progression. Patrick is on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/pohumbert">@pohumbert</a>.</i></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-24695863393093433822022-06-21T08:00:00.001+10:002022-06-21T08:00:00.180+10:00 How to build strong foundations with industry and public sector partners (Chris Maylea)<p><strong><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFPx4eooPbfaYr62pcUvgCYmSE78SN-3eTjBnABMx4Htwz7ULkS3tvjqZFh73o7AMEmQa2wRt3mWNFbj6KllKCyWT81dO1BzEllce8mhohg_t0PLrNHqwqqsSnUpIoc-5VsjiXoKYbc8GINa6uYt97LKLBWkn0XtJ9U0t48N3H_YttConmQOkRX6e/s1920/avel-chuklanov-IB0VA6VdqBw-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFPx4eooPbfaYr62pcUvgCYmSE78SN-3eTjBnABMx4Htwz7ULkS3tvjqZFh73o7AMEmQa2wRt3mWNFbj6KllKCyWT81dO1BzEllce8mhohg_t0PLrNHqwqqsSnUpIoc-5VsjiXoKYbc8GINa6uYt97LKLBWkn0XtJ9U0t48N3H_YttConmQOkRX6e/w640-h426/avel-chuklanov-IB0VA6VdqBw-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo by Avel Chuklannov | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </strong></p>
<p>For any research that hopes to change the world, in whatever way, good relationships with industry and government are essential to all parts of the process.</p>
<p>They’re crucial from the beginning of the process (when you’re defining the research questions and scope) right to the end (when the findings are being implemented). This is particularly important for research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, or other people and communities who have been discriminated against. For research requiring ethical approval, ethics committees are increasingly requiring evidence of engagement with end-users or relevant organisations. At the recruitment or product testing stage, finding potential research participants often requires industry assistance.</p>
<p><strong>How can researchers form these relationships with industry and government?<span></span></strong></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p>The answer to this question will vary for each researcher and each research project, but two keys to success are <strong>genuinely shared values</strong> and <strong>genuine reciprocation</strong>. Industry and government stakeholders will respond positively if they see that researchers are trying to do good work, not just progress their careers. This means that researchers should not view relationships with industry and government as important for their own research (although they are!) but should see themselves as part of a bigger movement towards social change, better systems, better products or whatever else researchers are hoping to achieve.</p>
<p>For me, this has meant many hours of volunteer work with multiple organisations, including in direct practice as a <em>pro bono</em> lawyer and in governance as a committee or board member. I do this not because it looks good on my CV (although it does!) but because it is important work that needs doing. Almost as an afterthought, these relationships make my research - my day job - more meaningful and productive.</p>
<p>When I needed help with recruiting participants for a funded study during the pandemic, I was able to rely on the generosity of direct service organisations who distributed materials or even picked up and drove participants to the interview location. Conversely, when organisations I work with need an academic ‘talking head’ for a media story or a panel, they’ll sometimes call me because they know I am aligned with their values. I do training and professional development that’s sometimes free, sometimes paid, depending on the organisation.</p>
<p>The same goes for government: if I need support to access data held by government, I have contacts I can call on for support and, if they need advice or someone to sit on an advisory board, I’ll sometimes get called on to do that. All of these connections build my networks with other decision-makers, researchers, and service users. It isn’t so much that any one thing is valuable but, together, <strong>all these links create the foundation on which good research is built</strong>.</p>
<p>Eventually, these links become deep, beyond just one person in the organisation or department, and collaborations align with the strategic planning and purpose of the organisation. Eventually, we may have discussions about jointly applying for funding, supporting research funded by others, or funding my projects directly. I never start with these discussions but I make myself available for them when the time comes. When we have those conversations, I’m still thinking about what value I can offer the organisation, rather than what I want from them. <strong>Reciprocity is key</strong>. Whenever possible, I do research that originates as a priority from within an organisation or community group, rather than taking my ideas to them. This means that when my work is published it aligns with what the sector is focused on, and more likely to have an impact.</p>
<p>One example of this is the work I did with the <a href="https://mhlc.org.au/">Mental Health Legal Centre</a> (MHLC). I started volunteering with the MHLC in 2014, providing legal advice on the evening phone legal help hotline. I did an unfunded research project with them in 2017, which they identified as a priority area. This resulted in a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/7/2/22">publication </a>that was cited in a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/mental-health#report">Productivity Commission</a> report that adopted our paper’s recommendations. Later that year, the MHLC raised the issue of women’s safety in mental health inpatient units as systemic advocacy priority. With a colleague, we applied for funding from <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/project/preventing-gender-based-violence-in-inpatient-mental-health-units/">ANROWS</a>, and were successful in a Category 1 grant, with a report published in 2020. Even without these tangible outcomes, working with the MHLC has given me insights into my research area that I would never have had otherwise.</p>
<p>For researchers who are yet to develop these links, it can be a challenge to work out how to get started. My advice is to find organisations and movements that align with your values and see what you can offer them before you ask for anything back. Like anything in academia, this might take years to come to fruition and many links, relationships and partnerships will never lead to funding.</p>
<p>I haven’t always done these things the right way. In the best case, the organisation has just politely told me that they’re not interested. In the worst case, they’ve said yes to my request for research partnership but haven’t meant it, and the project has stalled because I didn’t actually have the support of the organisation. In every case, this has been a result of not building the foundations required for genuine research partnerships.</p>
<p>Even in these cases, where it can be difficult to see tangible outcomes, learning from working with industry and public sector has improved me as a researcher and a human, so it is never wasted.</p>
<p> ----------------------------------</p>
<p><strong><em></em></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAepWkuO6bgcJSS9HSqK6yvw0YcY-_DdsOcb0WMbwcWKLSowobKNaAgjDYsIlSiUvxbbmZs4ZUrp0JGS5vfxoJCDtxdRpE_lr5DuUXb6czb9CRX-sjHYdEe8SgXaCZNo2B2i1428VfE8yLNkHi3Yv7cqjzuUzIZVyJ6zmvYTk0o84HpQyQFGpDWYZ3/s180/chris%20maylea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="180" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAepWkuO6bgcJSS9HSqK6yvw0YcY-_DdsOcb0WMbwcWKLSowobKNaAgjDYsIlSiUvxbbmZs4ZUrp0JGS5vfxoJCDtxdRpE_lr5DuUXb6czb9CRX-sjHYdEe8SgXaCZNo2B2i1428VfE8yLNkHi3Yv7cqjzuUzIZVyJ6zmvYTk0o84HpQyQFGpDWYZ3/s1600/chris%20maylea.jpg" width="180" /></a></em></strong></div><strong><em>Associate Professor Chris Maylea</em></strong><em> is a social worker, lawyer, and Associate Professor of law at La Trobe University. He has practice experience in mental health services as a social worker and manager, provides advice to government and policy reform bodies and appears before the Victorian Mental Health Tribunal as a legal representative. </em><p></p>
<p><em>Chris’ work sits at the intersections of health, welfare and the law, and is underpinned by human rights and social justice. He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications and commissioned reports, and is the author of ‘Social work and the Law: a guide for ethical practice'.</em></p>
<p><em>Chris tweets from </em><a href="https://twitter.com/chrismaylea"><em>@chrismaylea</em></a><em>.</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-83731600222207598442022-03-15T08:00:00.001+11:002022-03-15T08:00:00.192+11:00Learning from sharing: Thesis Writing Circles (Lynda Chapple) <p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2nUB8LFg5QGyrD1XxvZmYOyNY5v7r0cGr7AFzV-qt2vL-SzSVGzMrdMt5uw9vN1eY1rZ8ALYhJUXWnM5ugwnxCT1EAuMRTuhc5Ec0WGifYdmMI3BJJN9pYCOD_o_7mVlAOrUmk3YQki_tfo5Ug6Q5D958wwUdmrHNrahiRxKZ3QYWjIhy4fFJ57JB=s1920" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2nUB8LFg5QGyrD1XxvZmYOyNY5v7r0cGr7AFzV-qt2vL-SzSVGzMrdMt5uw9vN1eY1rZ8ALYhJUXWnM5ugwnxCT1EAuMRTuhc5Ec0WGifYdmMI3BJJN9pYCOD_o_7mVlAOrUmk3YQki_tfo5Ug6Q5D958wwUdmrHNrahiRxKZ3QYWjIhy4fFJ57JB=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photograph by Margarida CSilva | Unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Many of you know the value of regular writing practices, such as the very popular <a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/p/shut-up-and-write-suaw-is-series-of.html">Shut up and Write sessions</a>. These give you focused time to concentrate on small and achievable goals in the company of others who are striving similarly towards the clear and polished prose that is so important in a thesis. The focussed time and collegiality are crucial to success here.</p><p>Another really useful way to develop both your writing and editing skills is to join a Writing Circle. Writing Circles (sometimes known as writing groups) involve meeting regularly with a group of other writers to review and discuss each other’s work. At La Trobe University, Thesis Writing Circles focus particularly on aspects of academic, research, and thesis writing. These are loosely organised around people working in similar fields or on similar types of studies - all keen to improve and polish their writing.<br /><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>The many benefits of this kind of writing activity have been well documented (see, for example, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2014.966671">Weigener, Meier and Ingerslev, 2016</a>). Participants learn a great deal about their own writing by learning to critically review the work of other writers. </p><p>They develop skills in written critique, editing and facilitating professional discussions in a supportive and collegial environment. These skills are particularly important for those anticipating an academic career, but can benefit anyone involved in writing in an academic space.</p><p>Thesis Writing Circle members benefit from sharing tips and resources and can develop long-lasting professional networks. Participation also reduces the feeling of isolation and the anxieties that often accompany the doctoral process.</p><p>Since the advent of COVID, Writing Circles have been held online, which has produced the additional benefit of allowing members to join from anywhere.</p><p>Here are some reflections from previous years’ Thesis Writing Circle participants:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>“<em>I participated in a Writing Circle in 2021 because I was interested in meeting other fellow Latrobe students as I had transferred from another university. I did not know what to expect as this was the first time I had taken part in this type of group setting. In all honesty, I was highly nervous and worried about my work being judged as inadequate. However, I had the opposite experience, finding that there was a great respect and interest shown towards each individual PhD project. I immensely enjoyed my participation in the writing circle as there was a real sense of travelling the same road together when often the opposite is true - a PhD student can feel quite alone and isolated, even more so during Covid-19 times! The benefits of participating included engaging with different material from various disciplines, freely asking questions to better understand the discipline of writing and the exchange of positive constructive feedback. Everyone was both encouraging and engaged in helping each other and trying to address areas of writing that we struggled with or needed some guidance on. I highly recommend taking part in a writing circle because you gain a lot from the experience that assists you towards progressing in your studies and feeling a part of the Latrobe university community</em>.”</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b>— Loredana Giarrusso</b></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>“<em>Being a PhD research student the three key areas I set out to enhance my skills are in experimental lab work, presentation skills and writing skills. Writing as I go has been an intentional effort on my part as I was advised it makes the final thesis work easier at the end. I have always been able to write conversational English, however, writing my thesis and for publication in scientific journals has been a different ballgame and this is where the Writing Circle comes in. Through the Writing Circle, I have been exposed to different writing styles from diverse fields which has enriched my vocabulary and writing style. I have been able to also share my writing with others in a safe space where I get feedback from diverse people which helps give more insight into and refine my writing skills, making them much better. It does take some of the weight off when sending my written work to my supervisors as I know it is much better than it was when I started.</em>”</p></blockquote> <b> — Yvonne Ogagi</b><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>“<em>I joined the Thesis Writing Circle in April 2021, just after my Confirmation of Candidature. I thought joining this group was a simple way to break the tedium of working from home. Little did I know, this group would become so much more. It was the catalyst of my productivity, the chrysalis of my creativity. I learned how to write better and give reasonable feedback to my peers. It was one of the best decisions I made in my PhD</em>.”</p></blockquote> <b> — Made Rimayanti</b><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><em>“The Writing Circle came at a perfect time. Just as I was writing up multiple papers for my PhD, it was great to meet other people at various stages of their PhDs and get practical support with writing. Learning how to appraise the writing of others and give feedback is just as important a skill as writing, so it was great to develop those skills too. Once COVID came, the peer support took on a new level of importance, helping reduce the sense of isolation, and it is the funding of services like this that makes La Trobe University a great place to study. The practical support I got from this Writing Circle meant I was able to finish a paper for a project called ‘Standardised Data on Initiatives’ (STARDIT) - which you can learn more about and read here: </em><a href="https://ScienceForAll.World/STARDIT/Beta/"><em>https://ScienceForAll.World/STARDIT/Beta/</em></a><em>”</em></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b>— Jack Nunn</b> </p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><em>“I was pleasantly surprised how much I gained from joining the Writing Circle for a few months. The process of reviewing the work of peers on topics unrelated to my research was a great way to learn to analyse the writing itself, as opposed to the content. This enabled me to have a more critical eye when reviewing my own work. Learning to provide different levels (e.g. micro to macro) of feedback was beneficial for own writing, learning to review my colleagues work, and begin peer reviewing for journals. Seeing that my feedback was consistent with others improved my confidence in how much I have learnt throughout my PhD. This also helped with my own writing efficiency, as I was able to back myself and not deliberate over words or sentences for too long! The Circle provided me with motivation to write via feedback from other members, sharing experiences, or just from having time away from writing my thesis to be able to return to my writing with a clearer mind.” </em></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b>— Brooke Patterson</b></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p> "<em>I joined the Circle in the last year of my PhD Candidature, in anticipation of improving my writing and to meet others in a similar position.</em></p><p><em>I was finding the HDR endeavor to be a difficult and lonely pursuit and the engagement with the group provided me with much-needed encouragement, effectively affording a ‘time-out’ pause to reflect on my writing, to share manuscripts and learn from like-minded HDR colleagues in similar situations. It was an intersection of subject matter, writing techniques and an additional layer of personal support, particularly in the last 12 months of the Covid-19 lock downs. The time spent in Writing Circle group gave me renewed incentivization and </em><em>was a very much looked forward to and happy two hours spent during my week. </em></p><p><em>My writing has improved enormously. The guidance from members of the group – their thoughtful comments, suggestions and recommendations - set me on an elevated pathway for writing, which I’m not sure I would have found otherwise. I received recommendations on readings and resources that were invaluable. The feedback from members of the Writing Circle improved my writing, particularly as we didn’t necessarily know each other’s subject area, so it had to be ‘readable’ and make sense. My supervisors have given me a lot of very positive feedback on the improvement on my writing since the Writing Circle group.</em></p><p><em>I would highly recommend joining a Writing Circle group. It has been a highlight of my PhD.” </em></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b>— Elizabeth Kennedy</b></p></blockquote></blockquote><p>----------------------------- </p><p><strong>New Thesis Writing Circles for 2022 – Call for expressions of interest</strong></p><p>The Library, in conjunction with the RED team, is now calling for expressions of interest to join a Thesis Writing Circle this year. Writing Circles involve meeting regularly with a group of other writers to discuss and review each other’s writing. Thesis writing circles involve a specific focus on academic style, argument, cohesion and coherence. Participants develop their own writing and editing skills in an informal, supportive and collegial environment, build new networks and share ideas and resources. The time commitment is approximately 2-2 ½ hours per fortnight.</p><p>New circles will be established in April. If you are a PhD student, have completed confirmation of your candidature and would like to join a Writing Circle, or would like more information, please email Dr Lynda Chapple <a href="mailto:l.chapple@latrobe.edu.au">l.chapple@latrobe.edu.au</a>. Expressions of interest should include a brief statement about your discipline and the nature of your project. <b><i>Applications close Thursday 24 March, 4pm.</i></b></p><p>-----------------------------</p><p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTEHKL0z8sLoj43BoJUweL7AzUGIIkbX4n0HoKF4lYIPBmKeOu07xyZ3DlCEa68bhYCgz0ajb6rfUUL928MSSpmKmA9-73SvMFaO1CW5PiO75FGn3urOxm52rAcxpq2es7Xr33ORid5MictLvnD2481_GkfDVOh1BOVeKy1pvdHb0v6HqmBZvfoR7V=s212" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="200" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTEHKL0z8sLoj43BoJUweL7AzUGIIkbX4n0HoKF4lYIPBmKeOu07xyZ3DlCEa68bhYCgz0ajb6rfUUL928MSSpmKmA9-73SvMFaO1CW5PiO75FGn3urOxm52rAcxpq2es7Xr33ORid5MictLvnD2481_GkfDVOh1BOVeKy1pvdHb0v6HqmBZvfoR7V=w168-h179" width="168" /></a></b></i></div><i><b>Dr Lynda Chapple</b> has a PhD in English from Monash University, an MA and Dip. Ed. in English and TESOL, both from the University of Melbourne, and is an alumna of La Trobe University where she did her Bachelor (Honours) degree many years ago. </i><p></p><p>
</p><p><i>Lynda has worked in Academic and Language Skills Advising and as a Lecturer in English for many years, both in Australia and overseas. She can be contacted through the Learning Hub, or directly at <a href="mailto:l.chapple@latrobe.edu.au">l.chapple@latrobe.edu.au</a>.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-70144549042274629862022-03-08T08:00:00.000+11:002022-03-08T08:00:00.184+11:00How to complete an academic book proposal (Katherine Firth)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ-W3CpR8wYx0xCJVeMy2zkQMnY57erWWiOa7Y7pZEbgTPzY-i2ejgJ4-IUFLz0ujG3bfde89lKeF4qgof_tJcghEwDoY8gYw7ahFIIXcEZESQ3Jh_b1RcsXmspDjBIo9uVf-rArSCMJBWhkMBG-I2rXYv6dv9JRf7Y81b02VmBuqwQTIzOdIQDCxI=s1000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ-W3CpR8wYx0xCJVeMy2zkQMnY57erWWiOa7Y7pZEbgTPzY-i2ejgJ4-IUFLz0ujG3bfde89lKeF4qgof_tJcghEwDoY8gYw7ahFIIXcEZESQ3Jh_b1RcsXmspDjBIo9uVf-rArSCMJBWhkMBG-I2rXYv6dv9JRf7Y81b02VmBuqwQTIzOdIQDCxI=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo by Syd Wachs | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Compiling an academic book proposal for edited collections and monographs is an essential step in getting your work published but, the first time I had to fill one in, I found it really difficult to work out what to include or how to frame it. </p><p>This is because a book proposal asks you to move from being a writer to being a publisher or bookseller and, initially, I didn’t know that much about publishing. Having published multiple books with four different academic publishing houses now, I find the book proposal process much more straightforward.</p>
<p>Each publisher has its own proposal template, sometimes called an ‘Author Questionnaire’. Surveying my old proposals, I saw a lot of variation in how the questions were asked and what was included, and there are quite different expectations again for novels and popular non-fiction. Your series editor, supervisors, and mentors are all excellent allies for getting it right for your publisher and your project. You might find it useful to ask for an example of a good proposal to model your first applications on. </p><p>Here are some other considerations and strategies for your book proposal: <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>The big picture</strong></h3><p>Academic publishing produces high-prestige books that retail for hundreds of dollars each. They often have indistinguishable covers and very descriptive titles. Unlike a mass market book that is trying to entice a single reader to pick up a volume on a whim (needing a memorable title and eye-catching cover), academic books are mostly sold to university libraries who subscribe to the series, or make one-off purchases as requested by a researcher. You therefore need to focus your sales pitch on the quality of your work and how well it fits into an existing series.</p>
<p>In order to get a contract, your book is competing internally with other potential manuscripts submitted to that publisher, and externally with other books already on the market. You know why your book is important and how it contributes to knowledge. In the proposal, you need to explain that to others who don’t have the same depth and familiarity with your field or your manuscript.</p>
<p>A book proposal document is considered at a commissioning meeting, which may include editors, marketing, production and sales teams. I find it helpful to see each section of the proposal as speaking to the questions different teams bring to that meeting.</p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>The title</strong> </h3><p>The title should ‘look like’ a book title at that publisher. Survey the titles in the series you are submitting to and copy that style. It's a very basic way to show everyone that your book fits. Academic titles are often quite long and descriptive - make full use of your title and subtitle.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Sample and overview</strong></h3><p>You will typically be asked to include about 3 sample chapters from your book. The overview often looks like an detailed contents page. These sections should be quite quick to produce as you will usually have already written the manuscript, or collated the chapters. However, you should obviously make sure that the manuscript is well written and edited. You should also make sure the sample chapters follow the press’ requirements for formatting. The sample and overview sections are for your commissioning editor or publisher, who knows the field and wants to identify if your work is high quality. They will be sending it on for peer review, perhaps using their own networks, and perhaps asking you for recommendations for who they should be approaching.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>You will always be asked for a synopsis...</strong></h3><p>...but may also be asked for a rationale, key words, or other descriptions of the project. The marketing team is looking for descriptions that will make sense to a librarian or undergraduate student, as well as ones that will be attractive to other researchers in your field. These words will end up as the blurb on your back cover, on the website, as metadata in library catalogues, and in any marketing materials. Start by including words that you would type into Google or a library catalogue to find this book for your literature review or class reading list.</p><p>For the back cover and website, you are likely to be asked for an author bio of about 50 words describing your affiliations, qualifications, research area and other relevant publications; and the names of a couple of high-profile researchers in your field to write a sentence or two of praise to endorse your book.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Images, number of pages, etc.</strong> </h3><p>Almost no academic books sell beyond the existing market, so there is only a set amount of money that a book can make. A complex and expensive book reduces the profit margins. This section is for the production and sales team, and they would both like to keep extras to a minimum.</p><p>Unlike a PhD, the following things make a book more expensive and difficult to produce:</p></blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<ul><li>Longer books are more expensive to print, store, and ship, so publishers will generally balk at a 150-thousand word book (70-100K is more typical).</li><li>Images on photo paper, or in colour, make your book way more complicated and expensive to print. You may even be asked to contribute to costs yourself over a certain number of images (and you will need to pay for permissions for reproducing images, lyrics or other material).</li><li>Any visual element (figures, tables, maps, images, boxes, etc) is harder to fit onto a page while maintaining the flow of the text. Footnotes are similarly harder to format than endnotes.</li><li>Typesetters and copy editors don’t always have expertise for specialist material like mathematical symbols, music notation, non-Roman script, poetry, etc. unless you are with a specialist press.</li></ul>
</ul>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include any of these include these elements in your book but think about which ones add value and are worth the hassle.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Readership and competition</strong> </h3></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>These elements are highly relevant to the sales team and they are something of a balance. On the one hand, you want to show that people do read books about this kind of topic, and on the other you also want to show that your book is not exactly the same as another book that came out last year.</p><p>You don’t have to prove your book will be a bestseller or do in-depth market research, but you do have to let the publisher know that it will be relevant to researchers and students in your field across the world. How do you prove that there is an audience for your book?</p><p>This is where your conferences and professional societies come in handy. Your book might be useful as a subject set text. For a monograph, a few chapters previously published as articles also shows there is interest in your work. High impact journals and large international conferences make this point very easily, but you might also mention media interest, being a 3MT finalist, or social media stats. </p><p>The competition section should have about 5 or so books in it—it’s not a comprehensive reading list! The main audience for your academic book is other researchers, so if they aren’t publishing about your topic, they probably aren’t reading about it either! You should select high-profile and recent books where possible. Do particularly point out similar books published by that press, as it tells them they are already publishing in that area. If you don’t have any direct competition, select books that are broadly similar; explain how your book is similar, but also how it brings something new.</p></blockquote>
<p>If you’ve already done the hard part of putting together a book, over time the proposal will become a straightforward job. It can be an inspiring opportunity to imagine the book you worked so hard to write actually reaching librarians and readers.</p>
<p>I'm grateful to Dr. Leigh McLennon, a publishing editor who has worked with both trade and academic books, who was consulted about this blog post. Leigh points out that a book proposal “is like a job application form, in the sense that it should be tailored to meet the criteria for the press you’re 'applying' to”. Similarly, she points out that you should only be applying to presses that actually publish books in your area!</p>
<p>--------------------------</p><p><a href="https://katherinefirth.net/"></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7WcB8fA0fNJ1IwCW5qeZz_kPt69Har_EoGR3xb97b_yHnX4bREjRpDzLyWDAgN-_ma8hBFMPnzWmSHxovuSVqsTKUEzjfGhKU0e0N9V8OSRE0Lgp9nk4PQysrGcKHFolFxdpFmmDHOvJSmXscFtHBBnpHrj5-5G2cHLIM8bNBVxEJpJOMyNTMll7L=s200" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7WcB8fA0fNJ1IwCW5qeZz_kPt69Har_EoGR3xb97b_yHnX4bREjRpDzLyWDAgN-_ma8hBFMPnzWmSHxovuSVqsTKUEzjfGhKU0e0N9V8OSRE0Lgp9nk4PQysrGcKHFolFxdpFmmDHOvJSmXscFtHBBnpHrj5-5G2cHLIM8bNBVxEJpJOMyNTMll7L=w175-h175" width="175" /></a></div><i>Dr Katherine Firth</i><i> has worked as an academic, an Academic Skills advisor and as an academic manager. She is currently a lecturer in the Research Education and Development (RED) team. She also runs a doctoral writing blog <a href="https://researchinsiders.blog/">Research Degree Insiders</a>. She has won an academic award for her work on Thesis Boot Camp at the University of Melbourne. </i><p></p><p><i>Her research interests are literature, musicology, cultural history, and academic writing. Katherine is on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/katrinafee">@katrinafee</a>.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-47051325307696029962022-02-22T08:00:00.002+11:002022-02-22T08:00:00.194+11:00Who Am I? Life as a Lived Experience Academic (Ashley Ng) <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDduRLYQcf3NGJY3OLqdcuU8T8w4RJl4zyZmZURgKUPizV_Fq5oGUT79cgwAo-p8E8IBBEyLEvC2W9khMz7aHLdofEXeMxR-gOI-2I46Bj-r-kY2_DNLGubO55zeu3z4QVDtPjU8gKbZkd_OvZ2OqWXh8Tca648JnjuNxBgdEMMr8MKu8p1wxd7tB8=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDduRLYQcf3NGJY3OLqdcuU8T8w4RJl4zyZmZURgKUPizV_Fq5oGUT79cgwAo-p8E8IBBEyLEvC2W9khMz7aHLdofEXeMxR-gOI-2I46Bj-r-kY2_DNLGubO55zeu3z4QVDtPjU8gKbZkd_OvZ2OqWXh8Tca648JnjuNxBgdEMMr8MKu8p1wxd7tB8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Dr Ashley Ng presenting at the Diabetes Expo on a researcher's perspective on <br />peer support for diabetes communities</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In 2009, my first year of my health sciences undergraduate degree, I was diagnosed with diabetes. <p></p><p>Fast forward many years later, I found myself juggling multiple hats of a consumer as a person living with diabetes or diabetes advocate, a healthcare professional, and a researcher. Many assumed that I had a rock-solid idea of my career from the start given that all the pieces of the puzzle fit nicely when they see my academic journey on paper. Nothing could be further from the truth.</p>
<p>Soon after I was diagnosed with diabetes, I started writing a blog on the reflections of life as a young adult with diabetes. Little did I know that this would launch me into the diabetes advocacy spotlight. </p><p>Since starting to share my story, I have had people reach out thanking me for shining a light on things that have not been readily discussed or for providing a different perspective. Through the networks I developed, I found myself sharing my story in front of very important people – from diabetes community members, healthcare professionals, to politicians within Australia and internationally.</p>
<p>While it has been a privilege to be able to be a voice for the diabetes community, I felt like I was not being taken seriously and I wasn’t making a difference. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>I thought that perhaps if I had more credentials, it would lend strength and authority to my advocacy voice and changemakers would start to take me seriously. After my undergraduate studies in health sciences and nutrition, I completed my Master in Dietetics to gain accreditation as a practising dietitian, which enabled me to work more closely with the diabetes community. During my studies, I realised that clinical work perhaps wasn’t for me. I found numerous barriers that patients and clinicians faced within the healthcare system the prevented the ability to provide high level personalised care in an efficient manner. Through my placements and personal experience, I saw really passionate individuals who were trying to change the systems around them burning out and sensed (and shared) the frustration they had.</p>
<p>Realising that, as a clinician, my ability to impact change would be limited, my mentor suggested that I turned a pet project I was working on into a PhD study. It was an option I'd never considered or thought might be an option for me. </p><p>What may have been an off-handed comment by my mentor opened a world of possibilities and opportunities for me. After several attempts, I was able to secure a PhD scholarship, which enabled me to focus on developing a mobile health resource for young adults with diabetes to help them navigate the healthcare system, unpack health-related jargon, access diabetes information, and seek support from peers. Interestingly, the further I progressed along my research and especially after earning my doctorate degree, I started to drift away from the diabetes community. Suddenly, I was seen by the diabetes community as one of those researchers sitting in their ivory tower (though, in reality, I was just trying to survive academia). Some said I wasn’t allowed to wear the consumer hat anymore because my perspective was “tainted”.</p>
<p>On one hand, I get it. My perspective is biased. As a person living with diabetes with levels of insider knowledge about the healthcare and research world, I have the confidence to voice my concerns and advocate for myself when navigating the healthcare system. Yet, as a healthcare professional and researcher, I never felt I fit in comfortably there either. Thankfully, along the way, I have met some wonderful researchers, clinicians, industry partners and diabetes advocates who are devoted to improving the healthcare system for those who are chronically ill. These people recognise the importance and expertise that each individual brings to the table, whether it research skills, lived or clinical experience, or industry networks.</p>
<p>Working with this wonderful community has made me value and embrace being a lived experience academic. I understand where my conflicts lie but, more importantly, I understand how to communicate with each audience. </p><p>As a lived experience academic, I see my role as being the person to bridge the gaps between consumers, healthcare professionals, researchers, and industry stakeholders. By facilitating such connections, we can truly start collaborating to make a difference.</p>
<p>--------------------------- </p>
<p><i><b></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPxRQEo7QjGD23y4XwlBm7A_N3ERFfSekkBorWKGwcTfe5V6kXMTsgfVrAqUTm4c9I1MZTfM5uiFVozH86EMbnP-atUtLXwykrfIuFdY1IRltD03eBkjv9LAWD_Gi74TqE36Kd-nIwdN7jc3paSGV1j47KslyfRIMs0e9PuQo58WRkCJq4spQoziXM=s575" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="575" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPxRQEo7QjGD23y4XwlBm7A_N3ERFfSekkBorWKGwcTfe5V6kXMTsgfVrAqUTm4c9I1MZTfM5uiFVozH86EMbnP-atUtLXwykrfIuFdY1IRltD03eBkjv9LAWD_Gi74TqE36Kd-nIwdN7jc3paSGV1j47KslyfRIMs0e9PuQo58WRkCJq4spQoziXM=w169-h169" width="169" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/ang">Dr Ashley Ng</a> </b>is a diabetes advocate, researcher, dietitian and senior lecturer at La Trobe University. </i><i>Her research interests include embedding social media and peer support into mainstream healthcare for chronic condition management and consumer engagement and involvement in research. </i><p></p><p><i>Ashley’s advocacy is internationally recognised through her past involvement with the International Diabetes Federation, and she currently sits on several diabetes related committees at national and state level as a lived experience academic.</i></p><p><i>Read Ashley's blog <a href="https://bittersweetdiagnosis.com/">Bittersweet Diagnosis</a> or follow her on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/HangryPancreas">@hangrypancreas</a>.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-11675305113394214382022-02-08T08:00:00.005+11:002022-02-08T08:00:00.190+11:00Starting as you mean to go on (Tseen Khoo)<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBy8w8rStC4Xs1bG21ZmzqWoif0QBd1pXCLcajsl00NsYqcHVVw7gV_KZ3daytXumudmyYDUXJZn-x1Zpj8ovFNL5pN_zJpXijGAswX_ND58A2dNrfDB029OLq78cJ_zXUXjMRY0-XKy6hyE6dcU7ukygmeIfKsQqN4iWx5qPQv88m_I6Mh806WoGy=s1920" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1920" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBy8w8rStC4Xs1bG21ZmzqWoif0QBd1pXCLcajsl00NsYqcHVVw7gV_KZ3daytXumudmyYDUXJZn-x1Zpj8ovFNL5pN_zJpXijGAswX_ND58A2dNrfDB029OLq78cJ_zXUXjMRY0-XKy6hyE6dcU7ukygmeIfKsQqN4iWx5qPQv88m_I6Mh806WoGy=w640-h428" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Image from Hello I'm Nik | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Starting a new year brings forth a flush of good intentions and vistas of possibility. </p><p>More often than not, however, there are plenty of tasks that accumulate across time and are still hanging around at the end of 2021, and are even now outstaying their welcome at the beginning of 2022. Ironically, considering the topic of this post, one of those things I had to do was finalise this piece and have it ready to go when we started publishing the RED Alert again in February - and here that task still is! Ah, well. It happens to all of us! </p><p>Back in December, I asked some La Trobe colleagues how they ensured they started a new year of work effectively. It can be hard at the end of a year, particularly the second COVID one, to pull together the power to plan the what comes after the summer break. These wonderful colleagues came through for me and shared their strategies and planning moves for heading into a new year - do they chime with what you do? <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>The most common response was that many researchers did a 'clearing of the decks' late the previous year (before people walked out the door on their holidays) or first thing in the new year. </p><p>ARC Future Fellow <b>Mandi Cooklin </b>from the Judith Lumley Centre said she liked making sure she had the 'gremlins' off her plate and no nasty surprises lurking as she starts her work in the new year. <b>Danilo de Oliveira Silva</b>, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, says: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p>At the beginning of the year I block some time to organise and "clean" my computer folders and files aiming for a fresh start. This makes my whole year more efficient and motivates me. My rule of thumb to check if I am organised enough is "I need to be able to find any file in my computer in 40 seconds.</p></blockquote><p><b>Alicia King</b>, a PhD researcher in Social Work and Social Policy, shared: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p>My biggest fear in starting the year is opening my computer on the first day back and not knowing what I’m doing. I usually have a few things at the end of the year that I know will take more mental space and energy that my colleagues or I have. It’s my practice to keep a running 'to -do' list during the year and, in the final weeks of the year, I earmark those things that can wait until the new year. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p>On my last day of work, I rewrite a fresh list, so I know what I’m doing my first day back. I also try to be realistic and don’t expect to get focussed work done the first day back (or any Monday in a normal week) as it’s usually about making plans, responding to e-mails and getting the ball rolling on any collaborative tasks.</p></blockquote><p>However this process happened across people's contexts, a core element of enabling effective work had consistency: having informed control of what needs doing. </p><p>Knowing how you're going to give yourself the best chance to do it is also very important. <b>Jasvir Nachatar Singh</b>, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Business says: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I am a planner, so I usually plan out what I need to do in December itself (every year, actually), so that I am not overwhelmed with work. In my diary, I allocate my time for my teaching, research, and leadership activities. My sanity stays intact through planning and I can say NO to 'shiny projects'. </p></blockquote><p>How you tackle this workload is highly individual and could mean you stop work when the University shuts down and don't touch serious work till February, or it could mean you're doing '<a href="http://redalert.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/p/shut-up-and-write-suaw-is-series-of.html">Shut up and write</a>' with colleagues on Christmas Eve or seeing in the new year while writing. There are no hard and fast rules around when you must be working but it's good to take a step back once in a while to observe your own practices. <b>Michelle Cimoli</b>,<b> </b>a PhD researcher in the School of Allied Health, Human Services & Sport (Discipline of Speech Pathology) commented: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">As the earth starts another trip around the sun, I’ve been reflecting on the past year and the intention I would like to bring to 2022. I bought myself a new notebook (2022 will be the year of the #BulletJournal!), created a list of current projects, and have made inroads to taming my email Inbox. In addition to having a clear sense of what I’ll be ‘doing’ in 2022, I’ve decided I need to ever so gently, ever so kindly, sharpen the focus on my mental health and self-care by paying more attention to ‘being’ – being present, honouring the moment, and giving this moment my fullest attention (as Eckart Tolle would say). </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I am hoping this intention helps me develop more of a discipline in doing one thing at a time, and giving my fullest attention to this one thing. Less multi-tasking. Less unproductive thinking. </p></blockquote><p>Having the intention to work more mindfully and view your practices more holistically can make a big difference to sustaining your ability to do good work and live an enjoyable life. To motivate yourself to get things done with enthusiasm, there's nothing better than a well-planned, fabulous reward when you've completed that work. <b>Made Rimayanti</b>, a PhD researcher in Physiotherapy, said: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I think my inspiration for the new year is to see my family again in Bali. I haven’t seen them for 2 years, and I have blocked 2 months in June 2022 to see them. I’ll make sure I smash my goals before then so I can enjoy what little precious time I have with them!</p></blockquote><p>To work effectively, then, requires a range of elements that have nothing to do with putting in X number of hours in a day or week. It's about organising and prioritising, having time to recharge and rest, and giving yourself incentive to meet your goals.</p><p>All the very best for starting 2022 with a bounce in your step! </p><p>---------------------------</p><p>If you're looking for some structured research planning to help you meet your goals and map productive directions for your research, you can check out La Trobe University's <a href="https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/research/research-support/research-plans">Individual Research Plans (IRP)</a> [INTRANET link]. </p><p>---------------------------</p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWQ0_SDmGhNJy9Ermxva8jVtumpm8Upy7HAUzqAiS3GnlJ0TiFwQEeP8UZAAYlt8iY60JmyJqG9R7cvgP_Xm935uNSu2VlUIQNlY2oRZWTuKI0T1KNIoHit3__LN9JNdzts_N9BQJj2SNREeEoycMBEv2zvWFjRFFgKbOS6Ma3xQlQp3xGK7QafWoQ=s150" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="150" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWQ0_SDmGhNJy9Ermxva8jVtumpm8Upy7HAUzqAiS3GnlJ0TiFwQEeP8UZAAYlt8iY60JmyJqG9R7cvgP_Xm935uNSu2VlUIQNlY2oRZWTuKI0T1KNIoHit3__LN9JNdzts_N9BQJj2SNREeEoycMBEv2zvWFjRFFgKbOS6Ma3xQlQp3xGK7QafWoQ" width="150" /></a></i></div><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/tkhoo">Dr Tseen Khoo</a> </b>is a Senior Lecturer in research education and development with the RED team at La Trobe University. Melbourne. She researches in the field of critical university studies and has published on early career researcher experiences, digital academic identities, and racial diversity issues. </i><p></p><p><i>Tseen created and manages the Research Whisperer with Jonathan O'Donnell. She's on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/tseenster">@tseenster</a>.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-58550319885189701462021-12-14T08:00:00.001+11:002021-12-14T08:00:00.182+11:00'Visualise Your Thesis' made me a more creative researcher (Donovan Garcia-Ceron)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw_sCqNl9Gk/YZL6cwO_thI/AAAAAAAADSM/7POpxXJLJfQ4i0qrjZUIqqmqzss2veIUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s966/dgc%2B-%2Bstill%2B1.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="966" height="376" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw_sCqNl9Gk/YZL6cwO_thI/AAAAAAAADSM/7POpxXJLJfQ4i0qrjZUIqqmqzss2veIUwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h376/dgc%2B-%2Bstill%2B1.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Still from Donovan Garcia-Ceron's 2019 VYT entry, </span><span style="color: #999999;">'Exploring Extracellular Vesicles From Plant Fungal Pathogens'</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />When I first learned about the <a href="https://sites.research.unimelb.edu.au/visualise-your-thesis">Visualise Your Thesis (VYT)</a> competition, I immediately flashed back to the numerous cybersecurity emails I get saying “<em>If it sounds too good to be true, then it is probably a scam”</em>. That is because, to me, VYT <em><b>was</b> </em>too good to be true: create a video showcasing your PhD research and win cash. To keep. And, no, it is not a scam.<p></p>
<p>I enjoy photography and videography so it took me only seconds to decide that I will participate in VYT with a stop-motion animation entry. The Oscar-nominated short film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNJdJIwCF_Y"><i>Fresh guacamole</i></a> by PES served as an inspiration (watch it - it'll blow your mind). </p><p>Before I knew it, I was creating a storyboard, snatching Play Doh from 5-year-old kids at the toy section of Big W, and transforming my living room into a chaotic, yet efficient, photography studio. Creating my VYT entry was a fantastic experience that helped me develop effective communication skills, which are crucial in science. </p><p>Here is a summary of what I learned across my participation in the 2019 and 2020 VYT competitions:</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p>
<ol style="text-align: left;"><li><strong style="font-weight: bold;">The message is key.</strong><b> </b><br /><br />I was not an expert in stop-motion animation and I learned along the way while creating my 2019 video. The judges liked it, too: I won La Trobe’s competition and came 2<sup>nd</sup> in the overall international competition. I joined VYT again for 2020 and, this time, decided to dedicate more time to it with creating special effects using Photoshop, trying different lighting, and adding complex animations. It was also a successful video, and I was in 2<sup>nd</sup> place in the La Trobe competition. <br /><br />However, when I compare both of my videos, I realize that the first one, although simpler in content, was more effective at telling what my research was about. Therefore, even if you think you don’t know much about video editing, you might be an excellent storyteller, and this is what VYT is all about. <br /><br /></li><li><strong style="font-weight: bold;">This is not supposed to be easy.<br /><br /></strong>I might have forgotten to point out that VYT calls for videos of no more than 60 seconds. Sixty. Six zero. <br /><br />It goes without saying that summarizing a PhD project (often up to four years long) in a single minute can be challenging. I really enjoyed finding new and simpler ways of describing my research. I found it rewarding and means I may now be able to explain what I do to my grandma without putting her to sleep. Success! <br /><br /></li><li><b>Put your money where your mouth is. <br /><br /></b>Before VYT, I used to think that I was good at communicating my research. What I was good at, in fact, was presenting in front of other researchers who were familiar with my study area. Explaining scientific concepts to people outside of the research world, and even scientists from other disciplines, is a different challenge. <br /><br />For me, this challenge got easier. I participated twice in VYT, and twice in the public speech-based 3-Minute Thesis. After these events, I got used to finding new analogies and examples to explain my research and, in some ways, this helped me with being more comfortable with public speaking. <br /><br /></li><li><b>Communication is a powerful tool. <br /></b><br />Imagine if for a whole year, every scientist in the world collaborated to find a cure for cancer. It could most certainly lead to important discoveries. By communicating your research, you are closer to finding a colleague who works on a similar topic to yours, establishing a collaboration with industry, or becoming known and engaging with a philanthropic organization. <br /><br />Your research becomes amplified and of greater impact when you connect and collaborate. <br /><br />The first step is to put it out there.</li></ol><div><p>There is a significant amount of funding, staff support, and other resources that enable us to perform research. I believe it is critical that we share our knowledge in a way that is interesting and influential. For some, public speaking may be too much, but the good news is that you can write, blog, vlog, tweet, or create amazing videos like the ones submitted to VYT. </p><p>Let’s keep research in the headlines (for the right reasons)! </p><p>-----------------------------------------</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">You can view Donovan's VYT entries: </h3><h4 style="text-align: left;">2019</h4>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R5OZcpvlYic" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">2020</h4><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aP-DIKYgFCo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p>-----------------------------------------</p>
<p><i><b><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/dgarciaceron"></a></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C8-mPdbrBQ0/YZLx245mfSI/AAAAAAAADSE/LSdWWUI_0w0C8J0W-w6NV7lj5mF-AzSbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s352/Donovan_photo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="331" height="158" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C8-mPdbrBQ0/YZLx245mfSI/AAAAAAAADSE/LSdWWUI_0w0C8J0W-w6NV7lj5mF-AzSbQCLcBGAsYHQ/w149-h158/Donovan_photo.jpg" width="149" /></a></b></i></div><i><div><i><b style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/dgarciaceron">Donovan Garcia-Ceron</a> </b>is a PhD candidate in the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science. He studies fungi that infect cereals and cotton, and investigates how to create new antifungals. He's a member of </i><i>Professor Marilyn Anderson's </i><i>laboratory.</i></div></i><p></p>
<p><i>Donovan supports open and equal access to scientific knowledge. </i><i>In his spare time, you may find him riding a bicycle or woodworking.</i></p><p><i>Donovan has a YouTube channel where he discusses <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn8lgzmaibO90WkmllFRsTg">how to draw scientific objects using Adobe Illustrator</a>. He's also on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/DonovanGarciaC">@DonovanGarciaC</a>.</i></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480726588109312163.post-90537012973230545992021-12-07T08:00:00.002+11:002021-12-07T11:18:08.439+11:00 Top 5 things I learned from #SciComm September (Jordyn Thomas)<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HybTy7kffyc/Ya6oGpGxDxI/AAAAAAAADS8/sobw5-on5v8ZAzMiWGwSICRusHiXbi2XwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1000/nick-morrison-FHnnjk1Yj7Y-unsplash%2B-%2B1000px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HybTy7kffyc/Ya6oGpGxDxI/AAAAAAAADS8/sobw5-on5v8ZAzMiWGwSICRusHiXbi2XwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/nick-morrison-FHnnjk1Yj7Y-unsplash%2B-%2B1000px.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999;">Photo by Nick Morrison | unsplash.com</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I recently had the pleasure of participating in Avid Research’s <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SciCommSeptember&f=live">#SciCommSeptember</a> (Science Communication September) challenge, which involved responding to Twitter prompts on every second day of September. </p><p>Some of these prompts included: introducing yourself and your research area; your story, your challenges; your day in the life; bust a myth, etc. Unlike previous social media challenges I had participated in, @AvidResearch would post ideas on the days of each prompt which could help frame your challenge posts. </p><p>I chose to participate in the challenge because I am usually very hesitant to post on Twitter and agonise over every character. The challenge created a safe and comfortable environment to share what I love and what I find challenging in my field in science, and to interact scientists from other fields across Australia.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">These are the top 5 things that I learned when doing the challenge:</h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Plan ahead</b></h4>
<p>If I sign myself up for social media challenges, I like to map out the prompts on a calendar and draft ideas for them. If I have put together a full draft, I’ll upload it to a service like Hootsuite to post it for me on the day. These services can be helpful if there are awareness days coming up that are relevant to you and your research (i.e., International Day of Women and Girls in Science, World Hypertension Day etc.) or if you are co-ordinating a Twitter account for a society or lab group.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">2. Don’t shy away from using new mediums to communicate</h4><ol start="2">
</ol>
<p>One of the prompts for #SciCommSeptember called for a video post, which is something I wouldn’t regularly upload on Twitter. I decided to combine the “Day in the life” and video prompt and upload a time lapse video of the lab experiment I was doing that day. I used a video editing application on my phone to stitch the time lapses and some cat GIFs together to create the video. Altogether, it took less than an hour to put together and I can use the app to create future videos. I also saw a lot of #SciCommSeptember participants starting to use TikTok and Instragram stories to create and share videos as part of the challenge. Some SciCommers who have engaged with a broader audience using these platforms have rapped about science (La Trobe’s Alyce Mayfosh- @dr.fosh), created songs about science (@cat_nyroscientist) or explained a recent paper with the abstract as the background (@melaniefinch_). You can always dip your toes in the water by beginning to add GIFs to your posts.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">3. Engage with other users</h4><ol start="3">
</ol>
<p>Social media challenges are a great way to meet and interact with researchers from a broad range of disciplines. If you’re social media shy or hesitant, it doesn’t take much effort to make first contact with other researchers by paying them a compliment, congratulating them on successes, or asking them for more detail about their research if it interests you.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">4. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable on social media</h4><ol start="4">
</ol>
<p>I often shy away from making more personal posts on Twitter, from highlighting challenges in my field or challenges faced by ECRs. I understand that this may contribute to the toxic positivity of social media and makes it hard to maintain your authentic voice. I was absolutely dreading responding to the “My Challenge”, “Your Story” and “Your SciComm” prompts, but I took my time, had a look at the other posts for those prompts, and started typing. </p><p>Social media challenges can be a supportive space to do this because you’re all responding to the same prompts and likely facing similar research challenges. Also, if you are intimidated by releasing more vulnerable posts out into the void and being met by deafening silence, challenges are a good opportunity to give it a try- you have a built-in audience in the other participants who are likely following the challenge hashtag.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">5. Have fun</h4><ol start="5">
</ol>
<p>It’s energising to see light-hearted posts from other researchers pop up on the timeline. Don’t hesitate to add a GIF, emojis, dog pictures, or cat GIFs to a post (where appropriate!). It will surely bring someone a little bit of joy.</p>
<p>----</p><p>If you are generally hesitant on Twitter, give one of these challenges a try! </p><p>They take some of the thinking out of creating social media posts, allow you to try new social media formats, and are supportive spaces to be authentic and showcase your passions.</p><p>----------------------</p>
<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><i style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MxvHCHrO4Rc/YYxwZq4NfeI/AAAAAAAADR8/88ZdFAcfYiIw8nSP2IlPAHY0hFLBOOurgCLcBGAsYHQ/s423/Jordyn%2B-%2B400px.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="400" height="178" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MxvHCHrO4Rc/YYxwZq4NfeI/AAAAAAAADR8/88ZdFAcfYiIw8nSP2IlPAHY0hFLBOOurgCLcBGAsYHQ/w168-h178/Jordyn%2B-%2B400px.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>Jordyn Thomas </b>recently completed her PhD in the School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University and is now beginning her post-doctoral research with the Victorian Heart Institute, Monash University. <br /><i><br />Jordyn’s research focusses on the role of inflammation in cardiovascular diseases. <br /></i><i><br />When not in the lab, you will find her browsing Twitter - she's at <a href="https://twitter.com/JordynMThomas">@JordynMThomas</a>.</i></i></i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0