Impact factors: the elephant in the room
The theme today is journal impact factors and what they are perceived to mean. In other words, let’s take a good close look at some rich data around journal impact…
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Try an alternative
This time we are taking another look at what is involved in communicating about your manuscript to a journal. You might remember that I have written about getting published in…
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Time saving: eight top tips
In Australian universities in particular, there have been crashing staff cuts over the last year due to international students not coming. This is on top of the constant erosion of…
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If you want to go far, go together
There is an African proverb which translates as “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. I found these wonderful words on…
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Getting published in high impact journals
People (including me) discuss and write a lot about what a high impact journal might look like, the democratisation of research publication, and if journal rankings are or should be…
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Journals and impact metrics: a quick look
There is an immense pressure on researchers to be published in the journals “that matter”. This is a brief overview of some of what might be useful to know when…
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7 open science tools for analysing your research field
This is the last of the 3 part series on open science tools. Here you will find 7 tools that allow for in-depth analyses of research fields by connecting open…
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13 open publishing tools
This is the second of three newsletters about open science tools. Please click here for Part 1 on 10 free tools that help you with your literature search. Part 3…
Read More 10 free tools for your literature search
Do you need some freely accessible tools for searching through scientific research? These resources are passed on from Dr Anna Clemens, who learned about them in a workshop in late…
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Developing your academic argument: how is logic different across cultures?
Have you ever struggled with what is supposed to be a linear argument according to the Western academic tradition? Or have you found understanding your students’ line of thinking a…
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Top writing tips: some simple questions
As we are maintaining more and more connections online, is it time to reach out and get your research in front of a larger audience? Or are you struggling to…
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Some procrastination is useful
Sometimes delays are forced on us. Sometimes we ourselves make delays happen. Is procrastination always a bad thing? Are there any benefits to it? How might we get the most…
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Tips for revising your writing
Do you ever wish there was a simple process you could use to review what you have written and revise it step by step, without all that indecision and doubt? …
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Refine and complete that piece of writing
This time the focus is on motivation and ways you can boost your writing. Fiction (and non-fiction) writers often read good writing as a way of improving their own. Have…
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A grammar point: when passive verbs make sense
This time we are looking at some common errors in writing which have come across my desk more than once. Basically these particular issues all happen for two reasons. First,…
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Five top tips: from starting to finishing writing
Here are some tips to help with that when external factors are dragging you down. This is about dealing with unblocking your writing. I am very grateful to one of…
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The new Australian law on academic cheating services
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (Prohibiting Academic Cheating Services) Act became a law on 3 September 2020. Undergraduate and postgraduate students at Australian universities, whether you are located…
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Assessment of research quality for funding decisions
This time we are looking at assessment of research quality for funding decisions and how that is done (the nitty gritty of some value judgements that appear to be made…
Read More Prioritising, time management and motivation
In this multi-connected world of instant feedback and many demands on our time, this time we are going to have a look at ways that might help you prioritise. How…
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Reporting empirical research: the best level of detail
This time the focus is on issues in journal article publication, centring on what to include concerning your methods section so that readers can have enough information for the replication…
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Does the trend in higher grades mean improved learning?
This time the focus is on grades and on teaching content design in academic courses. Has it become easier to get better grades? Is this a good thing? Or not?…
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The stories in your research
You might have heard about storytelling as a way of communicating research. You might wonder what the narrative form has to do with academic writing. Here are some practical suggestions…
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Collaboration in interdisciplinary (and other) teams
This is about collaboration: for interdisciplinary research, for policy development (acknowledging that there may be crossovers here) and for projects among postgraduate students. Hopefully, there will be something for everyone…
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Tips to become published: over 100 of them
Things are moving ahead in these unusual circumstances. This time we will be looking at guidelines for getting your article published, in various ways. Let’s start with publications’ guidelines and…
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