Talk smarter?
Do you think it is helpful to try to speak more “academically”? Do you sometimes feel that you don’t sound as intelligent as some of your peers? There are some…
Exercise and your brain
Research has shown that exercise improves the brain’s functions. So it’s not just good for your body, it helps you with your work and your life in general. (I am…
What kind of researcher are you?
Like any job, we tend to prefer some aspects of our work more than others and try to use more of our time on the parts we enjoy most, when…
Some ways researchers are using generative AI
How do researchers use generative AI? How should they use it? This depends in part on the policies of the institutions they are attached to but these policies are changing…
Why was your manuscript desk rejected?
Did you receive a standard reply from a journal which rejected your manuscript? Did it avoid giving any reasons apart from “not a good fit”? How can you turn this…
Tips for job applications
Are you looking at a change of job? Do you want to polish your resume (or cv)? Do you find it really hard to respond to selection criteria? I have…
Prompt engineering tips for researchers
Do you find it hard to tell exactly why there’s something wrong with your AI generated academic writing? This time we’re looking at some essential prompt engineering tips for writing your…
Be confident when you write
This time we are looking at developing confidence in how you present your ideas. Do you find yourself adding lengthy justifications for each methodological choice? Do you feel the need to…
How to recognise AI generated academic writing
AI has disadvantages for research and writing. Even so, like lots of other people, researchers and students have adopted AI to save them time, including for research and writing. AI…
Quick tips for first year university students
Especially if you are from a country with a different kind of digital development, first year at university in another country can be very confusing. There are often hidden expectations.…
AI and intellectual property rights
How does AI threaten intellectual property rights? How can it be used to affect the integrity of your research? The Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), an organisation mainly for Australian…
100 tips for research and publication
While 100 tips might seem 90 too many, Niamh N. Brennan’s clearly set out table is easy to read and points to a lot of ideas that might seem overlooked.…
Why stories are important in research writing
If you’re looking to communicate your research in a way that’s both engaging and informative, storytelling is the way. Don’t let academic writing hold you back – here are some…
7 top tips for collaboration in research teams
Successful collaboration can lead to high-impact findings and new funding sources. It can also make your research more accessible to your peers and the general public. Kathryn Huggett and others…
Prepare your journal article: a checklist
Do you want to finalise your journal article and send it off? Different team members will probably write different parts of the article, with one or two allocated for data…
Make many from one
If you have written your thesis as one main dissertation, and not by publication, and you want to produce various journal articles from it, read this. You will need to…
Getting stuck?
Are you getting stuck with your research writing? Do you need some tips on continuing the flow of ideas into good research writing? Here are a few brief ideas to…
Logic in writing
I want to share some thoughts on a trend in academic writing (and other writing) which is a bit concerning. It has two aspects. First, non-living objects such as tools,…
Eye catching titles and abstracts
Here are some tips on titles and abstracts that might help in getting your journal article accepted. There is no magic formula of course but you might find some of…
The power of rest
This time, I am writing to you a bit more personally. After a series of short camping holidays, I’m refreshed. Even brief trips away can bring you much more than…
Finding the right journal for your article
You might often feel intense pressure for your research to be published in high ranking journals. This is a quick summary of what you could keep in mind when approaching…
Planning for increased AI use
How can we use AI to best support us? This time, we focus on solutions to some of the problems posed in the debate about how AI can be used…
Assessing quality in qualitative studies
Last time we looked at evaluating quality in quantitative studies. This time the focus is on qualitative studies. Guides to assessing the quality of qualitative studies are available on the…
Assessing quality in quantitative studies
While it is easy to find guides for assessing the quality of research via the net or generated by AI, as we all know, we need to assess the appropriacy…
