A pandemic has transformed the academic publishing industry. The way that books are commissioned and promoted has changed. So has what it takes to make a book relevant. In this post, publishing professional Katie Stileman outlines what angle and pitching strategies academics should consider, as they market their research in the COVID climate. This is … Continued
Category: #AcWri
Inconclusion
To launch AcWriMonth2020, William Pooley takes an alternative approach to the usual ‘how-to’ blog format for academic writing. An avid reader of conclusions, with an aversion to writing them, the author presents an altogether inconclusive reflection on the form and function of the conclusion. Is there anything worse than writing conclusions? Even beginnings are easier, I find, than … Continued
How the pandemic has transformed research methods and ethics: 3 lessons from 33 rapid responses
This is the fourth post in a six-week series: Rapid or Rushed? exploring rapid response publishing in covid times. As part of the series, there will be a virtual roundtable on Friday 6th November, 1.30pm featuring Professor Joshua Gans (Economics in the Age of COVID-19, MIT Press and Richard Horton (The COVID-19 Catastrophe, Polity Press and Editor of The … Continued
Writing Women in Solitary: Shifting Narratives to Make Research Count by Shanthini Naidoo
This post originally appeared on LSE Review of Books. If you would like to contribute to the series, please contact the managing editor of LSE Review of Books, Dr Rosemary Deller, at lsereviewofbooks@lse.ac.uk Author Shanthini Naidoo reflects on her decision to change the focus of her Master’s dissertation in order to uncover the narratives of anti-apartheid women activists in … Continued
8 common problems with literature reviews and how to fix them
Literature reviews are an integral part of the process and communication of scientific research. Whilst systematic reviews have become regarded as the highest standard of evidence synthesis, many literature reviews fall short of these standards and may end up presenting biased or incorrect conclusions. In this post, Neal Haddaway highlights 8 common problems with literature … Continued
Navigating algorithms and affective communities in the quest for altmetric stardom
Developing a social media presence is an important ingredient for academics seeking engagement with their research. However, the binary logic rewarded by the Twitter algorithm, means that the route to altmertric stardom for some may yield abuse for others. Naomi Barnes argues that understanding how social media algorithms work is essential to ensure the ethical … Continued
From isolation to inspiration: The psychology of writing in communities
Writing in communities, in the form of writing groups and writing retreats, has become immensely popular in the last decade. Despite COVID-19 putting a halt on face-to-face meetings, the new online writing group boom has helped academics to stay productive. Nicole Janz explores how writing in groups can provide an antidote to the competitive … Continued
As COVID-19 hits Australian universities hard, how have online writing groups enabled researchers to stay connected and sustain their work?
The COVID-19 crisis has amplified the instability of funding streams in Australian universities, resulting in an already precarious system for researchers being exacerbated. However, in the face of an ongoing retraction of income which is threatening research and the livelihood of researchers, Dr Lisa Hodge and Dr Jason Murphy discuss the flourishing forms of academic … Continued
How can anthropological research impact the populations it studies? Six steps for creating inclusivity and accessibility with ethnographic monographs
The ethnographic monograph is the primary medium for communicating anthropological research. However, they have traditionally only been read mainly by anthropologists in metropolitan universities. Professor Daniel Miller highlights the problem for anthropologists who want their research to have an impact that contributes directly to education benefitting the populations being studied. Drawing on the experience of … Continued
Book Review: Creativity in Research: Cultivate Clarity, Be Innovative and Make Progress in your Research Journey by Nicola Ulibarri et al
In Creativity in Research: Cultivate Clarity, Be Innovative and Make Progress in your Research Journey, Nicola Ulibarri et al emphasise the invaluable role of creativity for the academic researcher, focusing on the processes and contexts of research in order to help academics foster innovation and imagination in their practices. The book will be useful to … Continued