Writing Environments

The Edge for Scholars

Writing is an inherently social activity — we write for others — that we most often undertake in solitude. This is one of writing’s great contradictions. We write for an audience, even if that audience is a private note to our future selves. Academic writing, though, whether it is scholarly writing or the functional writing […]

Expectations for Trainee Publication Output

Rebecca Helton, MA

A question arrived about publication expectations for trainees at the blog mailbox recently. “I was wondering if you would consider a blog post and perhaps encouraging discussion on a related topic, on how do you evaluate your student/postdoc performance and how common is the 1 paper/yr ‘rule’?” From DrugMonkey: Expectations for trainee publication output

PLoS One and Stupid CV Tricks

Rebecca Helton, MA

More is better, yes, when it comes to publications. But beyond that, that you should have some idea of the expectations for your field. Especially when it comes to first-author vs. multi-author collabs, senior author vs penultimate vs communicating author, IF cachet, etc. From DrugMonkey: PLoS One and stupid CV tricks

Shut Up and Write

Rebecca Helton, MA

As we head into a new semester, you may be making writing goals for the new year.  The following article has some great suggestions for how to motivate and keep yourself on track. Shut Up and Write by Kerry Ann Rockquemore If you can accept the fact that you don’t have to change who you […]

The I in Team

The Edge for Scholars

A recent Chronicle of Higher Ed article argues that “team science leaves many researchers lost in the crowd.”  Though the article centers on the challenges of assigning appropriate credit for discovery of the Higgs bosun—papers describing which frequently list some 2,800+ authors—the problem of assigning credit and the tenure and promotion benefits that flow from […]

Author, Author, Who's Got the Author?

The Edge for Scholars

Authorship on a paper is obvious and will easily, automatically, and fairly be decided, right?  If you’re laughing right now, you probably don’t need to read further.  If you nodded your head, stop what you’re doing and read Small Pond Science‘s Terry McGlynn on how and why to negotiate authorship at the start of a […]