Reflection, speed dating and word clouds: evaluating a writing group for early career researchers
Co-authored with Margot McNeill, Elaine Huber, jayde Cahir and Christa Jacenyik-Trawoger
Writing groups have been espoused as a means of supporting early career researchers in academia as they face the... more Writing groups have been espoused as a means of supporting early career researchers in academia as they face the challenges of establishing research profiles, attaining job security, gaining funding and collaborating with other researchers. This paper presents an evaluative study of a writing group in a central learning and teaching development unit at a metropolitan Australian university. The writing group is unusual in that membership includes non-academic and academic staff from multiple disciplinary backgrounds. A participatory action research strategy was adopted in developing and evaluating the writing group, incorporating critical reflection, collaboration via a wiki, group analysis of qualitative data (‘speed dating’) and the production of word clouds to triangulate results. The discussion of the processes of establishing the writing group and the evaluation strategy have value for departments, centres and faculty-based groups wanting to develop the scholarship of teaching, support academic and non-academic staff to be active researchers, build cohesion, foster interdisciplinary dialogue and create communities of practice around writing for early career researchers.
The Role of Research Higher Degrees in Building and Sustaining Research Capacity
by Nigel Palmer
Palmer, N. (2011). The Role of Research Higher Degrees in Building and Sustaining Research Capacity. Paper presented at the University Research and Innovation Capacity conference, Sydney, Australia: Criterion Conferences.
Building a research workforce is difficult. Among the main reasons why this is the case is the long lead-time in... more
Building a research workforce is difficult. Among the main reasons why this is the case is the long lead-time in developing researchers. It can take 10 years for an academic researcher to become qualified and productively engaged. In doing so, prospective researchers typically negotiate a series of important steps, from undergraduate study through “cycle 2” qualifications to research higher degrees. Developed economies like Australia are fortunate in having substantial numbers of future researchers already ‘in the pipeline’ so to speak. The focus of this paper is on the role of research higher degrees in the ‘pipeline’ for building and sustaining a research workforce and enhancing its capacity.
Research degrees provide among other things the qualifications and experience that are the foundation for a career in research. Research higher degree candidates themselves play a central role in building and sustaining research and innovation capacity. Policy and practice around research higher degrees therefore plays a central role in building and sustaining innovation and research capacity. These efforts can be characterised as fulfilling three principal functions: attracting capable candidates to gain research qualifications and experience (pathways to the PhD); retaining research students through to the successful completion of their degree (research student retention); and graduating students with opportunities conducive to becoming established as an engaged and productive researcher.
These three broad dimensions reflect a pipeline effect inherent in building and sustaining innovation and research capacity. This paper provides an overview of each of these dimensions, along with some of their implications for policy and practice.
The lives and technologies of early career researchers
by Linda Wilks
Co-authored with Laura James, John Norman (University of Cambridge) and John Wolffe (Open University)
The early career researcher is a PhD student or postdoc, who has only been in their field of research for a few years.... more The early career researcher is a PhD student or postdoc, who has only been in their field of research for a few years. Early career researchers may be a force for change in research processes and technologies, flexible and willing to experiment with new systems, but this affect may be moderated by the more conservative researchers who work with, and in some cases supervise, them.
