This engaging and highly regarded book takes readers through the key stages of their PhD research journey, from the initial ideas through to successful completion and publication. It gives helpful guidance on forming research questions, organising ideas, pulling together a final draft, handling the viva and getting published. Each chapter contains a wealth of practical suggestions and tips for readers to try out and adapt to their own research needs and disciplinary style. This text will be essential reading for PhD students and their supervisors in humanities, arts, social sciences, business, law, health and related disciplines.
Getting Started in Research is for people in the earlier stages of development as a researcher. In contrast to the many books available on techniques of data collection and analysis, this volume deals with the many other practical considerations around actually doing research - such as good ways to frame research questions, how to plan your research projects effectively and how to undertake the various necessary tasks.
′Thanks for the brilliance, wisdom and humour of Boden, Epstein and Kenway. I will buy this KIT for all of my students, as they leave graduate school and venture into university life on their own. The Academic′s Support Kit provides a virtual support group for young academics groping to find their way in the rapidly changing terrain of higher education. And there are some tips for those of us who have been around too long, as well′ -Michelle Fine, The City University of New York `Comprehensive and comprehendible information, alongside sensible, practical strategies and exercises, that I will be able to employ when developing my own academic career and to facilitate my staff development and peer mentoring work′ - Sandra Sinfield, London Metropolitan University `The Kit is excellent. And it is not just for academic starters either. This is a collection of books which every academic could refer to confident that she or he will benefit from the experiences shared, the perspectives offered and the advice given′ - Robert Morrell, University of KwaZulu-Natal `This is an eminently practical guide to getting ahead as a university academic employee′ - Clive Seale, Brunel University ′The ASK Box would be a useful addition to the bookshelves of any research group or teaching team with new and developing researchers. It would be helpful for any department wanting to support its members in the development of their careers. It would also be useful for any senior institutional manager (who may have been an academic themselves) as a reminder of what they as established academics may have forgotten - the complex. Competitive and increasingly tortuous process of becoming an academic.′ - Educate The Academic′s Support Kit is a unique resource that provides all the information, skills and guidance to support academic professional development. Written by a team of experienced and international authors, the Kit offers a wealth of references, techniques and practical advice in the following 6 books: - Building Your Academic Career This volume encourages you to take a proactive approach to getting what you want out of academic work whilst being a good colleague - Getting Started On Research In contrast to the many books available on techniques of data collection and analysis, this volume deals with the many other practical considerations around actually doing research - Writing for Publication This book deals with a number of generic issues around academic writing and considers writing refereed journal articles, books and book chapters in detail as well as other, less common, forms of publication for academics - Teaching and Supervision This volume is on presents explanations and possible strategies designed to make your teaching and supervision work less burdensome, more rewarding (for you and your students) and manageable. - Winning and Managing Research Funding The pressure to win funding to do research is felt by nearly all academics worldwide. This book details strategies that you might adopt to get your research projects funded, and manage your research projects once they are funded. - Building Networks Having good networks is key to achieving what you want in academia. This book describes the kinds of networks that you might build across a range of settings, talks about the pros and cons involved and gives practical guidance on networking activities. All 6 titles are also available to buy individually. This Kit will be an indispensable guide, for those starting out on an academic career, and those needing to make the next step up the ladder. It will also be welcomed as the complete resource for managers and staff development teams.
Writing for Publication deals with a number of generic issues around academic writing (including intellectual property rights) and then considers writing refereed journal articles, books and book chapters in detail as well as other, less common, forms of publication for academics. The aim is to demystify the process and to help you to become a confident, competent, successful and published writer.
There is consistent pressure on all academics to publish, publish, publish. But not unless they have been awarded their PhD - considered by most to be the starting step of an academic career. So while the pressure is on to obtain the title, and then obtain a permanent position, and then publish journal articles, there is little support available to researchers in the nascent stage of their careers. Publishing from Your PhD precisely focuses on providing early career researchers with emotional and collegial support that is often not available in academe. It seeks to dispel nepotistic notions of superiority that places Professors and such on a pedestal. It specifically clarifies the difficulty in having written the PhD thesis and then rewriting it to suit the genre of journal articles. It does not deal with the 'how' of academic writing in general. This book endeavours to shed light on the path one must take to navigate the jungles of academia. This is an untrodden path which is unique to every researcher - especially those who employ abstract or critical theories in their research - and each journey through the jungle is different. However, because there is little literature about this embryonic journey, this book illuminates the processes and difficulties of publishing in journals and culling one's finely honed thesis into small chunks - a difficult task to which few admit.
The pressure to win funding to do research is felt by nearly all academics worldwide. This book details strategies that you might adopt to get your research projects funded. It also explains how to manage your research projects once they are funded. It explains how generic university research funding mechanisms work so that you will be better equipped to navigate your way through the financial maze associated with various funding sources.
Building Your Academic Career encourages you to take a proactive approach to getting what you want out of academic work whilst being a good colleague. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a career, the routes in and the various elements that shape current academic working lives. In the second half of the book we deal in considerable detail with how to write a really good CV (résumé) and how best to approach securing an academic job or promotion.
Choosing & Using Sources presents a process for academic research and writing, from formulating your research question to selecting good information and using it effectively in your research assignments. Additional chapters cover understanding types of sources, searching for information, and avoiding plagiarism. Each chapter includes self-quizzes and activities to reinforce core concepts and help you apply them. There are also appendices for quick reference on search tools, copyright basics, and fair use.
Teaching and Supervision looks at issues you might face in both teaching undergraduates and in the supervision of graduate research students. This book is not a pedagogical instruction manual - there are plenty of those around, both good and bad. Rather, the focus is on presenting explanations and possible strategies designed to make your teaching and supervision work less burdensome, more rewarding (for you and your students) and manageable.
Despite the frequent isolation of academic work, it is done in the context of complex, multi-layered global, national, regional and local teaching or research networks. Having good networks is key to achieving what you want in academia. This book describes the kinds of networks that you might build across a range of settings, talks about the pros and cons involved and gives practical guidance on networking activities.
