Category Archives: Uncategorized

if only …

This is a confession. One I know I shouldn’t be making in public. But I am. I need to explain, before I let you in on my guilty secret, that I am a fanatical reader. I read every day and … Continue reading

Posted in journal, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 11 Comments

big researchers don’t cry?

This is a guest post from Jozica Kutin. Jozica is a researcher and PhD candidate at RMIT University, Melbourne.   At the end of each research interview I tell the person I’ve interviewed how appreciative I am of their time and … Continue reading

Posted in Emotion, emotional research, interview, interviews, research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

professor of the academic dark arts

Professor of the dark academic arts. It’s a job. Yes, really. No, you never see this position advertised. But it exists. And not just in J K Rowling’s world. In real life. Professors of academic dark arts magick away other … Continue reading

Posted in academic dark arts, plagiarism, power relations, supervision, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

creative re-vision

  If you have a writing practice which begins with a quickly written and almost inevitably loose first draft, then you need a range of strategies that you can call on to beat the text into shape. And even if … Continue reading

Posted in creative writing, play, revision, revision strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

literatures work – and a pair of new shoes…

It’s September and the Autumn equinox. To mark the occasion, I took my new pair of lace-up boots out of their box and gave them their first wearing/airing. Now anyone who knows me knows that I always have a pair … Continue reading

Posted in literature mapping, literature review, literature reviews, mapping, reading, scan-reading, scoping, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

guilty, as charged

I’ve been thinking about guilt lately. Academic guilt. And why I seem to feel it – a lot. The most recent guilt ridden occasion was just last weekend. The week before I’d been away for four days at a conference. … Continue reading

Posted in Emotion, emotional labour, guilt, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

the citation dump – and three more citation tactics to avoid – #thesisknowhow

All doctoral researchers know they must locate their work in the literatures. They also know that they must refer to the relevant literatures when they make an argument. Unsubstantiated claims are not acceptable, unless of course they are what is … Continue reading

Posted in argument, citation, citation dump, citations, literature review, literature reviews, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

academic writing and the connoisseur-critic

I often write, well no, I actually often rant about, the importance of reading to writing. Researchers can simply read for the content of papers, chapters and books – or they can also read for the writing. Reading for the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

avoiding the laundry list literature review

I’ve been asked to say more about the laundry list literature review. The laundry list is often called ‘He said, she said” – as one of the most usual forms of the laundry list is when most sentences start with a … Continue reading

Posted in authority in writing, he said, she said, laundry list, literature review, passive voice, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 38 Comments

two things that made me think this week

Last weekend brought the inevitable long Saturday newspaper read – that’s a thing in our house. We only buy one paper a week and we do like to sit down and savor it the morning it’s bought. We leave some … Continue reading

Posted in imposter syndrome, time, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment