Category Archives: Researcher development
Cumberland Lodge Scholarship Scheme 2017 – 2019
Every year, Cumberland Lodge offers first and second year doctoral students studying at universities in the United Kingdom the chance to develop skills in communication, public engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration through a scholarship scheme. Find out more about the scheme and how to apply: Read the rest of this entry
12pm – 1 pm – Tuesday 21st March – Research Methods – Professor Charles Oppenheim
FREE WEBINAR
Professor Charles Oppenheim will be presenting on Research Methods (Part 3)
Covering:
- Nick Moores Info Policy Analysis Matrix
- Bibliometrics
- Citation Analysis
- Measuring Impact
- Journal Impact Factor
- Altmetrics
- Getting Published
Get your free ticket now at:
Webinar link will be sent out to all who have registered by 11 am on the 21st of March 2017.
Are you a PhD/MPhil student? Would you like to work part-time for the Graduate School?
The Graduate School are offering a 9-month paid internship for a Postgraduate Research Student, starting end of March 2017.
The purpose of the role is to provide administrative support and services for researcher development activities and to develop organizational skills transferable to a research career. If you would like part-time paid work (18.5 hours a week) whilst you study for your PhD then please see the Unitemps job outline below. Please also apply through the Unitemps link. If you have any questions on the position then please contact Simone.
https://www.unitemps.com/Search/JobDetails/12957
Questions about Open Access and the next REF?
Had an article accepted for publication? Busy writing up your article to submit to a journal? Make sure that your article doesn’t become ineligible due to a simple administrative oversight.
In order to be eligible for submission in the next REF (Research Excellence Framework) all journal articles and conference proceedings that were accepted for publication from the 1st of April must be deposited in NECTAR as soon as they are accepted, and no later than three months from the date of acceptance.
Dawn Hibbert, Head of Research Support will take you through HEFCE’s (Higher Education Funding Council for England) Open Access Policy and 5 steps that have been designed to ensure that your research outputs meet HEFCE’s requirements.
It is important that all journal articles and conference proceedings (not just those to be submitted to the REF) meet these requirements, or it will count against the Universtiy in the next REF.
Get your ticket here…
Upcoming workshop: Developing a research track record on a shoestring
On February 8th 2017 we are welcoming back researcher & educator, Hugh Kearns, who will be running a workshop for academic staff and researchers “Developing a research track record on a shoestring”. Hugh is recognised internationally and regularly lectures at universities across the world, including Oxford, Harvard, Stanford and, now for the fourth time, Northampton.
Academics and researchers are constantly being told to increase their research outputs if they want to get promoted or funded, but it becomes a catch 22 when you can’t do much research because you have no money, but no one will give you money because you haven’t done enough research. Despite this situation there are ways to build a research track record that require less money and can give you the start you need to build a decent track record (or even just to keep your head above water!). Read the rest of this entry
Predatory Journals
The problem
Hundreds of new open access journals are being set up by reputable publishers, scholarly societies and universities each year. Unfortunately, alongside these reputable journals, an increasing number of pay-to-publish “vanity” journals continue to appear. Such journals are referred to as ‘predatory’ or ‘bogus’ journals. Some academic authors are being scammed into submitting their research outputs to be published in these journals that do not have proper quality control or peer review processes.
The risks
- No proper peer review is carried out to preserve the quality of the research output.
- Damage to the reputation of the researcher and institution.
- Researchers and institutions lend their reputation to a disreputable publication.
- Negative impact on the REF submission if the publication is not detected.
- Your article will most likely not be able to be published elsewhere.
- Copyright would likely be retained by the publisher.
How to check for predatory journals?
Think Check Submit – Provides a checklist of questions that can be used to identify trusted journals.
Look out for the following warning signs:
- Board of Editors list shows that members are not recognised in their field or that they are affiliated with questionable institutions; however, this should be done with caution, as Board member names may be used without their permission.
- Journals with dubious or non-existent addresses for their registered office.
- Unsolicited email or paper communication inviting publication in journals you don’t know or have never heard of.
- Unsolicited invitations to conferences run by event managers, not professionals in the research area, often at attractive destinations.
- Note – Legitimate new journals acknowledge if they are newly created and do not yet have an impact factor.
Further steps to undertake:
- Consult the Directory of Open Access Journals for reputable journals (doaj.org)
- Check the publisher’s membership of Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (oaspa.org), Committee on Publication Ethics (www.publicationethics.org), and International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (www.stm-assoc.org).
- Reputable journals typically will be listed in the Journal Citation Report.
- Resist the temptation to publish quickly and easily in any journal. Be aware of the publication landscape in your research area and the most reputable journals (check with your research leader if unsure).
- Jeffrey Beall (librarian at the University of Colorado Denver) has also created lists of ‘Potential, possible or predatory’ scholarly open access journals and publishers. This list is controversial and has been debated, however it has been listed on many university webpages.
Related articles and blogs
University of Edinburgh Standards in Open Access scholarly communication: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/research-support/publish-research/open-access/1.108824
Jeffery Beall’s website on scholarly Open Access: http://scholarlyoa.com/
‘Investigating Journals: The dark side of publishing’ by Declan Butler (in Nature): http://www.nature.com/news/investigating-journals-the-dark-side-of-publishing-1.12666
Berger, Monica and Jill Cirasella. “Beyond Beall’S List Better Understanding Predatory Publishers“. Crln.acrl.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.
Further Information
If you have any further questions on the information displayed here or if you would like advice on a specific journal please contact us at OpenAccess@northampton.ac.uk.
PGR student? Why not present your research in Manchester next February?
Are you a postgraduate research student? Manchester Metropolitan University are holding their Annual PGR Research Conference on February 22nd 2017 and they have invited PGR students from other institutions to present their research in the form of oral presentations, posters and performances.
This is a great opportunity for research students to develop their presenting skills and meet PGR colleagues from other institutions, expanding their research networks. Last year, MMU received over 200 abstracts from 28 institutions and 6 countries, with 90 presenters and an additional 150 delegates. Students who present at the conference can receive feedback from the judging panel and the audience on their presentation – previous participants have found this to be extremely beneficial. There is also a prize for the best presentations.
Please note that the deadline for submissions is Thursday, December 1st – you can find more information and how to apply here.
How to book Graduate School workshops and events on Gateway
All workshops and events organised by the Graduate School are now available to view and book via Gateway, our online postgraduate research management system.
- Go to Gateway.
- Log in, choose the link ‘Calendar’ from the left hand menu.
- Click on the title of the workshop you’re interested in – all workshops/events are in date order.
- Click on the Green dot ‘Respond’.
- Choose ‘Attending’ then submit. You have the option to write a note, for instance if you know you’re going to be late arriving at the workshop.
- If you subsequently need to cancel your place just repeat the process and change the response to ‘Not Attending’.
- If you are interested in the workshop but cannot attend the date scheduled then choose Defer. This will let me know that you are interested in attending another time. We may be able to schedule the workshop again.
- To check which workshops you have booked onto and generate a list of attendances, read on.
Graduate School workshops for researchers in October and November 2016
The Graduate School Development Programme is designed for all University of Northampton researchers, research students and early career researchers. The following workshops are coming up and are open for booking through Gateway. See the instructions at the end of the post to see the full calendar, or you can click on the links in the table below to the individual workshops. [Please note: you will need to log into Gateway to access the information].
| Finding Resources on the Web | 19 Oct 2016, from 14:00 to 16:00 |
| Shut Up and Write! writing session | 31 Oct 2016, from 10:00 to 13:00 |
| Preparing for the Viva | 08 Nov 2016, from 17:00 to 19:00 |
| Smarter speed reading | 15 Nov 2016, from 12:00 to 15:00 |
| SPSS 1 beginnner’s workshop | 16 Nov 2016, from 14:00 to 16:00 |
| Grounded Theory | 24 Nov 2016, from 10:00 to 12:00 |
| SPSS 2 (follow on workshop from 16th November) | 30 Nov 2016, from 14:00 to 16:00 |
Grounded Theory Forum and GT resources
Submitted by Dr Sarah Neill.
Welcome to a new academic year for the Grounded Theory Forum! The forum will meet approximately four times a year to discuss GT approaches, challenges – this would interest those teaching grounded theory, researchers using grounded theory, post doc and doctoral students.
The new dates this academic year are as follows:
9/11/16 1-3pm C318
15/2/17 1-3pm S007
12/4/17 1-3pm S007
7/6/17 1-3pm S007 (sorry, this date has been cancelled)
For all of you interested in Grounded Theory the University has subscribed to Sage Research Methods, in which there is a plethora of GT material, including an introductory video tutorial by Kathy Charmaz and the whole text of the Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory.
UON Graduate School Blog 