Sussex Researcher guest bloggers wanted – write for the Doctoral School blog

We’re looking for doctoral- and staff- researchers at Sussex to write for the Doctoral School blog.  This blog has a tradition of publishing guest posts from our own researchers since it started, and these ‘experience’ posts get the most interest from our readers.  We’d like to feature guest posts more regularly, and so we invite you to contribute…

Of course there’s great value in finding out about the experiences of other researchers, to discover how things are done in other disciplines, and outside of the University.  It’s a cliché, but nonetheless true, that it’s comforting to find out that others have similar struggles, and illuminating to uncover alternative approaches and ideas.  Add to this the pleasure of vicariously revelling in another’s successes and triumphs, and we have a recipe for feeling connected to our fellow researchers.

Get involved

We are looking for contributions that:

• are between around 400 to 2000 words long (if longer we can publish as a two-parter)
• reflect on any topic related to research, or an aspect of the research experience
• are authentic
• are written from your own personal perspective, and in your own ‘voice’
• cultivate thought, critique, or just plain conversation from other researchers
• Include a short (maximum 200 words) bio of you and your research

Feel free to include links to your own blog / webpage / online profile; relevant images (ensure you have the necessary permissions); and your contact information if you would like others to get in touch with you directly.

You can share with us in two ways:

1. email your draft post and related material to doctoralschool@sussex.ac.uk, ensuring you have “blog post” in the subject line; or
2. if you have a WordPress account, let us know the email address connected with your account, and we will add you as a contributor to the Doctoral School blog, ensuring that the byline for your post is yours.

Researcher perspectives

There are loads of potential topics, here’s just a few suggestions to get you thinking:

• ethics; recruiting participants; insider-research;
• methods; data collection and analysis; writing up;
• presenting; conferences; publishing your work;
• connecting with others; social media; building your profile;
• meeting / getting support from other academics;
• procedures; annual review; submitting your thesis; your viva;
• researcher careers; work experience; the PhD outside academia; being a professional researcher after the doctorate.

Why not have a browse of previous posts written by Sussex researchers to get more ideas – you might want to write a ‘reply’ to one of these posts:

• Who inspires you? Who do you inspire? (on how others can impact your career choices)
  - Sarah Pannell, Biochemistry
• Beginning Excursions: The First Steps of a Postgraduate Journal
  - Liz Sage, English
• OJS: e-Journal technology (technological implementation of a new open-access journal)
  - Martin Eve, English
• Excursions: The Editorial Process and Structure of an Interdisciplinary Journal
  - Graeme Pedlingham, English
• Giving an Academic Conference Paper
  - Catherine Pope, English
• Creativity in Academic Writing: after the workshop (participant perspectives)
  - Philippa St George, English
  - Liz Thackray, Sociology / Informatics
  - Sarah Robins-Hobden, Psychology
• Creativity in Academic Writing: after the workshop (ii) (participant perspectives)
  - Cecilia Ibarra, Education
• Protecting Your Assets (backing up your research)
  - Catherine Pope, English
• Really Simple Syndication (or why RSS feeds are useful)
  - Liz Thackray, Sociology / Informatics
• Representations of crowd behaviour in the management of mass emergencies
  - Dr John Drury (Senior Lecturer), Psychology
• St. Deiniol’s Library – a health farm for the mind (academic retreat)
  - Catherine Pope, English
• Organising a Conference: first hand experience from a doctoral researcher
  - Aristea Fotopoulou, Media & Film
• My Viva Experience
  - Sarah Robins-Hobden, Psychology
• Using the British Library
  - Catherine Pope, English
• Blog about the Enterprisers Programme
  - William Farr, Psychology
• Blog about the Enterprisers Programme
  - Annelle Bellony, Economics
• Researcher in Residence: a researcher’s experience
  - Sophie Bisset, History
• Adventures with Irigaray part 1: Long Shot, Short Deadline and
  Adventures with Irigaray part 2: It’s Academia, But Not As We Know It… (engaging with a world-class academic)
  - Liz Sage, English
• What GRADschool did for us
  - Erika Szostak, English
  - Claudia Field, Art History
  - Liz Thackray, Sociology / Informatics
  - Ali Chouseinoglou, International Relations
• Enterprisers’ Diary
  - Sally Bream, Media
• Digital Networking – a doctoral researcher’s perspective
  - Liz Thackray, Sociology / Informatics
• Doctoral journeys 1
  - Ros Barber, English
• Staying in Academia? the “what next?” question
  - Sophie Bisset, History
• Doctoral journeys 2
  - Kathleen Fincham, Education
• Doctoral journeys 3
  - Alo Ehimiaghe, Education
• Credit where credit is due: who’s in your thesis acknowledgements?
  - Sarah Robins-Hobden, Psychology
• Doctoral journeys 4
  - Chris Stokes, English
• Surviving the Viva: a first hand doctoral experience
  - Ros Barber, English
• Using Skim with Scrivener for researching & writing your Thesis
  - Sarah Robins-Hobden, Psychology