Outreach Leaders
Insights for Impact: Q&A with Saskia Gent
Saskia Gent, from Insights for Impact, specialising in empowering researchers to maximise the impact of their work. She was kind enough to share her thoughts and insights with our Editorial Director, Emma Feloy. Hi Saskia! Can you give us a quick introduction to yourself and Insights for Impact? I’m Saskia Gent and I run a consultancy called Insights for Impact. […]
Towards a new model of academic publishing
Academic publishing: the dinosaur in the room Technological advances in the past 20 years – principally the internet – have changed our lives beyond what we could ever have imagined. Just think how easily we get information, the speed with which we can do that and the variety of sources from which it can be obtained. Tertiary education once exclusively […]
Predatory publishers III: how to avoid them
Avoiding the predators is, largely, a matter of common sense. Your ‘default settings’ should include an awareness that reputable publishers will never elicit manuscripts in the way that the predatory publishers do. You will not be ‘invited’ to present at genuine conferences without some financial support being offered and in the process of submitting a manuscript—this applies to both predatory […]
Predatory publishers II: what happens if you respond?
The first rule regarding predatory publishers is: never respond to them in any way at all. The second rule is: delete all emails from predatory publishers. But what happens if you do respond? Once you become aware of the predatory publishers it is tempting to respond either sarcastically, even abusively, or to ask them to desist – don’t. The problem […]
Predatory publishers I: what are they?
If you are a published academic, it is almost inconceivable that you have not experienced the approaches of the predatory publishers. They manifest themselves in the daily onslaught of emails – often numbered in double figures- to publish in an increasing array of journals and offering cheap routes to open access and rapid peer review. They are marked by a […]
Paywall the movie: a review
If you have not seen Paywall – the business of scholarship, you should. This is a revealing documentary about the allegedly excessive profits of the academic publishing industry – it focuses almost exclusively on Elsevier – and the damage this is doing to academic research, the careers of individual academics and to the health of populations. The term ‘paywall’ means […]
Finding my Narrative
I have a book coming out – A Sonnet to Science will be published by Manchester University Press on the 31stMay. It represents the culmination of two years researching the poetry of a number of well-known (and lesser-known) scientists and how this affected their lives and scientific research. It was a lot of work, but I loved every minute of […]
What is the impact of my research? Two questions every researcher should ask themselves
Professor Mark Reed, Newcastle University, is an internationally recognized expert in impact and the founder of Fast Track Impact. Using the latest research in the area, Fast Track Impact provides training for researchers looking to improve their impact and productivity. Professor Reed has worked with over 4000 researchers from more than 200 institutions around the world. Here, he shares the […]
The art of science communication: Q&A with Sam Illingworth
Dr Sam Illingworth is a Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. He takes a creative approach to science communication, researching the relationship between science and poetry. We were excited to hear from him about his work and the art of Science Communication more generally. Hi Sam, can you tell us a bit about yourself […]