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Friday 21 February 2014

Academia and Social Media

Dr Nadine Muller
Technology is changing the way we access information, and how we communicate. Nowhere is this more apparent than in academia. Social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and blogging platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress, are increasingly being used to raise profiles, to disseminate research, and to make links with potential collaborators.

Is it possible to embrace the new technology without compromising your integrity or short-selling your research? Yesterday Dr Nadine Muller, a Lecturer in English Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University, spoke to the Early Career Researcher Network about both the difficulties, but also the potential benefits, of using social media.

Many in academia are hostile to social media. It’s an additional demand on your time, and there is expectation that you need to be available and responsive all the time. It’s like time’s winged chariot, always at your back, harrying and harassing you. But Muller pointed out the benefits:
  • Resources: there is a culture of sharing on the internet. Although it goes against the commercial imperative of publishers, you can seek out articles direct from authors, and get access to resources that wouldn’t be available conventionally;
  • Knowledge: it gives you access to additional knowledge beyond academia. For instance, Muller has an interest in the cultural understanding of widowhood; by engaging with widows groups on Twitter, she was able to disseminate her work more widely (see below), but also to gain access to a more immediate well of experience;
  • Writing: many academics find it difficult to start writing, to face the blank page. Writing a blog post about your research and your ideas is a good way of corralling your thoughts and drafting your article. It doesn’t have to be perfect; as Muller said, ‘you don’t have to be brilliant every day’;
  • Thinking: similarly, drafting your research via blog posts helps you to refine your research questions, and receive useful feedback;
  • New Audiences: Social media reaches beyond academia, to the engaged and interested generalists, to policy makers, to teachers, and to anyone else who might benefit from your research;
  • Networking: research, especially in the humanities and areas of the social sciences, can be quite isolating. Social media allows you to connect, to discuss and to interact whilst still remaining at your desk;
  • Opportunities: Social media raises your profile, and creates and opens up opportunities that you may not otherwise have.
Beyond research, social media is increasingly important as a teaching tool. For instance, Muller encourages (and sometimes requires) her students to engage with each other through Twitter, through creating a blog, and through critical debate on discussion boards.

The difficulty with this is twofold: firstly, we make the assumption that students are naturally adept at using social media, and yet we provide very little training for them. The same is true for staff, who are encouraged to tweet and blog without any initial hands on support or training. Secondly, if students are more formally being assessed on their social media work, what criteria should be used?

Throughout the session the audience had been questioning Muller, and a number of issues were raised, such as the how to avoid plagiarism and balancing private and public personae. Through discussion it became clear that these weren’t the bête noires that they had been built up to be: if anything blogs helped avoid plagiarism by putting your thoughts into the public domain at an early stage, and the private/public divide could be handled by using different platforms, or different accounts, for different parts of your life.

Muller finished by highlighting two key problems with social media:
  • Firstly, it lends itself to procrastination. Whilst blog posts could be used to kick start your writing, the potential for diversion and delay is endless;
  • Secondly, exploitation. Social media is often seen as an ‘add on’ to your duties, and there is often an expectation within your department or centre that you would be willing to build a web presence for free. The sooner that social media skills are professionalised, the better.
Muller used Prezi for her presentation, consisting of a series of images that sparked different issues. For that reason the slides won’t be available afterwards. However, I would encourage you to read her excellent website, and follow her on Twitter, to find out more about social media and the new academic.

Friday 14 February 2014

Involving End Users in Your Research

Involving the end users in the design and management of research projects has become increasingly important . It is no longer acceptable to run projects in which participants don’t have a voice. But how does this work? How do you identify potential users? What are the potential pitfalls or problems, and what benefits can you expect? The latest Grants Factory session took two very different case studies and looked at the difficulties –but also the significant benefits – of involving users in research.

Case Study One: Research for Patient Benefit

Annette King
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has been a strong advocate for ‘patient and public involvement’ (PPI), and has established an advisory group, INVOLVE, to advocate greater participation. Users should be engaged at all stages of a project as ‘active partners’, and not just as ‘subjects’. This engagement can range from ‘consultation’, to ‘collaboration’, to ‘user-led’, where the service users themselves set the research agenda.

Annette King described a ‘collaborative’ project funded by the NIHR’s Research for Patient Benefit scheme. The project, led by Eve Hutton of Canterbury Christ Church, was a study into the effectiveness of an education programme for parents and teachers responsible for the postural care needs of disabled children. This had been developed with users, including the parents and children themselves. One such was Judi Mortimore, who had helped the project team in identifying the research questions, had been active in the management of the project, had developed participant information resources and techniques, and had helped to disseminate the findings.

With her input, the team had been far more effective at engaging with those who would benefit from the research. Neither Annette nor Judi shied away from the fact that, at times, the relationship had been difficult: there had been misunderstandings and differences of opinion. Nevertheless, the research was stronger and more robust as a result, and the findings more useful and applicable.

Case Study Two: Age Discrimination

Dr Hannah Swift
The second case study looked at a different kind of user: those who commission and use the research. Dr Hannah Swift, a Research Associate working with Prof Dominic Abrams, explained how a small, straightforward piece of research commissioned by Age Concern a decade ago had led to a broad portfolio of interrelated projects for Age UK, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the European Social Survey, and the Department for Work and Pensions. This portfolio had been incredibly fruitful for both the academics and the users of the research.

Prof Dominic Abrams
Throughout the process, Prof Abrams and his team had to be both reactive and proactive. On the one hand, they had to react to specific requests from external bodies, and consider the benefit (and dangers) of working with them.  On the other, they had to make contact with organisations that might be interested in their work, finding the most appropriate people, and making the links.

Whilst their experience had been positive, Abrams and Swift highlighted some issues that need to be considered before entering into collaborations with external users:
  • What do they want to get out of the relationship?
  •  What do you want to get from it? Access to data? Or further opportunities?
  •  Make sure you protect your intellectual property.
  • Make sure that you get all necessary ethical approvals.
  • What is the timeframe? Deadlines are often tighter than you may be used to.
  • How will you deal with any conflict outcomes? In other words, what will you do if the research doesn’t tell the ‘story’ that the user was hoping for?
  • How will you get the research into a ‘useable’ form? The user will probably want the findings in a more accessible and useable form than an academic article.
  • What will happen if the research is not used? The organisation might be happy with your work, but the report may be shelved for political or other reasons. What will you do?
  • What will happen after the report is written and the relationship is formally finished?
  • Make sure you have more than one contact within the organisation. People move on, and you don’t want the relationship to dwindle when they do.

Above all, for both of these case studies, it was clear that good communication, openness and honesty were key. Expectations should be managed, and both sides need to be clear about what can and can’t be done.

Slides from the session will be available on the Research Services website shortly.


Wednesday 12 February 2014

Eastern ARC Research Fellows

Last week Mel Rhose and Dean D'Souza wrote in The Guardian about the lack of entry level academic jobs. 'Securing employment is becoming increasingly difficult', wrote D'Souza. 'I do a quick search for advertised jobs. Hmm… these are few and far between. "What if there are no jobs out there for you?" a little voice in my head asks. "Perhaps you should search for a teaching job?" I pause to ponder the suggestion.'

Well, ponder no longer, Dean, for the mighty Eastern ARC is at hand with nine newly minted research fellowships which should, after five years, lead to permanent academic positions.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if Eastern ARC is new to you. To be honest, it's new to all of us. It was established in September 2013 by the Universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent ‘to build on the universities' existing research and partnership activities to become a significant new force in research, and research training.’

Such geographic clustering has happened elsewhere. GW4 brought together Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter; and M5 and N8 have grouped universities in the Midlands and the North. Such development are perhaps not surprising, after the vacuum left by the implosion of the 1994 Group. I mulled over this in a previous post.

Initially, Eastern ARC will focus on three areas of strength across the universities:
  • Digital Humanities;
  • Quantitative Social Sciences; 
  • Synthetic Biology.
The nine Eastern ARC Research Fellows (one in each area in each university) will develop world leading research within and between the universities. They will be appointed from 1 August 2014 at Grade 7 (£32,590-36,661), initially for a period of five years during which time s/he will be supported to gain his/her own external funding.

Not only will they be a catalyst for interdisciplinary work, but they will also play an important part in recruiting and supervising the 18 EARC students who will be recruited in 2015-16.

If successful, the Fellow will be offered a permanent lectureship after five years. The Fellow will act as the focus and catalyst for interdisciplinary research within Kent and will facilitate interaction with the other Eastern ARC partners.

Details of the positions are available on Kent's website as follows:
If you're interested in any of the positions, do drop me a line, and I'll put you in touch with the best person to answer your questions. Alternatively, you would be very welcome to come and visit Kent to look at the University, meet people, and see what potential the position offers.

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Open Access in Public Libraries: a Report from the Frontline

It was announced yesterday that academic papers would be made freely accessible at local libraries. Now read on.

A small local library. In the corner a stressed young mother is trying to interest her child in a brightly coloured book about a duck. The librarian is stamping returned books and tutting occasionally. 
An elderly woman enters with a pull along shopping trolley and a handful of academic papers. She approaches the desk. The librarian looks up.

LIBRARIAN: Yes? Can I help you?
WOMAN: I want to complain.
LIBRARIAN (defensively): Oh?
WOMAN: Yes. I came in last week to get the latest Mills & Boon. I was really looking forward to it. Defence of Her Realm it was called. I like a good romance.
LIBRARIAN: And?
WOMAN: Well you didn't have it in. It was already on loan, and there was a three year waiting list.
LIBRARIAN: Well they are popular, the Mills & Boons.
WOMAN: That's as may be. Anyway, you suggested I try these instead. (She hoists up the pile of academic papers, and they slam down on the counter. The mother turns in alarm and her child starts crying).
LIBRARIAN: It's always good to broaden your horizons. Did you not enjoy them?
WOMAN (picks up the first paper and reads the title): 'Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2 -ΔΔCT method'? What do you think?
LIBRARIAN: That's one of our most popular titles! It's been cited 27,524 times! How can you say you didn't like it?
WOMAN (sniffily): Well it's not exactly Barbara Cartland is it? And this: 'Wireless Sensor Networks: a Survey'. I hoped for great things from this, what with it mentioning a 'sensor'. I thought there might a bit of sensuousness. Maybe with a robot. I like a bit of filth. But look! It's all about the convergence of micro-electro-mechanical systems technology, wireless communications and digital electronics!
LIBRARIAN: Very important in the modern world.
WOMAN: I don't care about the modern world! What I want is something set in the Regency period. Preferably between a beautiful but poor farm girl and a passing duke who becomes infatuated with her.
LIBRARIAN (picks up 'gauge theory correlators from non-critical string theory' and flicks through it): Hmm. I can see that these might not be what you're looking for, then. (To herself) Maybe this Open Access initiative isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe these should be - I don't know - freely accessible in a university library, or somewhere...
WOMAN: So what are you going to do about it, young lady? Don't you have any Catherine Cooksons?
LIBRARIAN: Look! Why don't you give these highly cited, cutting edge papers another go?
WOMAN (sucking her teeth): Cutting edge paper? Don't like the sound of that...I had a paper cut once. No....
LIBRARIAN: Oh, okay then. Here, you can borrow the Tilly Trotter Trilogy. Again.
WOMAN (beaming): Ooo, I do like a good Catherine Cookson. (She picks up the books and shuffles out. The Librarian sighs and carries on stamping books. The mother approaches the desk).
MOTHER: Excuse me?
LIBRARIAN: Yes?
MOTHER: Those academic papers? Can anyone borrow them?
LIBRARIAN (perking up): Yes! Isn't it wonderful? This world of knowledge, at the very forefront of discovery! And available to anyone!
MOTHER: Oh, that's great. Can I borrow these? (she picks up the whole pile).
LIBRARIAN: Of course! (She stamps the papers and hands them over). I must admit I'm surprised that you have time to study, what with a young child. I do admire you!
MOTHER: Oh, it's not for me! See, my child has trouble sleeping and I think if I read these aloud he'll be out like a light! Hugo, do come and listen to this: 'Microenvironments appear important in stem cell lineage specification but can be difficult to adequately characterize or control with soft tissues. Naive mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are shown here to specify lineage and commit to phenotypes with extreme sensitivity to tissue-level elasticity. Soft matrices that mimic brain are neurogenic, stiffer matrices that mimic muscle are myogenic...'
CHILD: zzzz
MOTHER (whispering): Yes, Open Access is a wonderful thing! Thank you!
The Librarian tuts. 

Winter Newsletter Available

It's like this, but sickly yellow.
Tube strikes and gale force storms. Syrian negotiations and the Winter Olympics. Longer school days and higher/lower rates of tax. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Satya Nadella, Kevin Pietersen.

None of these feature in this term's newsletter. Call us narrow minded, blinkered and agenda-driven, but instead we're focusing on research-related issues relating to the University of Kent. So, for instance, we've got details of the new PVC Research & Enterprise, Prof Philippe De Wilde; we've got a full listing of awards over the last three months, with a breakdown by faculty and funder; we've got updates on Eastern ARC and the REF. We've got the latest from the world of ethics and governance. We've got notes from the visit of the Director of the Leverhulme Trust.

In fact, if you haven't received your copy and read it cover to cover, you'll be woefully ill-informed. Get in touch if there isn't a garish golden glow in your pigeon hole. Alternatively, a pdf of the latest edition, together with back copies, are available on the Research Services website.