‘Write every day!’: a mantra dismantled

Numerous books, blogs, and articles on research productivity exhort academics to ‘write every day’ even during the busiest of teaching times. Ironically, however, this research-boosting advice hangs from a perilously thin research thread. This article scrutinises the key findings of Robert Boice, whose pioneering studies of ‘professors as writers’ in the 1980s and 1990s are still widely cited today, and offers new empirical evidence to suggest that the writing practices of successful academics are in fact far more varied and individualistic than has generally been acknowledged in the literature.     

Institutional Researchers' Perceptions of Effectiveness

This article presents the results of a research study that investigated institutional researchers' perceptions regarding their effectiveness in influencing policy changes at their institution. Data were obtained from a mailed survey sent to 304 researchers in the Northeast; a response rate of 73 percent was achieved. Results revealed that those whose work is used in executive decision making, who include policy recommendations in reports, conduct follow-up studies on the impact of their work, have a doctorate, are part of a strong, professional network, and describe their positions as challenging perceive themselves as more effective. The discriminant function including these variables explained 48 percent of the variance and accurately predicted the perceived policy effectiveness for 84 percent of the participants.     

Review by (non)peers as an opportunity for learning: a case study on the editorial process of papers by junior researchers / La revisión por (im)pares como instancia de aprendizaje: un estudio de casos del proceso editorial de artículos de investigadoras noveles

Abstract

We analysed the editorial process of the four articles authored by junior researchers published in the special issue The peer review process as an opportunity for learning. Our aims were to study the unfolding of the main critiques and suggestions made by reviewers in the different review rounds, as well as to explore how both authors and reviewers experienced and valued the review process. Data sources include all review reports and letters where the authors explained the changes made, and questionnaires completed by all the authors and some reviewers. The most commonly identified critiques in the reports were related to content selection and elaboration (coherence and relevance), the own author’s voice (critical positioning and caution) and attention to the reader (precision and consistency in terms and concepts, methodological clarity, writing style, legibility and formal adequacy). All four authors stated that being part of this process was rewarding and educational, highlighting the development of academic writing skills. Some reviewers emphasized the importance of reading other reviewers’ reports. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of providing junior researchers with resources that support them in communicating their research to the academic community.     

What young people report about the personal characteristics needed for social science research after carrying out their own investigations in an after-school club

Several arguments have been put forward about the benefits of young people carrying out their own social science research in terms of empowering their voices and their participation. Much less attention has been paid to investigating the understandings young people develop about the research process itself. Seven twelve-year olds carried out self-directed social science research into a topic of their choice. Towards the end of their six months experience, we used a questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews to investigate, from a sociocultural perspective, what the young people thought about being a researcher. Thematic analysis of the interviews identified three themes and eight subthemes suggesting that they were aware of: the need to demonstrate researcher/research integrity (be thorough, truthful, orderly, and have a good understanding of research process); the need for good interpersonal skills and standards, and good self-management skills (be resilient, agentic, committed and good at time management). We discuss how first-hand social science research experience might: be relevant to several areas of schooling; give young people experience of the personal characteristics important for success; help young people to realise that they can be social science researchers, and offer advanced and novel learning experiences outside the constraints of the school curriculum.     

What traits do academics value in student writing? Insights from a psychometric approach

The number of students studying for university qualifications through the medium of English and for whom English is not their first language has increased significantly in recent years. This, along with efforts to widen access to those under-represented in higher education, has brought into focus the question of what academics see as constituting a ‘good’ piece of student writing. In this small-scale pilot study, Thurstone’s method of paired comparisons was used to establish a scale for ranking six essays in terms of how favourably each was viewed by academic lecturers when compared with every other essay in the set. Kelly’s repertory grid technique was subsequently applied to interviews conducted with the same lecturers to establish which traits they associated with the upper and lower end of the scale. Findings suggest that this methodology represents a promising approach to establishing what academic tutors regard as the key elements of good writing and thus provides an indication of what English teachers might fruitfully focus on in their teaching of the skill.     

中国教育学领域研究人员科研绩效评价研究

本文运用Hirsch指数（简称h指数）方法以及与之相近的W指数方法,通过对中国知网（CNKI）中国引文数据库收录的教育学领域的37本学术期刊（这37本学术期刊是CSSCI来源期刊）在1998-2007年所刊发论文的被引用情况数据进行统计分析,对教育学领域1998—2007年10年间研究人员的科研绩效进行了评价,得到了“1998-2007年段中国教育学领域最具影响力的43位学者”,并对h指数与其他评价指标进行了相关性分析。分析结果表明,利用h指数来评价研究人员科研绩效,一定程度上可以反映“总被引频次”、“论文数量”、“篇均被引频次”三项指标的评价结果,可以说h指数是一项更为综合的评价指标。     

From early career researcher to research leader: survival of the fittest?

The higher education sector is a dynamic environment where universities compete on a global basis for resources, students, and high-quality staff. The impending retirement of the baby boomer generation will create increased competition for research leaders. One way to address this is to develop research leaders from existing researchers. However, little is known about what it takes to transition from a leading researcher to a research leader, so there is much to be learned from the experiences of those who have successfully navigated those transitions. To explore the transition from early career researcher to leading researcher to research leader, we undertook a mixed methods study involving 30 senior research leaders and administrators from a range of organisations across Australia. In this paper, we describe how the career paths of these research leaders developed in a highly competitive research environment and discuss how universities can attract, retain, develop, and promote their researchers.     

构建基于校本研修的有效教研工作方式——昌吉州中小学教研工作方式的调查与思考

为了更好地引导校本研修深入开展,教研员在角色上要从教学的督导、检查、评价和管理变为参与、研究、服务和引领;教研员的工作方式要从面走向点,从宏观走向微观,注重自身的专业发展,这是实现教研工作方式转变的前提。     

高等教育研究领域研究人员科研绩效评价

本文运用Hirsch指数(简称h指数)方法,通过对中国知网(CNKI)中国引文数据库收录的中国大陆地区高等教育研究领域的15个学术期刊在1998-2007年所刊发论文的被引用情况进行统计分析,对高等教育研究领域1998-2007年研究人员的科研绩效进行了评价,评选得出"1998-2007年高等教育研究领域最具影响力的47位学者",从一个侧面反映了中国大陆地区高等教育研究领域近10年来的研究现状。     

Peer feedback on academic writing: undergraduate students’ peer feedback role,peer feedback perceptions and essay performance

Within the higher education context, peer feedback is frequently applied as an instructional method. Research on the learning mechanisms involved in the peer feedback process has covered aspects of both providing and receiving feedback. However, a direct comparison of the impact that providing and receiving peer feedback has on students’ writing performance is still lacking. The current study compared the writing performance of undergraduate students (N = 83) who either provided or received anonymous written peer feedback in the context of an authentic academic writing task. In addition, we investigated whether students’ peer feedback perceptions were related to the nature of the peer feedback they received and to writing performance. Results showed that both providing and receiving feedback led to similar improvements of writing performance. The presence of explanatory comments positively related both to how adequate students perceived the peer feedback to be, as well as to students’ willingness to improve based upon it. However, no direct relation was found between these peer feedback perceptions and students’ writing performance increase.     

转变思路提高教研工作实效

每个教育工作者都应该是科学发展观的践行者,立足本职岗位,剖析教研工作中的不足,转变教研工作思路,应切实把提高教师素质作为教育发展的着力点,不断建立和完善教研工作机制,改革和创新教研工作,注重教研工作实效性,推动教研工作长足发展。     

大学教育理论工作者与中小学教师合作研究过程探析

近年来,我国大学教育理论工作者为促进教育实践变革而深度介入中小学,与中小学教师形成了密切的合作研究伙伴关系.然而,国内对这一新型研究形态的探讨还较为欠缺,尤其对合作研究过程更缺乏深入揭示.本文从策划、实施、调节三个方面对此进行阐述.并分析了需要注意的一些影响因素.     

Building a more robust conception of early career researcher experience: what might we be overlooking?

Two decades of research into early career researchers has highlighted the interaction of a constellation of influences in making sense of their experiences. Such research largely draws on either quantitative or qualitative traditions. While both traditions explore similar phenomena, research questions are often framed differently and use different methods. Interestingly, there are few studies in which design integrates quantitative and qualitative processes. In this paper, we describe such a design in which we examined post-PhD researcher agency, social support and intention to remain in or leave the academy. The quantitative analysis highlighted two profiles representing variation in intention to remain based on the interaction of community and supervisory support. The qualitative analysis, while supporting this finding, suggested other influences as well. Examining these other influences in-depth led to a more robust representation of the interplay of personal life and work in relation to intention to remain. We concluded work-related factors are insufficient to explain intention to remain. We suggest future research in this area should explore what other factors may be overlooked in understanding (a) intention to remain and (b) early career researcher experience more broadly. Finally, we propose research designs integrating both quantitative and qualitative processes may prove fruitful in future research, not just in this area but more broadly.