14Aug
27Jul
Can automation make you a better researcher?
With many skills, such as learning a language, playing an instrument, or learning to ski, we often think that if only we spent more time on the task, we would reach our goals more effectively. But is the same true for all aspects of academic...
23Apr
Making published research more accessible
Accessibility has been a consideration of web design for almost as long as the web has existed. Accessibility guidelines are arguably well understood, and relatively straightforward to implement when it comes to websites and apps. Academic books and articles, however, predate the internet by many...
05Nov
How to evaluate the quality and veracity of an article
Analysing how a study builds on, confirms or contrasts with previous work is key to appraising its reliability So you’ve got a literature review to write, and the deadline is approaching. Perhaps you don’t know how to begin. Or maybe you’ve started and got stuck. Perhaps...
30Jul
Breaking news: How AI technology is helping science journalists stay on top of the latest research
Science journalists are a vital bridge between researchers and the public. They “shine a light on discoveries” [1] and translate complex studies into accessible articles that help to educate and inform the wider community. This isn’t always an easy task — science journalists face an uphill...
04Mar
Best tools for screening and reading research papers
There’s a huge amount of relevant and high-quality research on any given subject, but researchers simply don’t have the time to absorb it all. It’s not just a question of discovering the best information, it’s understanding and applying it that matters. The risk is that important...
16Feb
Six elements a research summary should include
Summarizing a research paper (or papers) sounds like it should be a pretty quick, easy task. After all, how hard can writing 200 words be?! But whether you’re writing a summary to include in your essay or dissertation, or you need to draft a compelling...
03Feb
Five pitfalls to look out for when doing your literature review
Literature Review Pitfalls One of the activities common to all researchers – from undergraduates to post-docs – is conducting literature reviews. The volume of research literature has been growing at an unprecedented rate in recent years. The number of new scientific papers published each year now...
22Aug
Uncovering Previous Research Findings In Preprints
‘If Citations Could Talk’: Extracting, Structuring And Linking References To Reveal Earlier Research Findings Researchers have been making their early-stage research available on preprint servers since the early 90s, but it's really over the past year or two that preprints have gone mainstream. As well as the...
23Jan