Posted on by Odi

Curating research: moving beyond the notebook

As a researcher, in and out of academia, curating your ideas and findings is important. A notebook and a pen were my tools of choice… until the day I accidentally put one of my notebooks in the washing machine. The notebook contained months of research notes for my doctorate as well as ideas for future research. That day, my love affair with notebooks somewhat dimmed — much like a long-term romantic relationship that has run its course. There is care, even a familial love, but the spark is forever snuffed out.

The soul-destroying experience of accidentally erasing/obliterating all of my work forced me to find other tools to curate my research and my ideas.

OdiDesk
Notice the important absence of any liquids and nearby washing machines

I get inspiration everywhere: social media, television shows and life in general. My caveat however is choosing what you allow to shape your imagination. Anything that catches my fancy gets clipped onto Evernote or written in my notebook.
These tools, incidentally, are the same tools I use when I conduct research.

I played around with a few options and my favourite tools are freely available: Evernote, Mendeley and Google Drive. All these applications are both on my smart phone and my laptop. This helps because even if I have had to take a long break thanks to a sick child or a prolonged period of load shedding, everything is readily available to me.

The first tool that I found was Evernote. In my opinion, this tool should be in every researcher’s arsenal. It is an application that works on your mobile devices as well as your computer. It allows you to write notes, clip web articles, project manage… it basically is my notebook on steroids. Julio Peironcely wrote a fun, but useful, article titled, 7 Smart Ways To Use Evernote For Research As A PhD. If you decided to give Evernote a try you should take a look at Elizabeth M Covart’s article on the uses of Evernote from a historian’s perspective. Personally, what I love about Evernote is that I could write a note on my mobile phone and when I get home all I have to do is press the sync button on the Evernote app on my laptop and voila! I can continue my work at home.

Mendeley is another tool that I have decided I cannot do without. The faculty  librarian at my university directed me to this application as well as few other similar apps. It is installed on all my mobile devices and computers and I love syncing. It allows for managing research papers and it also has a Word plug-in, so you can insert your citations and bibliography directly from Mendeley into your document. It also has a function that allows for collaboration with colleagues.

Google Drive is a storage application that puts all your information on the cloud. This is very important for me because I record all my interviews on the sound recorder on my mobile phone and save it to Google drive. Not only is this now saved for future reference but also it is synced to my laptop so I can get to work as soon as I have time.

I still travel with a notebook even though I don’t use it as much as before. It is still great to hold on to just because, at some point technology may fail you, and it is always good to have a back up – just don’t put it in the washing machine.

Posted on by Odi

Building a mastermind group

As I draw to the close of my PhD program, my thoughts have increasingly focused on my career. While I am fortunate enough to be doing my PhD within an active research unit, I’m still feeling unprepared for my next career step. I feel that I’m expected to go take what offers and opportunities ever come my way. But all the signs point further contraction of viable positions in academia. As romantic as being a struggling academic may seem to some people, I would like to NOT have to spend the rest of my adult life perpetually pursuing various nominal research grants to keep food in my fridge.

In the human and social sciences, there are a plethora of research groups based within think tanks and universities; although a lot of work is done is silos. So how do I prepare for my own eventual career? Getting academic information is easy; but career information? There is a lot of fumbling around in the dark on your own.

In my field of study, there are four traditional research career paths you can follow: academia; non-governmental think tanks and advocacy groups; working for the government; and doing political risk analysis for the corporate sector. Each path has different output expectations and ways to prepare; a doctorate is only necessary for academia. I have come across a few successful social scientists who move comfortably between the different sectors. All these people have the same thing in common — networks.

Networks are important, but I believe that they can be more useful if they are  structured and intentional like “mastermind groups.”

Napoleon Hill conceptualized the idea of a mastermind group in his 1937 book “Think and Grow Rich.” He describes this group as being a union of people who will support each other in pursuing their goals. My goals are to produce high quality output and have money in my bank account. Both goals need support and some mentorship from those who have gone ahead.

I’m toying with the idea of creating a mastermind group for several reasons- the main one being my daughter, now in first grade. I witnessed her move to new heights in her academic abilities by working in groups. Her reading in particular has benefited from paired and group reading exercises. I figured if that achieved with a child why won’t it work for professors?

In her Forbes article, 7 Reasons to Join a Mastermind Group, Stephanie Burns breaks down the pros of group mentorship:

  1. “Exclusivity”
  2. More potential advisors
  3. More potential collaborators
  4. Access to a wider network
  5. The opportunity to learn new things
  6. The potential for “cross promotion”
  7. Stretching the limits of your thinking.

To me, it looks like the possibilities are endless. And you are not a lonely academic struggling for funds on your own.

But I have no idea how to start such a mastermind group. Do I go online? Do I just fall in with a larger research agenda? Do I go “sell” myself at conference?

If anyone has any experience of using a mastermind group to succeed in their post-PhD careers please share in the comment section below. Is it worthwhile to join a group or it is better to be a lone cowboy? How did you do it?