Posted on by sipokazinyeleka

Do science like a girl!

Oprah Winfrey revolutionized talk show television, Indra Nooi runs the world’s second biggest beverage company, and who can forget the humanitarian who changed the world by touching the life of one person at a time, Mother Teresa. What is interesting is that all these women changed the world by simply pursuing their dreams and passions, much like the women that surround me on a daily basis. As I reflect on how their individual personalities are impacting my life I am reminded that, “There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” For us younger women in science, it is vital to see role models that don’t shrink away from who they are, but live fully, passionately, themselves. Even if we can’t see ourselves in each and every one of them…

bty

The purist

In my opinion these kind of people are too kind to be scientists. But then again, that could be exactly what makes them good at what they do. I have such a purist in my life. She is very motherly and yet very scientific and precise, is well informed on a number of issues and yet is willing to learn something new every day — including a new language. Under her mentorship you are definitely going to learn two things: one of them being research principles (this is when you learn what a purist she really is) and the other is that you must think beyond what you thought was limiting or challenging you. The old saying “think out of the box” comes to life and you grow holistically as a researcher with an appreciation of authenticity. Dr. E. Pieterse, thank you for being true to science and sharing your principles with me.

The smile keeper

They are the shoulders to cry on about anything, including any data entry that doesn’t make sense. They are never too busy to listen. I have such a Mother Teresa in my life: She is an ever present help and carries with her an impeccable sense of humour and wit, which leaves you wanting more of her conversation. She will speak science mostly, even her jokes are scientific, like talking about how her “free radicals have risen” when she is stressed (laughs). She is subtle yet impactful in her scientific endeavours.  One thing is sure — when you spend time with her, you automatically feel like the world is a better place and you can get through any challenge if you remember to smile along the way. Thuthuzelwa Stempa “Thuthu,” the research world needs more of you.

The lioness

A work ethic like no other, her determination is infectious and makes you feel like a lioness yourself. She is fearless in the pursuit of her dreams and the future she envisions for herself as a researcher and she strives for excellence.  It’s interesting though that she does not forget to bring her fashion sense to the research front. Even with her style she depicts her mood for the week or a particular day. Sometimes you can tell by the colour combinations of her outfits that we are on work or survival mode this week. She is hard on herself because she is a perfectionist and will be hard on those who show the capacity to excel. She does not stick around for mediocracy. Zimkhita Soji and Dr Njisane, you are both an inspiration.

Research is not a path one can survive on their own. The strengths of those that surround you are sometimes all you need to pick yourself up and continue your journey to the finish line. If the people around me — particularly women in science — are able to inspire me to pursue goals, surely as a collective we can run the world.

Posted on by SAYAS · 1 Comment

Writing your first paper: start with the basics

By Karen J. Cloetekaren

iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences, National Research Foundation, kcloete[at]tlabs.ac.za; kaboutercloete[at]gmail.com

One of the most important outputs in a researcher’s career is the number of publications in high impact, international peer-reviewed journals. Getting published leads to promotions, the development of new ideas, sometimes instigates new collaborations, and – importantly – advances the scientific field. If your work is not published, you may as well never have done the research. However, writing a research paper is often an anxiety-provoking and daunting task, so that many important research findings never reach the print stage.

The most important barrier to writing is the lack of writing skills, which are often not taught at undergraduate or postgraduate level. So what do you do if you, as a young researcher, also never received this vital training?

Improve your writing skills: Don’t do it alone.

Before taking on a first big writing assignment, ask for guidance and advice from colleagues, co-authors, mentors, or supervisors. Supervisors often offer invaluable advice when it comes to writing papers at the masters or doctoral level. Even colleagues from other fields will be able to help you develop your paper, as an “outsider” not deeply involved in the study can easily spot where your writing and ideas are unclear.  However, beware of submitting a lengthy piece of badly written work to another busy researcher – rather submit a small piece of writing (like the introduction) for thorough review and comment.

Another approach to improve your writing skills is by joining a writing group. Just beware: transforming writing into a social activity may only be suited for those with a certain personality type. In such writing groups, draft versions of your paper may be disseminated among the group members for comment and discussion. Some universities may also offer a tutoring service for writing in which experienced students tutor or mentor inexperienced students in drafting a dissertation or first paper for publication. Offering your skills in such a way may be an invaluable learning experience for reviewing your own work.

It is also important to be exposed to diverse opportunities for learning and publishing research. This should be done early in the research career. Attend as many writing workshops as possible, covering different topics related to the writing and publishing of research. Even if you think you know how to write, you will always gain new ideas from good workshops or tutorials.

Work a bit differently.

Technology can also help. Software tools and resources for academic writing may be an invaluable resource in assisting with the writing process. I have listed a few useful tools below:

Mindnode

Software tool develop for structuring ideas when brainstorming

Freemind

Free software tool to assist with mind-mapping

Rationale

Software developed for argument mapping that enables the structure of an argument to be displayed graphically

LaTeX and LyX 

Software developed to serve as document preparation tools

Research Writer by ActiveScholar

A writing tool developed for academic writing enabling you to capture, maintain, and organize research information

Docear-The Academic Literature Suite

An open source tool that assists you in organizing, creating and discovering academic literature

Mendeley

A free bibliography and academic social networking tool

After you have honed your writing skills, you can use your time more efficiently when writing up a paper. It will also become easier to publish good papers, have successful grant applications, and enable you to become a good reviewer or editor of a journal. Most importantly, being a good writer will generate respect from your peers.

 

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”

– Benjamin Franklin