Research Whisperer

Doing research in academia.

[toocoolforhole]

this trend of shitting on peer-reviewed academic studies in favor of tweeting “we already knew this was happening” is so soul-crushing. not to be an elitist cunt, but we have got to open the schools again. people genuinely seem to have forgotten that their personal lived experience isn’t indicative of the larger population, AND IF IT IS…… then you need researchers to support these assertions from a relevant data pool instead of a blog post from 2013 💀

[batsandboba]

“scientists don’t want you know” is a phrase that always cracks me up because if you actually meet a scientist they will be shaking and crying like an overstimulated chihuahua with the need to let you know

[researchwhisperer]

On April 6, 2026, a federal court granted the Trump Administration’s request to withdraw its appeal of a federal judge’s earlier ruling that

ALA President Sam Helmick said, “Today’s action finally lays to rest President Trump’s executive order that threatened countless library services available to anyone who walks into one of our nation’s 115,000 public, school, academic and other libraries. 

“This is a triumph for everyone who values access to information, education and opportunity. Libraries can move forward with confidence that IMLS funding will be available to sustain the vital services communities rely on. However, we cannot forget that President Trump is still asking Congress to end funding for IMLS. That decision is partly in the hands of constituents. Library supporters must call on Congress to protect the future of IMLS.”  

[researchwhisperer]

Copyright Amendment Bill 2026

Helpful information Text of bill First reading: Text of the bill as introduced into the Parliament Third reading: Prepared if the

Copyright Amendment Act 2026 passes – And Frees the Orphans

The Copyright Amendment Bill 2026 received Royal Assent on 1 April, creating an Australian orphan works scheme that will allow use of creative materials where the copyright owner cannot be located. This world-class legislation is the result of decades of advocacy by libraries and other stakeholders, and years of consultation by the government. This will help free up thousands of works that are currently locked behind strict copyright laws, unable to be used to build new knowledge and creations, simply because no one knows who to ask for permission. The bill also includes important updates to support remote learning for schools.

[cutecipher]

science has always been political. what gets studied. what doesnt. who gets to do the studying. on and on and on.

[cutecipher]

scientists on this post: yuuuup 👍

people who aren't scientists: um actually ☝️

[researchwhisperer]

Do we need a wealth and labour acknowledgement in the UK?

This article was originally posted on the LSE Impact blog on 30 January 2026, and can still be found there. We have republished it because t

"British people are the inheritors of one of the largest colonial enterprises. If we were to use some kind of acknowledgement of our own troubled past, which might help us towards a more equitable future, it could perhaps most helpfully focus on wealth and labour." - Helen Kara, on the Research Whisperer blog, 24 March 2026

[poobletoods]

i call this phenomenon "god hates me"

[cinquespotted]

it kind of amazes me how many footnotes are just academic versions of a callout post

[dark-magician-girl-meets-world]

Every morning, I put on my thinking cap and my smartiepants. Unfortunately, there is no shirt that properly proclaims my intellectual abilities, so I have to go tits out

[lemonlizward]

It's so fun to have art as a hobby when you're also pursuing a career in academia

"Look, it's not easy, but improving your art takes time, consistency and a lot of effort"

Ok but what if I'm already doing something that takes time, consistency and a lot of effort full time =_=

[harryrio]

[lemonlizward]

"Oh you're a historian? Omg that's so cool, I could never remember all this stuff! You must be crazy smart!"

My search history:

- Renaissance when

- did people have electricity in 1900?

- enlightenment

- WW1 end

- WW1 end date

[researchwhisperer]

The 80% stall

Why 'nearly done' is the hardest place to be

"Starting is creation, an act of addition - you have something where you had nothing. Finishing is an act of commitment." - Chris Smith writes about the 80% Stall on the Breakthroughs and Blocks blog, 26 February 2026.

Understanding that finishing is hard because it is different work to starting - that's very useful for me.

[starcut-sand]

When I was in college, my Creative Nonfiction professor would regularly have us do something she called "hotspotting" (she didn't know that this was already a term tbc) with our rough drafts. Basically, hotspotting is when you look at your draft and pick out your favorite sentence, or one of your favorite sentences--one that you're really proud of--and write it down in a blank sheet in a notebook. Not a new document, a physical notebook. (You are not allowed to use technology for hotspotting.) And then you set a timer for however long--like maybe ten to twenty minutes--and you elaborate. You treat that one sentence as if it's the opening sentence to a new draft, and you write from there, until the timer is up.

It sounds like a gimmick, but honestly, some of my best writing in that class came from hotspotting. Usually, the sentence you consider the "best" is the one that really gets to the heart of something you're trying to convey. In a rough draft, it tends to be that you're fumbling around a bit before you really hit on the heart of things. So with hotspotting, you're starting from a less fumbly place, which means you're able to dig into your subject in a much deeper and more precise way. It makes you feel like a surgeon, a little bit.

So I do recommend trying it, even just for fun, even if you think the rough draft you have is already good. You might surprise yourself with what you come up with! :)

[henstomper]

imposter syndrome is so funny like fuuuuck i hope nobody finds out im tricking people into thinking im competent by knowing things and doing them

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[researchwhisperer]

Public Domain Day a big deal for Australia

Public Domain Day 2026 is something special for Australia. After a 20-year drought, published works are finally flowing back into the Austra

After a 20 year pause, things are coming into the public domain in Australia again. Yea!