Being a Networked Researcher
This workflow and the accompanying worksheet and plan were designed to help researchers reflect on the processes they currently engage in, and to assist them develop their skills and networks as a researcher.
This tool may be of use to: PhD students, Post Doctoral fellows, early career researchers, and those who are looking to develop within their field, or who are interested in developing their awareness of digital tools.
It may also be of interest to academics needing to measure their research impact for promotion, when job seeking, for funding applications, or for PBRF (ERA, REF).
Networked researcher workflow
Networked researcher - start with your bright idea and read on to discover what each of these icons represents and how they interrelate to create a workflow and plan.
How do you plan and share the development of your ideas?
Do you discuss your ideas with trusted colleagues, or do you brain storm or share your conceptual ideas in an online space?
Next steps - go to 2 & 4 & 5
How and where do you publish your work?
This could be in either formal or informal context? Would you consider publishing Open Access or using a Creative Commons licence to make your work more accessible to others?
Your personal blog / research group blog
Present paper/poster at a conference
Proceedings on conference website
Publish in academic literature
Self archive eg OUR Archive (institutional or subject specific repository) / Researchgate / Academia.edu
Slideshare / Prezi / Youtube / Vimeo / Figshare
Next steps - go to 3 & 4 & 5
3. Recording / Sharing your research
How and where do you record or share your publications? There are mandatory and voluntary solutions. The latter can broaden your potential for reach and impact in the research community.
Department website (staff profile)
ORCiD / Researchgate / Academia.edu / Google Scholar citations / Mendeley (NB: check publishers self-archiving policies)
4. Communicating / Promoting your research
How do you communicate your work to a lay audience?
How do you get your ideas out there into the wider world to the interested public and to those who could benefit practically from your research? How do they link back to your work to engage with it?
Community engagement / expertise
Social Media (Remember your DOI & #hashtags)
Otago Bulletin / Otago Magazine
5. Networking / Community
What communities are you engaged with?
How do you find researchers in your area, either online or in person, to further your ideas, build relationships and develop future collaborations? How will you tell them about your research?
Email / listserves / discussion fora
Peer Review / Editing / Publons
Lab meetings / research group meetings
Study group meetings / Lab visits
Social media (Twitter / Facebook / G+)
Personal blog / Research group blog
So how does this all fit together?
While the research question is the start of the process, what happens next could depend upon the work you are engaged in. This model allows you to pick a path, and develop a plan for each piece of research you do.
Networked researcher worksheet and plan
Use the workflow and worksheet to reflect on your current practice as a researcher and to develop your own networked researcher plan to help you communicate your research for a particular project.
1. Using the workflow, start by reflecting on your current practice, who you communicate with and how you do this (what ‘channels’ do you use, e.g phone, email, staff room, online …) This process will help identify your strengths and potential areas where could you might consider upskilling; your Librarian can help advise you about what to do next. Download a copy of the workflow [added 8/10/15]
2. Using the worksheet, reflect on your current process for engaging with research questions, how you communicate these ideas with others, how you publish, record, share and promote your work. Are there any gaps you would consider filling? Download a copy of this worksheet and plan.
3. Now make a plan for a piece of research you’re working on at the moment.
This work was developed as a response to an enquiry from an early career academic at the University of Otago, and was further inspired by attending the Tribes & Treasure Maps workshop at #ascilite2014 in Dunedin run by @kimtairi, @catspyjamasnz and @timklapdor. Icons are Public domain from http://www.iconsdb.com/
An initial version of the workflow was presented at a research event for the Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research [@CHARR] on 26 November 2014 during which the participants tested out a preliminary version of the worksheet. The participants provided permission for me to analyse their work and this has helped in the development of the current workflow, worksheet and plan.
This work has a CC BY 4.0 international licence.
I would be really keen to receive feedback and suggestions if you have ideas for additions to this resource. If you’ve found it helpful, I’d be very interested to hear how you’ve found using it. I can be contacted @sarahlibrarina, email [first name.lastnameATotago.ac.nz] or in the comments. There have been some really lovely responses from researchers, students and organisations - thank you!
Here’s a collection of articles, blog posts and slides that may provide more context and examples of why and how being a networked researcher can be of benefit to you in your career. I’ll add to this over time. [Last updated 5/5/17]
Using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact activities [PDF] / LSE
From Attention to Citation: What are altmetrics and how do they work? / LSE
Digital capabilities for academic practice / JISC
Developing Digital Literacies / JISC
Digital resident v Digital visitor mapping process and examples / JISC
Self check your social media / QUT
Working in a networked world – 10 rules to guide you / Stephen Danelutti
Reading List: Using Social Media for Research Collaboration and Public Engagement / LSE Impact Blog
Becoming a Networked Scholar / Bonnie Stuart [Slideshare]
Impact of Social Sciences – How can your research have more impact? Five key principles and practical tips for effective knowledge exchange. / LSE Impact Blog
Presenting at a Conference in the Social Media Age / Yvonne Perkins
What will the scholarly profile page of the future look like? Provision of metadata is enabling experimentation./ LSE Impact blog
The Open Access Citation Advantage Service / SPARC
The A-Z of social media for academia / THE
Social Media for Academics / Mark Carrigan
Sugimoto C, Work S, Larivière V, Haustein S. (2016). Scholarly use of social media and altmetrics: a review of the literature. JASIST
Online self paced courses
23 Things for Research (Auckland)
23 Things about Research (Bodleian)
Tips for promoting your research
Tips and Tricks: How to promote your research successfully online
Tips for Using Social Media to Promote Your Research / Nature
How to write a blogpost from your journal article in eleven easy steps / LSE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
