PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH CAREER

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PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH CAREER

• CULTURAL RESEARCH NETWORK ECR WORKSHOP
• University of South Australia
• June 2006
• Vera Mackie, University of Melbourne

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What are the expectations for academic positions?

• Teaching
• Research (Creative Practice, Commercialisation)
• Administration
• Service to Discipline
• Links to Community/Industry
• International Linkages

3
What makes a good C.V.?

• Update your C.V. regularly
• Keep a folio of supporting documentation
  (offprints, reviews of your work, citations,
  referee reports, grant assessors reports,
  letters of appreciation, media reports)
• Keep a teaching portfolio (course guides,
  teaching materials, student evaluations, evidence
  of professional development undertaken)
• Present information in a logical order, using
  headings and subheadings (employment, committees,
  grants/awards/fellowships, publications/creative
  production/commercialisation, community service)
• Format for readability
• Proofread carefully (spelling/typographical
  errors will give a bad first impression!)
• Prepare different C.V.s for different purposes

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What are the elements of track record?

• Publications/Creative Outputs/ Patents/Commerciali
  sation
• Grants awarded
• Outcomes achieved
• Awards
• Citations
• Presentations as Invited Speaker

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Reporting your track record

• Keep your CV up-to-date
• Dont fudge! Dont pad!
• In applications for jobs, grants, fellowships
  always address the selection criteria
• If asked to list refereed publications, dont pad
  with unrefereed publications
• Dont list publications as forthcoming or in
  preparation
• List only publications published, in press,
  accepted, submitted.
• In the body of an application, comment on the
  significance and impact of your publications
• When reporting on grant income received, also
  report on outcomes achieved
• Remember that track record is always judged
  relative to opportunity.
• Mention anything that has affected your track
  record.

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Building up your track record

• Develop a three-to-five year plan for your
  research
• Identify long- and short-term goals for your
  research
• Work with a mentor or in a peer mentoring group
  to facilitate the achievement of goals
• Be clear in your own mind about the purposes of
  each activity ( community service, public
  profile, using a conference presentation to
  receive feedback on work-in-progress, building up
  track record for promotion application or grant
  application.creating a link with a
  community/industry partner)
• Complete the cycle
• idea gt research gt conference presentation gt
  publication gt next idea gt
• Consider preparing theoretical or reflective
  articles after engaging in consultancies or other
  activities which do not lead directly to refereed
  publications
• Use university small grant schemes to complete
  pilot studies or small, focused research projects
  before embarking on applications to major funding
  bodies

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Getting Published

• Get to know the journals and publishers in your
  field
• Get to know the expectations for disseminating
  work in your field
• Always check the style guide before submitting to
  a journal
• Always keep within the word limit (usually
  6,0008,000 words for journal articles, maximum
  100,000 words for books)
• Always submit a complete, perfectly presented
  manuscript
• Use conference presentations to test out ideas,
  get feedback, get your work known
• Consider submitting papers for refereed
  conference proceedings
• Consider starting with journals run for and by
  postgraduates (as long as they are fully
  refereed)
• Consider joining the editorial collective of a
  postgraduate journal for experience
• A thesis chapter is not an article!
• A thesis is not (necessarily) a book!
• Submit a book proposal and cover letter to a
  publisher first (They will let you know if they
  wish to see sample chapters or the manuscript.)
• Never submit a manuscript to more than one
  journal or publisher at a time

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Are you ready for an ARC Application?

• Have you completed a higher degree? If not,
  consider giving priority to completion of a
  higher degree. This will demonstrate your ability
  to undertake a major research project, and will
  be the first step in establishing a track record.
• Have you recently obtained a doctoral
  qualification? Consider a postdoctoral
  fellowship, either through the ARC Discovery or
  Linkage Schemes or through individual university
  schemes which are advertised in the Higher
  Education Supplement.
• Is the project a self-contained project which can
  be completed in six months? Consider applying for
  study leave/ an outside studies program/ a
  fellowship.
• Can the project (or the first stage of the
  project) be completed in twelve months, with less
  than A20,000 funding? Consider internal
  university grant schemes which may be designed to
  lead on to ARC schemes.
• Have you achieved the stated outcomes on previous
  grants awarded?
• Are you actively publishing the results of your
  research?

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Funding bodies, funding schemes

• Is this a major project of at least three years
  duration, which requires significant resources
  for travel, equipment, research assistance, data
  analysis? Consider an ARC Discovery Grant
  Application, possibly after using the internal
  university grant schemes to complete a
  preliminary investigation and build up a track
  record.
• Does the project require a partnership with an
  outside body (a non-governmental organization,
  community organization, private company,
  government department, arts organization, etc.)?
  Will the partner organization provide cash or
  in-kind support? Consider an ARC Linkage
  Application.
• Does the project involve the establishment of a
  facility or creation of research infrastructure
  in collaboration with other universities and
  other organizations? Consider an ARC Linkage
  (Infrastructure) Application.
• Does the project involve international
  collaboration, in conjunction with existing ARC
  Discovery Projects? Consider an ARC Linkage
  (International) Application.
• Is the project one which involves creative arts?
  Consider the Australia Council or other funding
  bodies such as the Ian Potter Foundation, Myer
  Foundation, Asialink, etc.
• Bodies such as the National Library of Australia
  and the State libraries offer short-term research
  fellowships and/or creative fellowships.
• There are also countless international funding
  bodies.