1 / 15

Developing a Robust Research Agenda: Strategies for Success in Academia

This guide outlines key strategies for developing a successful research agenda in academia. It emphasizes the importance of intellectual curiosity and personal qualities such as creativity, perseverance, and communication skills. The document offers practical approaches to selecting and pursuing research problems, managing time effectively, and fostering collaboration with graduate students. Key pitfalls to avoid, such as transitioning research areas too frequently and the challenges of interdisciplinary work, are also discussed. Ultimately, the focus remains on making a meaningful impact in one's field through diligent research practices.

carter
Télécharger la présentation

Developing a Robust Research Agenda: Strategies for Success in Academia

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Mapping out a Research Agenda Matt Dwyer University of Nebraska - Lincoln dwyer@cse.unl.edu Thanks to Barb Ryder

  2. Why do research? • To satisfy intellectual curiosity • To better understand things • To be at the forefront of an exciting, technical field • To always be learning new things • To make an impact on the world • …

  3. The Path

  4. Helpful Personal Qualitiesin Pursuing Research • Creativity • Curiosity • Independence of thought • Good communication skills • Perseverance • Self-discipline • Interaction skills

  5. The Challenge

  6. Choosing a Research Problem • Problem should be important • Problem should hold your interest • Problem should have depth • Problem might come from • Questioning existing literature • Spanning multiple areas • Experiences developing software

  7. How to proceed? • Set aside uninterruptible blocks of ‘research thinking time’ in your weekly schedule • Familiarize yourself with previous work from the literature • Critically examine previous approaches, questioning generality, practicality, validation

  8. How to proceed? • Frame long-term questions to be answered • Use short-term objectives to subdivide research into manageable pieces • Divide work into investigations that ‘fit’ into a coherent whole • Make progress one paper at a time

  9. How to proceed? • Know what it means to ‘solve a problem’ or validate a technique • Write papers and give talks • Use deadlines to drive your efforts • Develop a personal style • One problem at a time • Juggle several related projects

  10. How to proceed? • Involve your graduate students • Lead them at first, collaborate as equals next, then follow them at the end • Allow students to drive inquiry • Re-examine your research • at regular intervals (yearly, start of summer) • to ensure progress towards long-term questions

  11. Specific Techniques • Establish a reading group with your students • Summarize attended conferences to others, to discuss key research issues encountered • 2-3 sentence summaries of each presentation • Keep a research notebook where you can jot down ideas for later consideration • Go back and look at your entries!

  12. Specific Techniques • Teach a graduate seminar in your area of interest • Teaching is a learning experience • Attend workshops, especially those with work-in-progress presentations • Participate in grant evaluation panels and program committees

  13. Possible Pitfalls • Switch of research areas during junior faculty years • Requires large time investment up front • Controversial/risky research areas • Obtaining negative results • Interdisciplinary work

  14. Collaboration • Con: Need for junior faculty to establish a personal research identity • Con: May be time-consuming • Pro: Projects can be more complex and more realistic • Pro: Allows groups to tap into personal strengths of participants

  15. My Approach • Lead from strength • But strengthen weaknesses over time • Ask big questions • But break them up into smaller questions • Plan on multiple timescales (6 month, 1 year, 5 years) • Invest in yourself • Every year pick something new to learn • Every year pick some research problem to lead

More Related