I am very busy at this time of year.

I have a stack of draft proposals for the SSHRC Standard Research Grant sitting on my desk.

I went to Thompson Rivers University last week for 2 days of workshops and meetings with faculty.

I’ve had a few Career Coaching calls with folks who want some help working out how to move forward with the research they want to be doing in the institutional context in which they find themselves.

It’s easy to forget to look after myself

When I’m that busy, I find myself skipping my yoga practice in the morning because I don’t have time.

But, as my daughter reminded me the other day, I should always have time for yoga.

What do you do to sustain yourself?

Maybe yoga isn’t your personal practice. Maybe you go to the gym regularly. Or run. Or swim.

Or maybe you integrate exercise into your daily routines in other ways. You walk to work or to the shops. You get around on your bike.

As the beginning of term approaches, are you thinking you don’t have time for these things?

Research is creative activity

It is tempting to think that you would get more done and be more successful if you just sat at your desk for more hours in the day.

Spending an hour doing yoga seems like something that should be fit into our spare time. Something that takes time that could be better spent working.

But creativity is really hard to tap into when you are tired and out of shape. Furthermore, your brain need the nourishment of good food and the oxygen that flows better if you are physically active.

Maybe physical activity actually helps you think better.

Kinaesthetic learners process information better when they are moving.

Unfortunately, our school system values sitting still at a desk and focusing on one activity. You were successful in that system because you learned how to work that way, even if it was difficult.

But now you are an academic. You have a lot of control over your own time.

If you process ideas better while riding your bike, or jumping on a trampoline, then that time is definitely work time.

Or maybe you are a visual learner

Finding time to nurture more visual creativity might actually help your brain process all those big ideas you are working on.

Incorporating more visual techniques into your writing process — mind maps, diagrams, flow charts, illustrations — is a step in the right direction.

But have you even considered scheduling time to draw, paint, or make puppets?

Even more than physical activity, this sort of thing gets relegated to the status of a “hobby”. Either you don’t do it regularly. Or you feel guilty for knitting when you have all those papers to write.

And yet your other creative activities activate parts of your brain that you use in your research and teaching.

From working with patterns in knitting to creating images with paint, paper or fabric, your brain gets the exercise it needs to effectively engage with your research and teaching.

You think big thoughts for a living!

Anything that helps you think better should become part of your regular routine.

That might be yoga, meditation, or other practice that relaxes you and helps you deal with stress.

It might be regular physical activity and good, nourishing food.

It might be engaging in an artistic practice.

It might be regular activity that takes you away from your work so that you return to it refreshed.

It might be making sure you get enough sleep so that your brain can process ideas while you are sleeping.

It might be putting a mini-tramp in your office so you can bounce on it while you think.

What activities do you need to put in your schedule once term starts?

Let’s start a discussion in the comments about how you can become more productive by sitting at your desk less.

If you are reading this in an e-mail, click on the title to come through to the blog and see what other people are doing, and leave your own comment about personal practices that sustain you.

In some social science disciplines, talk of impact factors will be routine. In others, they will be mentioned sometimes but some of your colleagues (even highly respected researchers) won’t know anything about them. In most humanities disciplines, they are unheard of.

Even if you can state the impact factor for a particular journal, do you really know what one is?

And why the disciplinary differences?

Measuring the impact on the advancement of knowledge

Impact factors are a statistical measure of the impact on the advancement of knowledge. They are a measure of the impact of a journal, not a specific article.

More accurately, they are a measure of the probability of an article in a particular journal being cited in other journal articles.

The data set used to come up with this number is the relevant citation index.

Variable validity

Because the data set is the citation index, it only includes citations in journals. The validity of the measure thus varies considerably by discipline.

In disciplines, like the hard sciences, where close to 100% of all scholarly publishing is in peer reviewed journals, the impact factor is an excellent measure of the probability of your article being cited if you published in a particular journal.

In these disciplines, the methodology captures all (or close enough to all not to make a difference) of the citations.

In disciplines where significant scholarly publishing is in books (monographs and/or edited collections), the measure is not valid. The data set does not include citations of journal articles that are in books, thus missing significant numbers of citations. The humanities fall in this group.

Mixed disciplines

In many social science disciplines, the validity varies between sub-fields and is reflected in journal rankings based on impact factors.

The reason journals that publish quantitative work in sociology and political science are ranked highly in journal rankings based on impact factors is because researchers who do quantitative sociology and political science tend to only or mainly publish in journals. The measure captures all of the citations in their subfields. The extent that other sociologists/political scientists might cite them in books is likely to be small enough not to make a significant difference.

However, other sub-fields of those disciplines, particularly more theoretical or qualitative researchers, will publish a mix of journal articles and books. Their work will be cited in both journal articles and books. And a significant proportion of their citations will not be captured in the methodology used to construct impact factors and rate journals.

This may affect how you are evaluated if the evaluators (T&P committee, grant selection committee, etc) rely heavily on impact factors in comparing candidates. The composition of peer-review committees is crucial. Your peers are those within your discipline with similar publishing patterns, who should be able to evaluate the likely impact of your work even if impact factors are not valid in your sub-field.

Are they useful even in mixed fields?

Impact factors can be helpful when you are making decisions about publishing.

If you are comparing a few journals of the same type, where the error margin is likely to be similar, you could assume that the ranking retains some validity.

Thus, if you give primacy to reaching the right audience, the audience that is engaged in the debate you are engaged in, and compare a few journals that are reaching that audience, impact factors can help you decide which journal is likely to reach more of that audience or be more highly valued by that audience (and thus likely to be taken seriously and cited in their own work).

It is not a good idea to look at the journal rankings for your (mixed) discipline and then target the top journals if those journals do not reach the people you want to reach.

The future of impact measures

I don’t know what is happening behind the scenes on this but it seems to me that we now have (or are close to having) the technology to improve the validity of impact measures in fields where book publishing is significant.

For example, Google Scholar captures citations in books. And I assume other digitization initiatives will also do this.

The questions this raises include:

• Is anyone updating the impact factor methodology to capture these citations?
• Would it be useful to do so?

On the second question, I think there is probably a case in the social sciences, where impact factors already have considerable purchase in decisions due to their validity in some sub-fields. I’m not sure the humanities value quantitative measures enough to care. Though in wider university or political venues where they are being compared to scientists and social scientists (collectively, if not individually), they could make a difference.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about impact factors, including how to find them for your discipline, ask your librarian. This is the kind of thing that librarians know a lot about. And they will know how to access the relevant databases in your institution.

Your librarian is also the person you might get to come and explain citation indexes, impact factors, and related issues to your graduate students. A lot has changed since you were a graduate student, and enlisting the help of “information professionals” makes your life lots easier as both a teacher and a researcher.

Want help with your own publishing plans?

Is this making you think differently about your own writing and publishing plans?

Would it help to talk to someone about what you have on your desk and where you might publish it?

A 30-minute “Push out of the snowbank” ($50) might be all you need.

Me, on the phone, brainstorming with you on how to move forward.

Or, for $150, you could send me your publications list and a list of works in progress. I would look that over and then we’d talk for up to an hour on the phone to work out where you are, where you want to be and how to get from one to the other.

I’d record the call for you so you don’t have to worry too much about taking notes and I’d send you a longish e-mail summarizing the key points. You would also be able to e-mail me for clarification as you put the plan in place.

Are you applying for a SSHRC Standard Research Grant? Or an Aboriginal Research Grant (project or development)? Or a Research Development Initiative Grant? Or an Image, Text, Sound & Technology Grant?

The deadlines for those are all in September and October. The Standard Research Grant is October 15th. So why would you want to get them wrapped up in the next couple of weeks?

Beginning of term chaos

No one has ever accomplished much of anything on the research front in the first couple of weeks of term. Unless they are on sabbatical.

Meetings

You have more meetings than at any other time of year. Department meetings. Receptions for new students. Meetings with your TAs. Meetings with heaven knows who. Lots of meetings.

And students

Lots of them.

Many of them are new. They have no idea what they are doing or where to go or who to ask. They have yet to figure out the proper channels. They are still figuring out what classes they want to take and are changing their minds all the time.

They want to talk to you about the course, about changing their major, about … The reasons they want to meet with you seem infinite.

Teaching

Maybe you’re teaching some new courses; maybe some you have taught before.

You need to make sure you have enough copies of the syllabus and the course pack is ready and the textbook is in the shop. And if it isn’t you need a Plan B so that the students know how and when they will receive these things.

You need to check out the teaching rooms. Make sure the technology you need is there. Make sure you can access it. And you know who to call if it decides not to cooperate.

And TAs. You might need some. You might have some. You might know them or you need to get to know them. Or you need to go harass someone about getting you the TAs you deserve. OR….

See what I mean?

No time to work on your grant.

And even if there is time in principle, you are not going to be in the right frame of mind.

The back-end

You are not alone.

Yes, your name is on the grant application and the money, if you get it, is for you to spend on your research.

But you cannot do the whole process alone.

The university has to agree to administer the funds. And because all kinds of other money rides on success in Tri-Council competitions, the university has a considerable interest in you putting in the best proposal possible. They want you to get the money.

At the most basic level, your application needs signatures from important people. And the Research Office coordinates that process because a whole bunch of folks are applying at about the same time.

On top of that, the Research Office people are going to check to make sure your application is complete. That your budget numbers add up. That your files are in the right format.

Back when you actually mailed a paper copy, the Research Office did that for you. Bigger universities couriered over big boxes of applications. Now that applications are all electronic, the Research Office is the place to go to make sure you are submitting a full application in the proper format.

Smart people ask for help

Because the university has an interest in you getting a grant, they are going to offer help.

The research office will look over and comment on your application. Or the Associate Dean of Research will do it. Or organize a team of more experienced people to do it. Or pay someone like me to do it.

The extent and quality of the help you receive will depend on the resources (of money and personnel) that the university has available.

You can organize your own support.

You have colleagues who have done this before (and been successful) who can provide copies of their own applications or read and comment on your draft.

And you can hire someone like me to read and comment on the draft. I have read a lot of grant applications and helped a lot of people.

I find it interesting that people who have been successful in the past, actually seek me out. They come back. They send me draft proposals that are pretty darn good.

And maybe that’s why they’ve been successful. Because they know that the whole process is easier if you get help.

Interested?

Pay a deposit, and I’ll send you an e-booklet to guide you through the appendices. Then you send me the proposal along with the balance and I send detailed comments.

Tell me whether you have “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal” or not, then click “Add to Cart”. Even though I’m not shipping you anything, you need to enter your post-code to calculate the tax.

Do you have the booklet, “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal”:

No $75 Yes $50

Although e-Junkie (my shopping cart provider) uses PayPal to process payments, you do not need a PayPal account. You can just pay with your credit card. All prices are in Canadian dollars.

I also recommend…

Get comments from someone in your discipline who can spot the things your peers will care about (or for the Aboriginal Research Grants, someone with experience of Aboriginal research).

It’s cheaper

I’ve added an extra incentive.

If you submit the draft proposal before Labour Day, it’ll cost you $100 less than if you submit it in September.

You are free to focus on the chaos and go home and drink beer and relax in the evening. And you save $100.

Then you have the comments back with plenty of time to revise the proposal before the Research Office needs it so they can do whatever they are going to do.

Why write your SSHRC proposal before Labour Day?

• It’s out of the way when the beginning of term chaos descends.
• There’s all kinds of back-end stuff the university needs to do.
• There’s time to get comments from people who can help you write a better proposal.
• You save $100.

What are you waiting for?

Do you have the booklet, “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal”:

No $75 Yes $50

Still not sure?

I did an in-person workshop recently. We worked on publishing plans, clarifying objectives, figuring out when to apply for a SSHRC grant, etc.

At the end of the workshop one participant made an interesting comment. Thanking me for the workshop she contrasted my approach to the advice she had had while a doctoral student. “I was just told to publish 2 things a year.”

Thinking about it, I realize that a lot of the pressure academics feel is related to a sense that they need to publish more.

Researchers at smaller universities with higher teaching load bemoan the fact that they will never be competitive because they just don’t have time to write as much as their colleagues at big research universities.

Everyone, regardless of their teaching load, says they need more time. And that academe is not compatible with family, a life, vacations, etc.

Have you lost sight of the important element?

Why do you do the research you do?

And why do you publish it?

Seriously. Take a moment and really think about that question. Because I’m pretty sure you don’t do it to get promoted or to get a grant, though you also want those things.

You do the research you do to contribute to the advancement of knowledge

Research is part of a conversation. A debate.

You were inspired by other research.

Research you thought was missing something. Or research you thought would benefit from a different approach, or a different/additional data set.

You have something to contribute to that conversation. So you publish your work.

You want to have an impact on the advancement of knowledge

Impact is not a function of how much you say. It is a function of how many people listen and use what you say.

To have an impact you need to

• reach the people engaged in the same conversation
• reach as many of those people as possible
• use a means of communicating that assures those people your contribution is worth reading

You also need to build a reputation.

Eventually, people in your field will keep an eye out for what you have to say. Just like you keep an eye out for particular other researchers in your field.

Luckily, you are evaluated for having an impact on the advancement of knowledge

The reward system in universities is in line with your own goals. You are rewarded for the thing you want to do.

Peer review, in journals and with some presses, is a system for ensuring quality. This is why publications in peer reviewed journals, or with particular presses, are more highly valued than publications in edited books or with other presses.

Some journals have lower acceptance to submission ratios. They are more competitive. They are, thus, more likely to publish higher quality work because they are choosing the best from a larger field. This is why publications in those journals are more highly valued than publications in journals that are easier to publish in.

Some journals are more widely read. Articles in those journals will be read by far more people than articles in other journals. The impact of work published in those journals is thus likely to be greater. This is why publication in those journals is more highly valued than publications in other journals.

The system is not random

Although some disciplines use statistical measures of impact (called “impact factors”) and others use more qualitative, cultural notions of “good” journals, all are working with these same principles.

Start with the goal of influencing debates in your field, having an impact on the advancement of knowledge.

Select publication venues based on the principles of suitability of audience, size of audience, and reputation for excellent.

Then write.

These are your people. You want to reach them.

I’m willing to bet that you also have a lot to say to them.

Are you submitting a proposal to the SSHRC Standard Research Grant competition this fall?

The SRG program is very competitive. The budget has been effectively frozen for several years but more and more people are applying and the average amount requested goes up every year.

Excellent proposals are not funded every year.

That’s right. Not funded.

That means that getting funding is like winning an Olympic medal. You have to beat a lot of other excellent researchers for a limited number of prizes.

No elite athlete would compete in the Olympics without a coach.

The athlete runs the race. The coach helps the athlete achieve their best result.

So why do so many researchers not even seek help with their grant proposals?

I find it interesting that my most enthusiastic clients are those that have had repeated success in grant competitions. Successful academics know that getting an external review of your proposal can make a big difference to your competitiveness.

I can be your coach

You are an excellent researcher. You know the literature relevant to your proposal better than I do. You know what you want to do.

But sometimes you are so close to the research that you can’t see the details that need to be there to convince a grant selection committee. Or miss important steps in your argument.

Just like an athlete has a coach to help fine tune his performance, you can hire me to help you fine-tune your application.

Early-Bird Price ends August 15th

My special early-bird price for detailed comments on your proposal ends on August 15th. Pay a deposit now. Download your copy of “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal”. Get that draft into shape and send it in before Friday August 15 for the special low price of $200.

Do you already have the booklet, “Writing Your SSHRC Grant Proposal”:

No $75 Yes $50

Not sure you can get it done?

Spend $50 on a push out of the snowbank.

We’ll talk through your proposal on the phone (30 minutes) so you have a plan for getting it done and to me for comments.

That’s still only $250 to improve your chances of getting the grant and to reduce your stress.

Why the rush?

Well, in addition to the great early-bird price, getting this proposal off your desk in mid-August leaves you free to focus on getting reading for the beginning of term.

You aren’t going to get anything substantial done on the proposal in the first couple of weeks of term anyway.

This way, you come back to it fresh and you have comments to guide your revision. And you’ll still get it in to the research office by their deadline.

You don’t have to struggle.

Having me read and comment on your draft proposal saves you time. It enables you to get on with the other things only you can do.

And maybe hang out on the deck with your family and friends before the summer is gone.