Professor Sandcastle

The Researcher’s Toolkit

Practical advice on research, writing, publishing and academic life

Research is about curiosity, creativity and discovery. But turning a good idea into a successful research project requires a whole range of skills that are rarely taught formally. How do you develop a research question? Write a convincing proposal? Get your first paper published? Deal with rejection? Or simply find the time to do the research in the first place? Over the course of my academic career, I’ve worked as a researcher, supervisor, Head of Department, Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor. I’ve written papers, secured grants, supervised doctoral students, led research teams and reviewed more proposals and manuscripts than I care to remember. Along the way, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and, occasionally, learned something useful from them. One thing I’ve come to appreciate is that being a good researcher and knowing how to navigate the business of research are not quite the same thing.

Learning the Craft

The Researcher’s Toolkit brings together a series of short articles originally developed to support research training and professional development at Health Sciences University (HSU). They explore the practical side of research: developing ideas, planning projects, writing and publishing, securing funding, working with others and building a sustainable academic career These are not definitive instructions or recipes for success. Research is far too varied, and academic life far too unpredictable, for that. Instead, they offer practical suggestions, personal observations and lessons drawn from experience. They are intended particularly for early-career researchers, doctoral students and academics taking on new responsibilities, although I hope more experienced colleagues may find something useful here too.

Research Development and Mentoring

I’ve always enjoyed helping researchers develop their ideas and confidence. Much of my academic leadership career involved supporting colleagues, developing research strategies and creating environments in which good research could flourish. I continue to have an interest in research mentoring, professional development and helping individuals and institutions strengthen their research activity. I welcome enquiries about research-development workshops, mentoring, proposal development, research strategy and related consultancy work. If you think I might be able to help, please get in touch through the Contact page.

Explore the Toolkit

The articles below cover different aspects of research and academic life. They can be read individually, although some build on ideas introduced in earlier pieces.