Tools and resources
Methods to start a creative process and generate ideas for research
There are many ways to contribute to theory and potentially fruitful avenues of research, and reading top research articles, it can seem obvious and self-evident. However, most people who have tried to come up with interesting research ideas, know it is far from...
Ways of Making a Theoretical Contribution
In the book: Theory Construction and Model building skills, Jaccard & Jacoby outline 16 ways to make a theoretical contribution when conducting research. These are introduced in chapter 3, and numbered from 1 to 16. Each is elaborated on in subsequent chapters. I...
Applying for jobs.. the slog
Applying for an academic job is a little different from other jobs, especially in the amount of documentation some schools require. Academic CV’s are famously long. But then there are documents such as: research statement (2-6 pages) teaching statement diversity...
Free access to research articles
Academic research is contingent on building on past findings, much published in academic journals. While researchers get nothing from the journals when they submit their work (indeed, some pay for the privilege to get published), it can cost a fortune to access the...
Creating model diagrams
While most make models in Word or Powerpoint, there are other alternatives, that can also be used with R. One such, is DAGitty, (and related packages). You can make the diagrams in a browser window, and export the R code. The diagrams can be exported in most high...
Style guide for academic writing
There are many - very many - styles in academia. At times, it seems every journal has their own style, which differs just a little from others; seemingly with the intent to frustrate a submitting author (or to act as a last-ditch attempt to stop those who just submit...
Sharing data in repositories
An increasing number of journals encourage researchers to share their data, for a variety of reasons. In years past, it was common to have to write to the authors asking for access or supplementary statistics; making your data available, ensures more have access to...
Using SVG files
Presenting research visually can greatly help people grasp complex ideas. Creating the visuals can take a lot of effort and creativity, it is a shame when the finished product is consequently compressed when published or shown; as is the case for most network maps....
Likert scale.. wording
While most instruments have a clear scale, some do not actually give the full range of wording. In cases when you want to modify a scale somewhat, it can be even more tricky. Rather than work out wordings, I found a useful PDF, written by Sorrel Brown at Iowa State...
Writing suggestions for Msc. students
I have corrected student assignments for some years, and want to share some suggestions which could help lift the quality of the responses. While the examples I use are largely taken from a course in business ethics I have been involved in, these suggestions can be...
Personal branding and social media: thoughts for budding academics
I have been asked to give a lecture on how budding academics may want to think about their online personas for a conference held here at BI Norwegian Business School. Here is some supporting documents to that lecture. The lecture notes with added text: Branding and...
What topics does your favorite journal publish?
Another day, another use for bibliometric analysis. I was recently at a conference where the editor of AMJ strongly recommended to read the mission statement of a journal before submitting; hitting the target is key to get it considered, and published. There is no...
Publishing in top tier outlets: some insights from bibliometric analysis
I was discussing with a friend what it takes to get published in the very top journals. The established answers include: need excellent data (eg. multiple sources and time points), a novel and interesting idea, and well written work. . . Is this really it? I think...
How to review for a journal
Reviewing for the first time us daunting.. bit is a great learning opportunity and is part of the research life. Learning how to do so as constructively as possible is worthwhile. Here are some resources. This one gives some attitudes to have, structure to consider...
Concept clarity
Not read the article in full yet, though this article on concept clarity strikes a chord, having read a lot of articles where concepts change, and are mixed from one article to the next. Believe it is worth studying before writing up my next paper. :)...
Resources for structuring and writing
A good structure can help the reader understand the content of a paper. Well written text also. Here are some resources that help to this end. Ten simple rules for structuring papers Brett Mensh, Konrad Kording Published: September 28, 2017...
Bibliometric review
NOTE: this post is very much under development, and is largely just notes for myself. What is a bibliographic reveiw? An effective way to synthesize a large body of research, using quantitative analysis, with network logic underpinning much of it. What types of...
Nvivo for litterature review
This post is a work in progress, as I try using Nvivo to get a systematic overview of my field of study; and where I store links and resources I have found useful. A complete post will follow when I have a conclusion (of whether to stop, or go on :)) It might be...
Advice for novice (and not so novice) teachers
One of my all time favorite MOOCs was taught by Paul Bloom, on the topic of Moral Psychology. He has also written several books, such as "Against Empathy". Via Twitter today, he shared some advice for those who are about to start teaching; as they were shared through...
Better writing by large and small cuts
Giants in the field of how to write well recommend brutal editing of ones own text; often said as: "murder your darlings". The advice is sound. A rule of thumb may be that one should have half the words left of the original draft. Some key points: Cut any parts that...
Style and how to write well..
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37285796
Kindle: different uses and Oasis vs. Paper White
I first tried an e-reader in 2010, when I got a Kindle Fire. I hated it, and gave it to my nephew so he could use it to play games. I had to get an e-book for my research, so decided to try the Kindle Paper White; a black and white, e-ink reader. I loved it. Easy to...
Docear — a tool to organize thoughts
STarting to test this software out now.. will update the page as I either grow tired of it, or become convinced 😀 http://www.docear.org/software/screenshots/
The Dark Side of Personality – the Hogan Development Survey
There are traits that can be directly damaging in certain situations; Hogan has a scale to measure this, including: Dive into the Dark Side SCALE NAME LOW SCORERS HIGH SCORERS Excitable seem calm to the point of appearing to lack passion or urgency display dramatic...
Sensemaking in Organizations: Karl Weick
A book I am intending to read; Sensemaking in Organizations by Karl Weick. However, until I do, I came accross a nice summary of the concept here: https://www.epicpeople.org/sensemaking-in-organizations/ Sensemaking has seven properties (Weick, 1995): Identity and...
One of the biggest cases of academic fraud: Diederik Stapel
Reading about Diederik Stapel reminds me of the quote from Walter Scott: "Oh, What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive". To list the full extent of his fraud, (including advising 20 Phd's, many of whom used data he had faked), do visit the...
Superforecasting – The art and science of prediction
A great new book by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner, based on a long running experiment where masses of people have made predictions on a wide variety of topics. They have analyzed the data and found some traits common to those who consistently make good predictions,...
Sources for graphics: lift your presentations
Good graphics can lift a presentation; however, not always easy to find. While there are several great commercial sites, there are also some that offer free stock graphics and photos. These include: https://unsplash.com/ http://www.freepik.com/ You can...
The time paradox
How we see time, the future, the past and present dictate how we live and see the world. In this book Philip Zimbardo puts it all in perspective. Do also see the books website at: http://www.thetimeparadox.com/ For a brief, but informative introduction, look at...
Scrivener … a better way to write
Microsoft word dominates the world of word processing. Completely. However, this does not mean it is the only, or the best for every task that requires writing. When asked what tools he used, Dan Ariely strongly recommended Scrivener, where one can easily organize,...