Location

Online
Interactive online course

Cost

from £249

Date

-
Autumn/Winter 2024

The feedback for the interactive online course on the 21st and 22nd  February 2024 was 100% positive.

Location:

Interactive online course using Zoom.

Cost:

Students £249

Professionals £299

Group discounts are available on request!
 

Date:

New Dates will be released for Autumn/Winter 2024. 

To secure your place, please register your interest here! Express your Interest.

Short course description:

This interactive workshop will boost your confidence and ability to write a great science paper that will be cited again and again. Here is a little taster video introducing you to the course and course leader Prof. Andrew Johnson.  All exercises will take place in small groups.

This workshop focuses on getting high citations. The workshop will study the following using group and individual exercises:

  • How to write a good title
  • How to write a good abstract
  • Thinking about your audience
  • Maintaining a narrative thread and not submerging your audience in too many messages
  • Finding a transparent scientific language
  • Marshalling your argument
  • Using figures
  • Ending in a clean conclusion
  • Social media and other forms of promotion

Target audience:

MSc & PhD students/researchers, industry, environmental consultancies, public sector

Level:

Suitable for anyone whether you have published none or one hundred papers!

Places:

Max 20 learners per event.

Hardware and software requirements:

Please bring a laptop or tablet, so you can edit your abstract as part of the exercises.

For the interactive online course, a second external screen will be an advantage (but is not essential). Having a webcam is desirable (but not essential). If you plan to participate from an open-plan office or noisy environment, please wear headphones with a built-in microphone.

We will use Zoom to deliver the training course. There are 5 ways to join Zoom (and at least one of them should work for you!). We will provide more information about Zoom with the joining instructions and at the start of the event. You can find more information about Zoom on our FAQ page.

Course leader:

Prof. Andrew Johnson, UK Centre for Ecology & HydrologyAndrew has been an active researcher for the past 27 years.  As of May 2017 the Web of Science reports 113 papers with over 4,000 citations giving an H-index of 35. 10 papers have now passed over 100 citations each. In 2022, Andrew featured on the inaugural ENDS Power List of the 100 UK environmental professionals who have made the greatest impact in the past two years.

Previous course participants said:

The feedback for the interactive online course on the 21st and 22nd  February 2024 was 100% positive.

''Grateful for the time, effort and creativity put in by the trainer to deliver the training well. It was informative, thought provoking, interactive and interesting''. (Judy Mugambi, Phd Sudent, University of University, March 2024)

“The frequent "try it yourself" sections in the break-out rooms were really useful to reinforce the course.”
(Romilly Close , PhD student from Envison, Lancaster University, January 2023)

“I liked the interactiveness and the break-out discussions best. It really helped looking at bad examples and thinking about why they were bad and how they could be improved.”
(Katie Devenish ,PhD student from Envison, Bangor University, January 2023)

“Reviewing and improving the abstracts and other example text was helpful, it really highlighted the importance of being concise.”
(Laura Turner, PhD student from Envison, Nottingham University, January 2023)

“It was a great course and I would highly recommend it to early career scientists.”
(anonymous)

"This was an extremely useful and engaging course, thank you."
(Sally Derrett, Sheffield University, 2 March 2022)

"Having the breakout groups was really good. It allowed everyone to be active in the course exercises. I also enjoyed the type of exercises/activities done in the breakout groups. Great way to learn."
(learner in March 2022)

"This really was an excellent course - well organised, well presented and well run. I would highly recommend it to colleagues as an extremely useful aid in writing papers, at any stage of your career."
(learner in March 2022)        

More background information:

Andrew has now published a book together with John Sumpter: How to be a better Scientist.

Image
how to be a better scientist_Johnson & Sumpter

There are many ways to gauge the success and effectiveness of our scientific work.  Whilst by no means perfect, citations are probably the fairest method we have available.  Not only for us as individuals, but also for our Research Centre or University, getting our work more widely known through citations is now important and will become vital for our future.  To increase our citations we could double, treble, or quadruple the number of papers we produce each year without changing their quality.  Alternatively, we could focus on ensuring the papers we do produce become better cited. 

This workshop focus is on getting high citations, this is not necessarily the same thing as getting into top journals. Whilst this workshop is focused on finding ways for you to increase the number of citations to your own work, perhaps an alternative way to look at is to consider what increases the chances of you citing someone else’s work?