Getting Your Research into the World

Funding agencies and academic institutions are requiring researchers to participate in knowledge-sharing activities, which can go by a range of different names: knowledge mobilization, knowledge dissemination, knowledge exchange, knowledge translation, and integrated knowledge translation. For some kinds of research, the best approach is to do your study and then share your results—meaning, that you doContinue reading “Getting Your Research into the World”

Secret punctuation: the en-dash

There’s a piece of punctuation that I didn’t know existed until after I finished my PhD in Literature, after I had won an award for teaching writing, and after I got my first in-house editing job: the en-dash.  We all know hyphens, which connect a pair of words that are working together (as in, “aContinue reading “Secret punctuation: the en-dash”

“Or” does not preclude “and”

I find few instances of academic writing in which “and/or” is a better choice than simply “or.” As the above image illustrates, when you connect a pair of words with “or,” you’re not ruling out the possibility of “and”; that is, “or” includes “and” within its meaning.  In my experience, many writers are using “and/or”Continue reading ““Or” does not preclude “and””

Evaluating an AI Tool Designed for Academic Researchers: Consensus

By now, we’ve all seen how poorly ChatGPT deals with academic research—especially with citations. ChatGPT is known to make up details the sound real but are entirely false, even going so far as to create fake DOIs. But ChatGPT doesn’t represent all of AI, or even all of the subset of Generative AI. New AIContinue reading “Evaluating an AI Tool Designed for Academic Researchers: Consensus”

#AskDrEditor: Drafting compelling letters of support for research grant funding

My editing advice column, Ask Dr. Editor, is available through UniversityAffairs.ca. In this Ask Dr. Editor piece, I advise an applicant for a research grant on how to prepare a strong letter of support for a partner organization to submit as a part of a Tri-Council funding application: “Drafting compelling letters of support for research grant funding.”Continue reading “#AskDrEditor: Drafting compelling letters of support for research grant funding”

References & Slides for “How to Read Research Grant Proposals like an Editor” (EARMA webinar, May 2023)

References, in order of discussion: I write a monthly academic writing advice column for the magazine University Affairs called “Ask Dr. Editor.” You can search for examples of funded and unfunded grants submitted by their authors via Open Grants. Writingwellishard.com is a text analysis tool that helps academics to understand the patterns they use inContinue reading “References & Slides for “How to Read Research Grant Proposals like an Editor” (EARMA webinar, May 2023)”

References & Resources for “Research Grant Applications: Unwritten Rules & Best Practices from University Affairs’ Ask Dr. Editor”

If you have any questions for my column, please send them to me. I’d also be happy to meet you for a free virtual coffee—you can sign up for a time here. My column for University Affairs, “Ask Dr. Editor,” has lots of advice on writing effective grant applications, including 01 | The Written RulesContinue reading “References & Resources for “Research Grant Applications: Unwritten Rules & Best Practices from University Affairs’ Ask Dr. Editor””

References & Resources for “Quantifying Your Editing Impact”

My column for University Affairs, “Ask Dr. Editor,” has lots of advice on writing effective grant applications. I’ve also published a number of blog posts for Editors Canada, including: 01 | The Subversive Copy Editor I learned how to edit from a number of different courses, books, resources, and mentors, but, primarily, I learned toContinue reading “References & Resources for “Quantifying Your Editing Impact””