Dates & times

The course consists of a full day, live online session taught via Zoom on the following day:

Tuesday 23rd March  2021: 0930 - 1600*

*All times are UK time.

Overview

Researchers are writers. We communicate our results via articles, discuss the findings of others in reviews and use the literature as an immortal record of science from both past and contemporary research, therefore, developing our writing skills must be given the same time and dedication as other phases of the research process. Writing is challenging, but it is an important skill that is developed and honed over time, it is a key component of the researcher’s skillset and one that they will use more than most.

Manuscripts must be clear, concise and written in a manner that is appropriate for that particular style of document. This course covers how to structure an original scientific research paper, designing and planning your article, how to articulate your argument, designing publication quality figures & tables. The session will use selected examples from the existing literature and will also include sections on the scholarly publishing process, selecting journals and peer review. 

The course includes a set of resources that participants can explore in their own time and consists of short lectures, discussions, individual exercises and anecdotes from the instructor’s own experience of writing, publishing and reviewing articles. Participants will also be given access to an additional online course that they can complete in their own time.

At the end of this course participants will:

• have been introduced to the scholarly publishing process;

• understand what is expected of them regarding writing style and structure;

• have analysed and discussed examples of clear, concise scientific writing;

• have been given a range of resources to explore in their own time.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for PhD students and early career postdocs working in scientific disciplines. No prior experience of publication is necessary and the course is open to all. Please note that this course will be online only.

Course content

Part 1  (morning)

• An introduction to the publishing process
• Being an author - what is expected 
• Selecting a journal
• Outlining & planning your article
• The structure of a scientific research paper

Part 2 (afternoon)

• Writing style & language
• Presenting data: preparing figures & tables
• Navigating the peer review process
• Copyright & open access
• Post-publication actions & metrics

The above content will be delivered over one day as a live webinar via Zoom.

Who is the instructor?

This course is delivered by Electv Training, a division of The Scientific Editing Company. We are based in the UK and we deliver training courses to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers at universities and research institutes around the UK & Europe. The company was founded in 2011 and we specialise in both face to face and online training. We also organise and manage the popular annual scholarly publishing event, the ReConEvent Conference, in Edinburgh every year and have done so since 2013; the conference attracts hundreds of delegates and we have hosted speakers from a range of scholarly journals, universities, funding agencies and companies over the years.

The instructor for this course will be Dr Joanna Young: Joanna obtained a BSc in Microbiology, an MSc in Informatics and a PhD in Neuroscience and Informatics from the University of Edinburgh, prior to completing her postdoctoral work there. She has published several papers of her own and she has been training researchers for the last ten years.

Testimonials from previous participants

“This was really helpful and helped me to understand what was expected of me regarding writing. Highly recommend!”

“Excellent course. Really clear overview and useful exercises throughout. I am now much more confident about writing.”

“This was really useful! I wish I had done it earlier!”

“This was a thorough overview of the publishing process with useful insights from first hand experience of the process.”

“Very informative & clearly presented, much of the content was new to me.”

"Thank you for delivering such a great course online!"

"Excellent! This course should be taken early on in a PhD, how a paper is constructed helps to organise our approach to research."

"A great introduction into writing for publication with insights and inspiration into planning prior to writing."

Course fees

We are offering a special, discounted early bird rate for PhD students and postdocs if you book your place before the 19th March. The course fees are as follows:

• PhD student or postdoc - early bird rate:         £59 + VAT *        
• PhD student or postdoc - standard rate:          £95 + VAT     
• Corporate rate:                                                      £130 + VAT    

* Early bird rate - book before 19th March.

You can book your ticket by clicking the "Register for the course" button above. Registration will give you access to the full course including: the full day live taught online session, extra resources, an invitation to join the Electv community and an additional self-paced online course that you can complete in your own time.

Funding

Several of the previous participants on our courses have had their places funded/ reimbursed by their institutions. If you are a PhD student or member of staff at a university or research institute then you may be able to ask your department or institute to pay for your place on the course. You may wish to contact your superviser or training and skills department directly to ask about this. Please note we cannot manage these queries on your behalf. 

For researcher developers & graduate schools: block bookings are available for this course. If you would like to book places for several students you can do so via the ticketing page or we can send you an invoice (please email us at enquiries@electv.net if you would prefer to pay via invoice.)

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