Abstract

There are many challenges associated with being a graduate student, contract researcher and/or early career scholar under the conditions of twenty-first century university life. REF ’S, pressure to publish, and complete within short timelines are just a few of these challenges.

Two very common challenges come to mind which are often not discussed extensively in the UK because of the short completion time lines of doctorates, the lack of collaborative research writing with students and colleagues, and the limited support for students to work as Research Assistants seeking joint publications and long standing, ethically oriented mentorships. The first challenge is to get articles published whilst also completing a thesis. Questions arise: What constitutes a good article, and how does it look to the reader and what is the intended message of the work? How can I write something creative, fulfil the aims of the journal and maintain my own intellectual integrity? The second challenge is learning how to review articles for publication so as to ascertain a greater critical understanding of the diverse range of writing in one’s field and its characteristics, as well as learning how to write an informative and ethically oriented review. What is a good review, how does one write critical yet respectful reviews, and how can a reviewer assist the author in improving their work? What role should reviewing play in my academic career and how can I do it well? Should I be involved in editorial boards and how does one get involved?