Writing for Research Review, Collaborative Writing and Open Research

Walsh, Aisling

Presented jointly with Dr. Su-ming Khoo, this session discusses strategies and considerations for academic writing and editing at different career stages – for early-career, mid-career and established authors. It explores different writing strategies that academics can attempt as sole author, as part of collaborative research, through collaborative methodologies, collaborative theorizing and through different types of writing projects.

We discuss some considerations when writing for different academic formats, audiences, and impact, covering some of the following, with special emphasis on creativity in academic writing and the possibilities of open research, collaboration and open publishing:

Setting up collaborative writing
Finding writing time and embedding your writing practice
Responding to calls and writing an abstract
Responding to reviewers and editors
Collaborative research and writing
Open research, writing and publication strategies
Pitching and publishing in popular publications

The session forms part of a proposed RC09 professional development programme, which is targeted primarily at PhD early career researchers and new members, aiming to enhance professional writing skills and help to build academic networks.

Resources and examples

Becker, H. S. (2021) Writing for Social Scientists, Third Edition How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. University of Chicago Press

Danaher, J., Hogan, M. J., Noone, C., Kennedy, R., Behan, A., De Paor, A., Felzmann, H., Haklay, M., Khoo, S.-M., Morison, J., Murphy, M. H., O’Brolchain, N., Schafer, B., & Shankar, K. (2017). Algorithmic governance: Developing a research agenda through the power of collective intelligence. Big Data & Society, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951717726554

Kuhn, C., Khoo, SM., Czerniewicz, L. et al. Understanding Digital Inequality: A Theoretical Kaleidoscope. Postdigit Sci Educ 5, 894–932 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-023-00395-8

Philips, R & Kara, H (2021) Creative Writing for Social Research: A Practical Guide. Bloomsbury