This post is inspired by a library guide from Cayuga Community College Library which is now longer active [old archived post here]. Reading is somewhat of an art, and like most forms of art, its form needs to conform to the medium that it’s being presented in. If you want to start reading research papers, […]

The following post is partially based on a blog post written by Heather Campbell at Brescia University College which is no longer active. As the old saying goes: “for every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned”, this is as true for research work as it is for most other tasks. In this post, we’ll […]

The corona virus has affected us all. By some estimates, up to 70 percent of the world’s population is expected to get it. Regardless of whether those numbers will be correct or not, it has already affected the way we work and conduct research. In this article, I’m going to talk about some tips that […]

UPDATE: The first version of Avidnote is now released. Click here to check it out! This is the most common question that I’ve been receiving over e-mail. As you may know by now, AvidNote is a new and upcoming web app that tries to simplify the process of working on research papers. If you haven’t […]

I don’t often quote U.S presidents, but the following quote from President Teddy Roosevelt nails a very important point regarding the (empty) critique of critics. I’ll quote it in full and discuss it after. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the […]

This is a nice little tip that I picked up from the journalist profession but it’s useful in academia as well. It goes back to a poem written by Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling. In this poem, he talks about the 6 words that guide his writing and his exploration into the world of literature. I’ll […]

Becoming more focused on your tasks is as much a matter of changing your inner state as it is one of removing obstacles. Sadly, we rarely notice when we are being distracted. Sure, the kind of distractions when someone is being loud or obnoxious will get noticed, but what about the little distractions that occur […]

Time is the most important asset that we have, and it’s the most difficult one to manage for researchers and grad students. Academia is one of the few sectors where it’s not only expected that you will be cramped with time, it’s pretty much part of the job. You have so many tasks that you […]

You should not be reading this post. You should be writing instead. “But I am not in writing mode, you say” As a researcher or grad student, you are always in writing mode. Every day is writing day, the only thing that differs is the amount of writing that is needed. It doesn’t matter if […]

I discovered some interesting advice today from the Penn State Learning  website. The advice was in regards to when to take notes during a lecture. I thought I would turn the points that were mentioned into an infographic (see below), in order to make it more digestible. In summary, make sure to take notes if […]