Not all students have access to guidance on how to navigate the unique world of academia. Importantly, equity and diversity in academia are hurt by this uneven playing field. To help address the situation, I am providing the following documents to explain some aspects of academic research.
If there are other topics you are interested in, or other mechanisms you think would be useful to disseminate this content, e-mail me your idea! I will continue developing these documents, and so would appreciate your feedback on what is most effective. I am particularly interested in assisting students who must overcome systemic inqualities and racism in order to advance and feel welcome in their academic institution. Please reach out if I can be of assistance.
Being a productive writer
The process of writing a paper
Paper formatting advice
Reviewing a paper
Latex template for paper review responses
Given that presentations are a more visual and verbal medium, I have created videos with thoughts on this topic.
General strategies for preparing presentations
Creating effective graphics
Advisee expectations
This document was developed for my own graduate advisees, and so some items are specific to my research group and university. But I think that any graduate student would benefit from reviewing these guidelines and being thoughtful about how to engage with their advisor.
Draft meeting agenda
It may not be clear to you what you should talk about during a meeting with your advisor. This is a draft agenda that you can use to plan your meeting. I've provided it in MS Word format so that you can easily edit it for your own use.
This is not advice, as much as reassurance that nobody avoids negative feedback. Role models and colleagues that you admire have certainly gotten similar feedback. Do not take critical reviews of your work as evidence that you have no good ideas.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Prof. Jack Baker's website.