Interlude: Grace, Undermining Conclusions, and Retractions as Corrections
I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't always been a good editor.
I still remember my mentor's disappointment when I overlooked the Greek symbols that were missing from the figures in the page proofs of my first publication. Yup, the paper was published without the Greek symbols. Sigh. So embarrassing.
I learned a few valuable lessons that day. One was to pay attention to all the little details when proofing a document, including every label in figures. Another was to slow down and not rush through the process of proofing a document.
And the third? Give yourself grace. We are all human, and we all overlook things and make mistakes. But we can learn from them so that we can do better next time.
So if you're feeling embarrassed by an oversight or mistake, give yourself grace and take away the lessons learned. And with each lesson, you will get just a bit better each day.
Now onto this week's round-up...
💌 Round-up
💻 From My Desk
How to Avoid Undermining the Conclusions of Your Research Paper
Do you end your research papers with your thoughts on the future directions of the study? If so, you are weakening the significance of your work. In this article, I share an easy strategy for maximizing the significance of your work in the power position of the paper.
👓 Reading
Retractions as corrections: shifting the narrative
"Retractions in academic publishing have long been viewed as a mark of shame, often associated with misconduct. However, this perception can in itself be detrimental to the integrity of the scientific record. . . in order for research to be self-correcting it might be time to shift the narrative and start to view retractions as ‘neutral tools’.”
🖥️ Watching
Prepositions: Ending a Sentence With
Do you avoid ending your sentences with prepositions? I often second-guess these types of sentences. But the Merriam-Webster dictionary says that "it is totally okay in English for a preposition to be what you end your sentence with."
🧰 Tools
Circle
Circle is a platform for hosting an online community, events, and courses. For the past year, I've been testing Circle for The Grove community, and I've been impressed with the look, set up, and ease of navigating the platform. I recently moved Scientific Writing Simplified to the platform so that everything is located in one place for my students.
...Oh, and in case you're interested, enrollment for Scientific Writing Simplified opens next week!
💬 Quote
"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose." – Zora Neale Hurston
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
