8 tips to improve your research

There is no easy part in being a researcher. You must be focused and resilient to face the daily challenges. Thus, we decided to give a little help and present the “8 tips to improve your research”

1. Ask a good question

Before even thinking about money or the project scope, spend time on the question you want to ask with your research. Your question will guide you when everything gets foggy. And believe me, it will get foggy.

2. Read a lot

When you think you have read enough, double it. Scientific papers are getting published everyday. Make sure you know the new trends on your research field and stay updated.

3. Know where you are going

Think about the process of building a project and executing it. Spend time planning your next step and thinking about the possible outputs. If you know where you want to go with your research, it will be a lot easier to find the way.

4. Ask other researchers opinion

Peer view is dying. Instead, preprints are getting more and more popular. Make your research available for other scientists and get inputs on what to improve. You will finish your research much more grounded and ready to publish in a good journal.

5. Think like an outsider

Lay people and the best researcher of your field have something in commom: they won’t care about your research unless it is effortless to understand and relevant for them. Show you have domain over your findings and knows how to present them in a simple and organized way. Infographics and graphical abstracts are a great tool to do that.

6. Learn how to sell your work

Yes, we all want to get published. However, piles of good researches are published everyday and nobody hears about them. Use channels to spread your research such as social media and conferences. New technologies are the key to spread your word, so use them in a smart way!

7. Negative results are also results

Learn how to read your results. Whether they are negative or positive, interpreter them and understand what they are telling you. Sometimes the “wrong direction” can show you a new point of view.

8. Don’t try to write the entire paper in a day

Learning how to write a scientific paper takes time. Use the first project you wrote as something to develop. After writting everything down, take a deep breath and make a pause. Once you come back to your paper, you will be able to find the mistakes missed.

The academia brings many challenges. Finding new tools to help you improve your research is always a good idea. Thus, be curious and daring!