Autoethnography, Writing Olympics and Ethical AI...
Lots to get through, let's jump in.
Hello everyone!
As promised in last week’s newsletter, we’ve handpicked a bunch of cool (and hopefully useful ) links just for you.
By the way, on Sunday, we noticed a fantastic surge in subscribers to this newsletter - thank you all for sharing us with your friends and colleagues. We see it and we really appreciate it!
OK, let’s go.
Articles of the Week
We’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the dissemination landscape is constantly shifting and evolving. It’s fascinating to watch the new, creative ways in which researchers are spreading their messages. Gone are the days when conferences, publications, and a few guest lectures were the only usual suspects on a dissemination list.
Today, we see everything from Podcasts, YouTube tutorials, Webinars, Twitter threads, and even Reddit AMAs (Ask Me Anything) and honestly - we are here for it.
In the midst of the pandemic, misinformation researcher Abbie Richards blew up (the good blew up) on TikTok with her captivating and accessible TikTok content… Now, we know TikTok, like much of the internet, can be a double-edged sword, but maybe it comes down to how we use it. Have a look at this TikTok and Social Movements (Special Issue) and learn more about how TikTok can send waves through society.
Also, there’s been loads of chatter on our Discord server over the past week on Autoethnography. As Ellis et al (2011) show, autoethnography can be thought of as both a process and a product of research. Never ventured into the autoethnographic space? Check out Ellis et al’s (2011) article and maybe use it to write about a passion or side project you’ve been interested in. Let your voice be heard!
ALSO, Happy Pride Month! We’re certain you’ve been seeing lots of LGBTQ representation online over the past couple of weeks (as you should), but did you know that it’s still extremely difficult for LGBTQ young people to participate in sports, safely across the world? Using meta-ethnography, Xiang and colleagues deliver this report on the experiences of LGBTQ student-athletes in college sports.
Community Spotlight
This week, we wanted to use the community spotlight to shout about community member Moria Drake (@SelfMadeMoria)! Moria has been active in the PGRH community since the early days, but has just recently come on board as a community Moderator (yay)!
Moria will be working with us on community growth, Discord and Reddit moderation as well as some other fun projects we have lined up. Moria is super creative, extremely friendly and an incredibly productive member of the team here. If you see her around our community, don’t be afraid to say hi!
In our Community Spotlight segments, were thought it’d be nice to ask our weekly winner some questions, we hope this makes it easier for people to reach out to us and others across our networks. Who better to start with than our very own Moria?
Q1. What part of your academic journey are you at?
I’m 2 trimesters into my Master of Research focusing on the effect that progressive and idyllic ideals have on narrative media, using Star Trek as a framework. Though I’m not keeping myself confined to just my Masters in my academic journey, I am co-authoring and assisting on papers wherever I can.
Q.2 What made you join the PGRH and what do you get the most from the community?
I joined the PGRH in search for community. Being in a small, regional university in eastern Australia, there aren’t a wealth of academics studying within queer and feminist theory nearby. Online networking was my only real option. I think joining and engaging within the PGRH community has given me a sense of accountability, it alleviates feelings of academic isolation, and helps me challenge my feelings of imposter syndrome by being able to contribute to conversation with academics I admire.
Q.3 What do you hope to achieve in your time as a moderator on PGRH?
I hope, in my time as moderator, to help grow this community that I love and encourage others to share and grow in ways that can cross boundaries of subject, state, and country.
Q4. Give us one of your guilty pleasures…
My absolute guilty pleasure is probably not all that surprising, but it’s trash films. My all-time favourite movie is still Flash Gordon (I own the vinyl and my partner gets to listen to me sing along badly as I clean the house). Best of all have got to be the Birdemic Duology, Vampire’s Kiss, and of course, The Room.
Latest from our Community
As always, lots happening throughout the community. Here’s a brief recap of what’s been going on over the last week or so:
Website
Our website is up and going and we’ve got lots of fun and exciting projects planned, but for now, come and have a look around. You’ll find other ways to get in touch and engage with the community there too!
Submit an Abstract
Wanna put your dissemination skills to the test? Choose a topic you’re comfortable with (can be anything from within your research project to a productivity tool or beyond) and submit it to us.
If it’s accepted, we’ll publish it on our website and push it out on our socials, newsletter and Discord channels for the week. Word/PDF format only, include a brief bio and send your abstract to postgraduateresearchhub@gmail.com. Visit our Submission Page for easier access to these guidelines.
Sprinto ‘Olympics
As many of you know, we’re big on coworking in our community Discord server. We’ve got study rooms and a writing bot called Sprinto. Sprinto can be activated using certain commands (found on the channel) and will monitor your word count for you in short, sharp writing sprints.
We’re creating a second Sprinto channel specifically for a Spintro tournament! Each week If you choose to take part, Sprinto will monitor your writing sprints and we’ll develop a tournament table. This is intended to be a fun, motivating activity so try not to get too competitive!
Bookies
Some info on our book club (Bookies). Every two months we’ll meet virtually to discuss our latest read. If you haven’t joined us before, don’t worry - you can drop in and out as you see fit, no pressure.
We’re only choosing medium (300-ish pages) books and after each meeting, we’ll choose our next read.
This cycle’s book is Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner. Grab your copy, assign yourself the “Bookies” role on the Discord server and we’ll ping you with meeting details!
Coworking
Our virtual coworking/study rooms are open 24/7 and a lot of us casually drop in and out whenever we need to get some writing/reading done. Sometimes though, it’s helpful for people if we organise an actual coworking event.
We’ll be in our virtual study room this Thursday (tomorrow) at 10 am (GMT). Research can be lonely, drop-in and work with us!
Research Resource
Ethical AI: Do you feel like you’re overusing a word or phrase in your writing? Happens to all of us (every single day). Pouring through a Thesaurus, digital or physical, can be time-consuming, especially if you’re in a writing flow.
You can use an AI bot to generate synonyms for any word you’re stuck with. We’ve been playing with Chat GPT for this and it works *really* well.
“Give me 5 synonyms for journey”
Voyage
Expedition
Trek
Trip
Excursion
Fast, simple and effective!
Bonus Bits
Here are some things you might find useful for the rest of your week:
Project Management: Flow - an alternative to the Notion/Asana vibe. Free plans are available, and there’s an app. Flow can also sync with your default calendar - winning!
Pomodoro Timer: Can’t make it to our coworking sessions? Never fear, here’s a Pomodoro timer you can use wherever you are. Press start and get notified for breaks!
Playlist: Endeavour Morse by Larry Doyle on Spotify. Remember the show, Inspector Morse? Well, the prequel to that show is called Endeavour and the soundtrack makes for the perfect study accompaniment. Enjoy!
Catch you next Wednesday!
Again, thanks for subscribing here. We hope you enjoy these newsletters as much as we enjoy putting them together. Drink some water!
