Enago Academy - Learn. Share. Discuss. Publish.

In Search of Freedom! We’ve been using keyboards since Christopher Latham Stoles developed the first QWERTY design for the typewriter in 1872, but it took another century before Douglas Engelbart and Bill English patented the first…

Serving Two Masters Which elements should be considered as a metric for performance as a good peer reviewer? If we look at the process from the perspective of the manuscript, a good peer review would be considered to be thorough, accurate…

A Process Based on Assumptions! When a replication study is commissioned, much of the initial work is based on a series of assumptions: The initial study was conducted by experienced researchers with appropriate oversight The…

Justification of Performance! Getting any research funded is hard. There has never been a blank check for research in any decade, other than perhaps during times of war when emergency funds were made available to fund urgent projects of…

It’s time to accept that conference attendance is no longer a right or entitlement for any researcher. As training and travel budgets get slimmer each year, getting approval to attend a conference is becoming tougher. For those of you who…

Increased Scrutiny of a Critical Process: A Google search for “peer review best practices” will produce over 5,600 results, with numerous examples of detailed manuals and checklists that specify in detail what should happen during a formal…

What is a Plenary Session? You’ve been invited to chair the plenary session at an academic conference. It is scheduled to take place at the top of the conference agenda, and will be a discussion of general issues, featuring prominent…

The Importance of Preparation The quotation, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend four sharpening my axe,” has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Whether or not that attribution is valid, the message of the quotation…

The Only Constant is Change Any young scientist struggling with the competitive challenges of modern research can be forgiven for wondering if the “old days” of academic research were less competitive, more collaborative, more collegial,…

Should a Peer Reviewer Choose Honor above Money? The peer review process has always been considered to be a proud tradition in the academic community. Experienced and highly qualified academics and scientists take time away from their…