Survival Guide for Early Career Researchers

A practical go-to resource for PhD students, postdoctoral fellows on relevant evidence-based research that provides advice in strategic but also supportive ways to ECRs.

• Written by Dominika Kwasnicka and Alden Yuanhong Lai - both early career researchers with relevant experience
• Highlights new tools and trends in setting research strategy that are not yet prominent in other books
• Supplements mentorship and professional development knowledge that are not readily available in print
  
  Navigating research careers is often highly challenging for early career researchers (ECRs) in the social sciences. The ability to thrive in research careers is complex and requires "soft people and management skills and resilience that often cannot be formally taught through university coursework. Written from a peer perspective, this book provides guidance and establishes emotional rapport on topical issues relevant for ECRs in academia and industry.
  
  The authors are ECRs who have been successful in navigating their careers, and they seek to connect with readers in a supportive and collegial manner. Each chapter includes elements of story-telling and scientific thinking and is organized into three parts:
  (1) a personal story that is relevant to the topic;
  (2) key content on professional and personal effectiveness based on evidence in the
  psychological, sociological, and/or management sciences; and
  (3) action points and practical recommendations.

The topics covered are specifically curated for people considering undertaking research careers or already working in research, including:

• Work Hard, Snore Hard: Recovery from Work for Early Career Researchers
• Networking and Collaborating in Academia: Increasing Your Scientific Impact and Having Fun
• Accelerating Your Research Career with Open Science
• Engaging with the Press and Media
• Make Your Science Go Viral: How to Maximize the Impact of Your Research
• Exploring the Horizon: Navigating Research Careers Outside of Academia
• Thinking like an Implementation Scientist and Applying Your Research in Practice

This book will also benefit senior researchers who are serving as mentors or delivering professional development programs, administrators and educators in institutions of higher learning, and anyone with an interest in building a successful research career.