Science Writing

Clement
Weinberger

Flying By The Seat of Your Pants

What’s that? It means deciding on a course of action as you go along, using your own initiative and perceptions rather than a pre-determined plan. From what I’ve been told, the description “fly by the seat of your pants” fell into popular use after Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan flew from ...


Clement
Weinberger

Publish or Perish?

You know what it means. In academia, achieving tenure, promotions, and obtaining research funding puts a lot of pressure on faculty to publish frequently. Numerous publications are seen as a demonstration that one has made a significant impact on the field.


Clement
Weinberger

The What’s In a Name Game

How to play it and win.  If you are looking for a change or have to change, and have identified some places that are “looking for a few good people,” what it comes down to is finding out who in the company are doing the looking, getting their attention, and then convincing them that they ne...


Clement
Weinberger

Looking for a change?

I was. I had too. I was an assistant prof. teaching stimulating courses to good students. We passed some good times in the classroom, lunchroom and, of course, the local bars. There were even a couple of grad students whose research was working out. What’s wrong with this picture? Teaching is grea...


Clement
Weinberger

Do scientists really need social networks?

The short answer is “yes.” Of course they do. But the best networks would probably not be Facebook clones. Why not? Well, because Facebook helps people find people. Scientists need networks that help people find information. The label “Scientists” is a very big one and includes a lot of ...


Clement
Weinberger

Got journals? How to pick ‘em.

At some point in your publication planning, you will have to choose the journals where you will submit your articles. Finding the right journal is important because if your article isn’t published in a timely fashion, say within a year or two of a congress presentation, no one will know about i...


Clement
Weinberger

On social networks (yet)?

… or not on them? In fact, all of us are members of social networks. We have circles of friends and acquaintances, and we interact with professional colleagues and associates every day. That's true whether you are a basic or medical researcher, a physician or other healthcare provider, medical wri...


Tony
Fox

Fear Is Funny

Fear is funny because it makes people do strange things.  It is strange to not pursue one’s ultimate goal in life.  It is odd to spend one’s time performing a job that yields no satisfaction.  Only a funny thing such as fear could result in such absurdity.  The most ironic as...


Lisa
Sproul Hoverman

Volunteer Researchers Needed and Appreciated!

“Wherever a man turns he can find someone who needs him.”  ~Albert Schweitzer With a great background in biology or biomedical research, you landed a great job in consulting, advising, teaching, writing, or advocating!  However, you have to admit, in the evenings and on the weeken...


Clement
Weinberger

So you want to go freelance?

My first step toward freelancing was moonlighting. Actually, it was the unintended result of interviewing for a staff job as a medical writer but being offered a consultant contract instead of a full-time position. Not knowing if it would work out, I kept my “day job” while I completed my fir...