Dr. Karin Kettenring
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    • Peer reviewed publications
    • Extension publications
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    • Grant reports
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    • Research
    • Teaching and Learning
    • Finding a job, postdoc, grad position
    • Women in science

research resources

for students in the lab

Grants, funding, and finances

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From Sociobiology
  • Ten tips for writing successful NSF full proposals from a recent panelist
From Dynamic Ecology
  • They're just not that into you: the no-excuses truth to understanding proposal reviews
From Prof-like substance
  • The grant game: momma said there'd be days like this
From Contemplative Mammoth
  • Crowd-funded science: thoughts after 185 people gave us $10,733 for research
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Communicating about lab finances
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Keeping track of lab finances

Data management

From Dynamic Ecology
  • ​Ten commandments for good data management
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Collecting, storing, analyzing, and publishing lab data
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Setting up a lab data management system
From Asian Efficiency
The Most Effective Way of Organizing Your Files, Folders and Documents
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The primary literature

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From Dynamic Ecology
  • Selective journals vs. social networks: alternative ways of filtering the literature
​​From Jabberwocky Ecology
  • Using Google Scholar to keep up with the literature

Science writing

From Dynamic Ecology
  • Last and corresponding authorship practices in ecology: Part 1
  • Who should be senior author on papers resulting from collaborations from multiple research groups?
  • Bad coauthors: how to avoid them and what to do when you have one
From Dynamic Ecology
  • The 5 pivotal paragraphs in a paper
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Don't introduce your paper by saying that many people have long been interested in the topic
From Dynamic Ecology
  • How to write a good introduction section
From Functional Ecology
  • The Functional Ecology short guide to scientific writing
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Some well-known tricks for clear writing
From BioDiverse Perspectives
  • How to write good science well.
From Dr. Inger Mewburn
  • Write that journal article (in seven days)
​From The Thesis Whisperer
  • How to write faster
From Pubs and Publications
  • When your shitty draft becomes a ball and chain
From The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Don't spend your holiday break writing
​From Karen McKee
  • How I wrote my best scientific paper
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Publishing your science

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From Rapid Ecology
  • Let the manuscript speak! Cover letters have outlived their purpose
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Ask us anything: cover letters for ms submissions
  • Writing a response to reviewer comments
  • Why I don't sign (most of) my reviews
  • Should figures go at the end of a manuscript or appear in line? And where should figure legends go?
  • As a peer-reviewer are you gatekeeping or editing?
  • Who pays the publication fees for your papers, when there is a fee? What if it’s a collaboration?
  • Have you ever used a professional editor for a proposal or manuscript?
From Nature Jobs
  • ​How not to respond to reviewers: Eight simple tips
From Nature
  • Scientists offer advice on how best to respond to reviewers
From Enquist Lab
  • A plea for reasoned reviews - advice for writing a review
From Small Pond Science
  • When you are asked to review a paper that you've already reviewed for another journal
  • Writing a review: thoughts from the trenches
  • Handling bad reviews
From PLoS Computational Biology
  • Ten simple rules for writing a literature review​
From Finish Your Thesis
  • How to finish your literature review when you can’t stop reading articles
From Small Pond Science
  • How many rejections should scientists aim for?
From Scientist sees squirrel
  • How to write, and read, a (manuscript) rejection letter
​From Literary Hub
  • Why you should aim for 100 rejections a year
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Follow the money - what really matters when choosing a journal
​From The Kaspari Lab
  • What journal gets the first peek at your manuscript?
​From Dynamic Ecology
  • Advice: how to decide where to submit your paper
​From Dynamic Ecology
  • Why fit is more important than impact factor in choosing a journal to submit to
From Scientist sees squirrel
  • How do you choose a journal when it's time to submit a paper?
From Science Magazine
  • Yes, it is getting harder to publish in prestigious journals if you haven't already
From Methodsblog.com
  • Maximizing the exposure of your research: search engine optimization and why it matters
From Dynamic Ecology
  • The "always have two papers in review" rule of thumb (UPDATEDX2)
  • Downsides of writing harder: musings on the need to pace myself
From eco-evo evo-eco
  • We have a gatekeeper, and who should it be?
From Oxford University Press
  • 10 tips for getting your journal article published

​Communicating your science - presentations, posters, and the elevator pitch

From Dynamic Ecology
  • Perfecting the elevator pitch
From Geoffrey Aguirre Lab
  • The "elevator pitch" for scientists
From Mike Kaspari
  • Your academic elevator speach
From Forbes
  • 9 tips for communicating science to people who are not scientists​
From Jonathan Shewchuk
  • Giving an academic talk
From Dynamic Ecology
  • How not to start your next ecology or evolution talk
From RajLab
  • Some thoughts on how to structure a talk​
From Creative Research Communications
  • 9 myths holding you back from creating stellar slides
From Dynamic Ecology
  • The big mistake almost every scientific poster makes
From Scientific American
  • The PhD's guide to academic conferences
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Advice for the summer conference season
From The Guardian
  • Don't be a conference troll: a guide to asking good questions
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Communicating your science - social media and dealing with the media

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From Tenure, She Wrote
  • Social media as professional development
From Hope Jahren Sure Can Write
  • What I say when my colleagues ask me if they should be on Twitter
From ASBMBTODAY
  • Carolyn Bertozzi isn’t afraid to discuss ‘the petty humiliations of life’ on social media
From Cal Newport in the New York Times
  • Quit social media.  Your career may depend on it.
From Inside Higher Ed
  • A defense of academic Twitter
From Science - Elisabeth Pain
  • Your research in the headlines: dealing with the media
From Sarah Myhre
  • Hey scientist!  Are you ready to talk to the media...?
From Science Communication Media
  • There is no general public: starting with audience for stronger science communication plans
From SESYNC
  • I2Insights: Ten Communication Tips for Translational Scientists
From Dynamic Ecology
  • How can scientists engage with policy makers? (Updated!)

Mentorship

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From Small Pond Science
  • Accessibility isn't the key to mentorship​
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Advice on writing reference letters
University of Arizona - Commission on the Status of Women
  • Avoiding gender bias in reference writing
From The Times Higher Education
  • Student Experience Survey 2017: investigating well-being at university
From Nash Turley
  • Acknowledging and addressing mental health issues among graduate students
From Small Pond Science
  • Let’s talk about mental health in academia
From Ambika Kamath
  • Seven months of attempting mental wellness
From Inside Higher Ed
  • A very mixed record on grad student mental health
From the Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Grad School is hard on mental health.  Here's an antidote
From The Atlantic
  • Graduate school can have terrible effects on people's mental health
From The Guardian
  • Number of university dropouts due to mental health problems trebles
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Guest post: Life as an anxious grad student
  • Life as an anxious scientist
  • Reflections on the one-year anniversary of my anxiety post, including thoughts on how to support students with anxiety
From Psyc Girl
  • discombobulation, please think about the impacts of health, and need for academic kindness
From The New York Times
  • Nudges that help struggling students succeed
From The Atlantic
  • Letters: "Graduate school offers ever-increasing pressures that compound"
From Quartz
  • There's an awful cost to getting a PhD that no one talks about
From MarketWatch
  • Why female grad students are way more depressed than male grad students
From Business Insider
  • 9 things bosses do that make great employees quit
From NPR
  • Yay, it's time for my performance review! (said no one ever)
From Small Pond Science
  • Reimbursing students is not okay
From Science Blogs
  • The high cost of academic reimbursement
From Small Pond Science
  • Deserting students after graduation 
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Mentoring plans: a really useful tool for PIs and their lab members​

Undergraduate research

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From Dynamic Ecology
  • How intensively do you mentor undergrads working in your lab?
​From Dynamic Ecology
  • Make a spreadsheet with info on your lab undergrads!
From SciCurious
  • Undergrad herding
From Professor Snarky's Unsolicited Advice
  • So you got a job with your prof: advice for undergrads
From Small Pond Science
  • What does “undergraduate research” mean to you?

Collegiality and networking


From The Serial Mentor
  • How to schedule a committee meeting
From the Kaspari Lab
  • How to schedule a committee meeting
From The Kaspari Lab
  • On the salutary effect of the kudos email
From Dynamic Ecology
  • How to network at conferences
From Psyc Girl
  • Discombobulation, please think about the impacts of health, and need for academic kindness
From The Wall Street Journal
  • Civility at work helps everyone get ahead
From things that change the way I think
  • Networking, part 1: It takes a village
  • Networking, part 2: Banish the dread
  • Networking, part 3: Just a friend you haven't met yet
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Lab meetings

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From Small Pond Science
  • ​What do you do in lab meetings?
From Dynamic Ecology
  • What to do at lab meetings?
From Avasthi Lab
  • Shaking up lab meeting

Productivity - organization, efficiency, resiliency, decision-making

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From Time Magazine
  • 6 things the most productive people do everyday
From Quartz
  • The ultimate efficiency hack: have kids
From WP Curve
  • 14 surprising morning routines of entrepreneurs and creatives
From The Muse
  • A Better To Do List: the 1-3-5 rule
From MakeUseOf
  • 8 to-do list mistakes you must avoid
From Business Record
  • How to make strong choices
From National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity
  • The Sunday Meeting
From Fear and Loathing in Academia
  • 12 guidelines for surviving science​ ​
From The Thesis Whisperer
  • Super charged academic productivity?
From Christine Carter
  • Why I aim to be a "deeply disciplined half-ass"
From Dynamic Ecology
  • Good Enough
From Happier
  • 7 ways to deal when life throws you a curve ball
From The New York Times
  • If you're not all-in about a new opportunity,  just say no
From Psyc Girl
  • Importance vs. sustainability
From The New York Times
  • Want to be creative on purpose?  Schedule it
  • When you need creativity to strike, make way and gear up 
  • Where Does the Time Go? You Can Find Out, if You Dare​
From Freedom
  • The New Year's Resolution You Didn't Know You Needed
From James Clear
  • Why Trying to Be Perfect Won’t Help You Achieve Your Goals (And What Will)
From The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • 5 things you can do to prepare for the new semester
From Psyc Girl
  • scheduling for love of your day, not maximal production
  • why “scheduling to death” doesn’t work for me

Productivity - work-life balance

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From Times Higher Ed
  • ​Work less, do more, live better
From On Being with Krista Tippett
  • The Disease of Being Busy (Omid Safi)
From the BBC
  • Why you feel busy all the time (when you're actually not)
From Christine Carter
  • Are you busy or productive?
From Dynamic Ecology
  • You do not need to work 80 hours a week to succeed in academia
  • Strategies (and reasons) for being more productive with fewer hours
  • Work at the times that work for you
From Inside Higher Ed
  • 9 to 5: it's possible to be a successful academic without working more than 40 hours a week
From The Atlantic
  • How Hard Do Professors Actually Work?  A recent Twitter battle revealed that faculty members themselves can’t agree on an answer.
From The New York Times
  • The benefits of a lunch hour walk 
From NPR
  • We're not taking enough lunch breaks.  Why that's bad for business.
From Greater Good in Action
  • Walking meditation
From Christine Carter
  • Why staring into space is an important strategy for success​
From International Game Developers Association
  • Why crunch modes don't work: six lessons
​From Morgan on Science
  • Has academia brain-washed you into living your life later?
From The Grad Student Way
  • 6 Ways To Survive Grad School and Achieve Work-Life Balance
From Inside Higher Ed
  • Grad Student Guilt
From Benjamin Hardy at The Medium
  • 6 Things You Need to Recover From Every Day
From Freedom
  • ​How to get the rest you need this holiday season
From Vox
  • I trained myself to be less busy — and it dramatically improved my life
From Medium
  • 5 brief reflections for a better week

Productivity - focus

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From The Coffeelicious by Christine Carter
  • Three tricks to find your flow
From the Greater Good Science Center
  • Please stop interrupting me!
​From The Thesis Whisperer
  • How to be a cognitive miser (in a good way)
From Nathan Kontny at The Medium
  • How do you focus? Especially when you have a lot to do

Productivity - email strategies and etiquette

From Dynamic Ecology
  • Inbox insanity
  • One way to make academia less anxiety-inducing: be specific in your emails!
From The Thesis Whisperer
  • Top five ways to avoid death by email
From The Next Web
  • Forget 'inbox zero': your empty email account means nothing
From Gap junction science
  • Apologies for the delay? (email responses)
From Fast Company
  • What is an appropriate response time to email?​
From Inside Higher Ed
  • ​Advice for students so they don't sound silly in emails
From Tenure, She Wrote
  • Your emails should contain a greeting and a closing
​From The Thesis Whisperer
  • How to email your supervisor (or, the tyranny of tiny tasks and what you can do about it)
From the Chronicle of Higher Education
  • What Happened When the Dean’s Office Stopped Sending Emails After-Hours
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Diversifying your conference, symposium, reviewers, and why it matters

From Dynamic Ecology
  • Choosing reviewers, recognition not recall, and why lists like DiversityEEB are useful
From Small Pond Science
  • How do we diversify our seminar series?
From Science Magazine
  • Without inclusion, diversity initiatives may not be enough​
From Dariusz Galasinski
  • Why I asked why there were no women on a panel

Research ideas

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From things that change the way I think
  • ​Research ideas, Part 1: It's not magic
  • Research ideas, Part 2: This could get ugly
  • Research ideas, Part 3: Ask questions
  • Research ideas, Part 4: Keeping track
From Small Pond Science
  • Starting experiments with a "nut fig"
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  • Home
  • People
  • Research
  • Publications
    • Peer reviewed publications
    • Extension publications
    • Student theses and dissertations
    • Grant reports
  • Opportunities
  • Web Resources
    • Research
    • Teaching and Learning
    • Finding a job, postdoc, grad position
    • Women in science