Writing a research statement
Are herehome » postdoc careers » documents for the job search » research g a research is a research statement? Common component of the academic job application is the research statement (or statement of research interests). This statement provides a summary of your research accomplishments and current work and discusses the future direction and potential of your work. The statement can discuss specific issues such as funding history and potential, requirements for laboratory equipment and space, and potential research and industrial collaborations. The strongest research statements present a readable, compelling, and realistic research agenda that fits well with the needs, facilities, and goals of the department. Research statements can be weakened by overly ambitious proposals, by lack of clear direction, by lack of big-picture focus, or if inadequate attention is given to the needs and facilities of the department or general advice on research statements:The goal of the research statement is to introduce yourself to a search committee, which will probably contain scientists both in and outside your field, and get them excited about your research. The statement may be 2 or more pages, keeping in mind that you want people to read it. It is better to use a larger font and let it run over another page than to squeeze it all onto two of the overarching theme guiding your main research subject area. If you think that your research could lead to answers for big exciting questions - say so! You've already built up credibility in the previous section, now reach for the it all off with a final paragraph that leaves the reader with a good overall impression of your is a delicate balance between a realistic research statement where you promise to work on problems you really do think you can solve and over-reaching or dabbling in too many subject areas. You probably want to select an over-arching theme for your research statement and leave some miscellaneous ideas or projects out of it. Make sure that you describe your research in language that many people outside your specific subject area can understand. Remember that the goal is to get the search committee excited about you - they won't get excited about something they can't will be helpful to point out how some faculty at the department/university that you are applying to could be your collaborators in research and/or sure to include potential funding partners, industrial collaboration! Research statement should convince the search committee not only that you are knowledgeable, but that you are the person to carry out the you have something that sets you apart, (e. A publication in science, nature, or a very prestigious journal in your field) you may want to include are no excuses for spelling to primary to secondary →blog→tags how to write a research the fall 2016 job market i am re-posting the essential job application posts. Afree ic writing program and ic writing to build the acw community by sharing the experiences of academic ibe toacademic ic coaching & writing™.
Writing the research statement: how and why you research what you le a free consultation ic writing program and ic writing to build the acw community by sharing the experiences of academic ibe toacademic ad the writing roundabout ebook ». The writing roundabout ebook to understand the challenges involved in planning, drafting, revising, and editing your academic . Writing the research statement: how and why you research what you 27, 2012 by caroline many academic jobs, not only do candidates need to include a teaching statement in their portfolio, but more and more, candidates also need to include a research statement. This statement offers the opportunity for you to provide more information than what is stated in your cv, course list, and publishing research statement needs to be short and robust. A strong two-page statement, in the end, will be more forceful than a rambling five-page ately, most research statements can follow a fairly specific template that allows you to include the novelty and impact of your research plans. This document is about you: who you are as a researcher, what interests you, where you see your research moving in the future, what your accomplishments are and how they propel you towards new the form at the right to download a template to use in constructing your research statement. Show the reviewer that you are ready to take on the challenge of independent research and that you have a strong foundation for research as evidenced by your knowledge of the core scholarly publications in your discipline as well as the creativity, passion, and drive to take on the cutting-edge research you propose. Convince your reader that your accomplishments ideally suit you to carry out the proposed research. Whenever possible, acknowledge how your work complements the research already happening at the institution where you are applying, or would benefit from collaborations with members of the institution. Think about how to describe your research in a sophisticated manner, according to the big problem + challenge + approach. If you have multiple projects underway, identify each using the same general n the importance of your research interests to academics inside (and outside) your field. Indicate grants you have received, collaborations you have created, and research that has been ize your research goals and projects and provide a trajectory that includes a plan based on academic reading your statement, your readers should be able to summarize the following points:Your ability to succeed based on your prior successes and research you have been working on recently and currently, in what direction you hope to go, and how your research contributes to your short- and long-term goals, your areas of specialty, potential to get grants, academic ability, and compatibility with the department or t a doubt, make clear to your readers that you can carry out research, in the discipline area you propose, given the resources that are and will be available to you, and based on your academic record to you are satisfied with the content of your research statement, review the document to make sure that you avoid jargon. Remember those who read your statement may not be experts in your particular research area. Also, avoid fancy formatting and make sure that the document has no grammatical and mechanical is true with other components of the eportfolio, ask others to read your research statement for content, clarity, conciseness, and email address will not be er my personal me of follow-up comments? Building an ng your ping your voice as an academic easy steps to apa citations and academic academic writers lose confidence and how to regain to get your academic writing done: myths and new research about successful to publish your ational graduate student iews with authors of books on academic steps to becoming a highly productive academic r academic nuts and bolts of publishing an article in a social science secrets of writing successful academic book apa style in academic g a journal article: how to move from evidence to ght © 2017 academic coaching and writing llc. Dissertation doctor is a registered trademark of academic coaching and writing tation coach - academic writing coach - tenure job hunting sign portfolio ation you will find here the purpose of a research statement timeline/getting started with your research statement research statement samples additional research statement resources how career services can help youthe purpose of a research statementthe main goal of a research statement is to walk the search committee through the evolution of your research, to highlight your research accomplishments, and to show where your research will be taking you next.
To a certain extent, the next steps that you identify within your statement will also need to touch on how your research could benefit the institution to which you are applying. This might be in terms of grant money, faculty collaborations, involving students in your research, or developing new courses. Your cv will usually show a search committee where you have done your research, who your mentors have been, the titles of your various research projects, a list of your papers, and it may provide a very brief summary of what some of this research involves. However, there can be certain points of interest that a cv may not always address in enough got you interested in this research? What direction will your research take you in next, and what new questions do you have? You may not have a good sense of where your research will ultimately lead you, you should have a sense of some of the possible destinations along the way. You want to be able to show a search committee that your research is moving forward � and that you are moving forward along with it in terms of developing new skills and knowledge. Ultimately, your research statement should complement your cover letter, cv, and teaching philosophy to illustrate what makes you an ideal candidate for the job. The more clearly you can articulate the path your research has taken, and where it will take you in the future, the more convincing and interesting it will be to read. Note: separate research statements are usually requested from researchers in engineering, social, physical, and life sciences, but can also be requested for researchers in the humanities. In many cases, however, the same information that is covered in the research statement is often integrated into the cover letter for many disciplines within the humanities � and no separate research statement is requested within the job advertisement. Seek advice from current faculty and new hires about the conventions of your discipline if you are in ne: getting started with your research statementyou can think of a research statement as having three distinct parts. The first part will focus on your past research, and can include the reasons you started your research, an explanation as to why the questions you originally asked are important in your field, and a summary some of the work you did to answer some of these early middle part of the research statement focuses on your current research. How is this research different from previous work you have done, and what brought you to where you are today? In other words, do not talk about your research in abstract terms, make sure that you explain your actual results and findings (even if these may not be entirely complete when you are applying for faculty positions), and mention why these results are significant. When the search committee reviewed the candidate's research statement, they very quickly added his application to the "reject" pile.
The candidate actually had a very complete research statement that clearly articulated the future research he wanted to do, and the questions he wanted to answer � that was not the issue. The research statement specifically stated that a primate colony was required to complete most of this research. Since the future research could not be completed at this university, the candidate was no longer a good fit. Since you are hoping that your future will be at one of the institutions to which you are applying, you should provide some convincing reasons why your future research will be possible at each institution, and why it will be beneficial to that institution, or to the students at that best time to write your research statement is when you have some tangible results that you can focus on. And you may only be able to write a convincing "future research" question when you know where you will be applying, as you will need to tailor what you write for each institution (see example of what not to do). While you are focusing on the past, present, and future or your research, and tailoring it to each institution, you should also think about the length of your statement and how detailed or specific you make the descriptions of your research. Can you go into very specific detail, or do you need to talk about your research in broader terms that make sense to people outside of your research field � focusing on the common ground that might exist? Additionally, you should make sure that your future research plans differ from those of your pi or advisor, as you need to be seen as an independent researcher. You can give some idea of a 5-year research plan that includes the studies you want to perform, but also mention your long-term plans, so that the search committee knows that this is not a finite r important consideration when writing about your research is realizing that you do not perform research in a vacuum. When doing your research you may have worked within a team environment at some point, or sought out specific collaborations. While these aspects are not necessarily as important as your results and your papers or patents, they can help paint a picture of you as a well-rounded researcher who is likely to be successful in the future even if new problems arise, for these general steps to begin developing an effective research statement:step 1: think about how and why you got started with your research. The research you completed in the past will have brought you to where you are today; also be sure to show how your research past and research present are connected. Explore some of the techniques and approaches you have successfully used in your research, and describe some of the challenges you overcame. What makes people interested in what you do, and how have you used your research as a tool for teaching or mentoring students? Integrating students into your research may be an important part of your future research at your target institutions. Conclude describing your current research by focusing on your findings, their importance, and what new questions they generate.
Familiarize yourself with the faculty at each institution, and explore the research that they have been performing. You should think about your future research in terms of the students at the institution. You will also need to think about what equipment or resources that you might need to do your future research. You can also mention what you hope to do with your current and future research in terms of publication (whether in journals or as a book) � try to be as specific and honest as possible. Finally, be prepared to talk about how your future research can help bring in grants and other sources of funding, especially if you have a good track record of receiving awards and fellowships. Mention some grants that you know have been awarded to similar research, and state your intention to seek this type of funding. Step 3: ask faculty in your department if they are willing to share their own research statements with you. To a certain extent, there will be some subject-specific differences in what is expected from a research statement, and so it is always a good idea to see how others in your field have done it. You should try to draft your own research statement first before you review any statements shared with you. Your goal is to create a unique research statement that clearly highlights your abilities as a researcher. There are many examples of research statements online, and links to some of these resources are listed below. Step 4: the research statement is typically a few (2-3) pages in length, depending on the number of images, illustrations, or graphs included. Research statement samples the samples provided below do not represent perfect examples of research statements � these are unique documents, and there is no absolute right or wrong way to create them. These samples are provided to help you see how others have talked about their research so that you can understand the range of different approaches that can be taken. You should then review the additional resources section below to gain a more detailed understanding of what you should be thinking about when writing your own research statement. Assorted penn alumni samplescomputer science/data analysis samples:http:///~ssuri/about_me_files/p:///~kovar/ mathematical sciences samplebioinformatics samplethe academic job search handbook contains research statements from a variety of disciplines that were successfully used by candidates applying for academic jobs.
Note: some of these samples represent general research statements that are not being used in specific job applications, and so you may notice the absence of attempts to tailor the statements to specific universities and institutions. Additional resources many of these resources provide a structured approach to developing and revising research statements, as well as additional samples that you can review. You may also notice that the research statements for certain subjects and disciplines have unique attributes (e. If you are in doubt about what your research statement should look like, then seek advice from current faculty in your department/school. Research statements - university of washington career centerdeveloping your research statementresearch statements - duke university career centerpreparing your application materials - university of california, san franciscoone strategy for writing a research statementacademic job search handbookavailable to current doctoral students and postdocs for purchase at penn's career services for $ we can help you can make an appointment to meet with a career advisor at any time, but you will find it more helpful if you have a draft version of your research statement (even if it is just a rough draft) to get the most useful feedback. However, given the length of academic job application materials such as research statement, these 15-minute slots may not be long enough for you to get a complete review of your a look at our calendar of events to see if we have any workshops or panel discussions that might be helpful. Remember, the more you know about an academic institution, what they do and how they do it, the easier it will be to write more effective application ic career ers may use the terms “statement,” “summary,” or “proposal” interchangeably. It tells a search committee about your areas of specialty, your academic knowledge and writing ability, your fit with department faculty expertise and institutional goals, and your potential to make a contribution to your sub-field and/or to win t: your research statement should and current research your current research contributes to your field—its relevance, distinctiveness and research goals for a 3-5 year period and potential excitement about your debt to other scholars but also your independence as a applicable, funding organizations likely to support your research agenda and alternative projects showing the breadth of your : 1-2 pages, 3 at the page-long s content logically into headings, use of bullets and white the benefit of careful proofreading and feedback from more advanced from sample research a literary scholar, i view myself primarily as a general russianist, with a focus on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century russian prose, as well as on broad comparative interests that reach into other disciplines and traditions: in particular, german and french literature, music, western autobiography, and the literary culture of east european jews. I have found this mental discipline, acquired during my undergraduate training in english renaissance poetry, invaluable both in my research and in my teaching. Have published articles on babel and gogol and am currently working on a study of the "fallen woman" theme in tolstoy's resurrection and dostoevsky's brothers karamazov, as well as a pair of commissioned articles on topics related to my dissertation: "odessa/odyssey," on the construction of odessa as nostalgic object, for an edited volume on identity in russian literature and travel writing; and an article, yet to be named, on the literary culture of pre-revolutionary odessa, for symposium: a quarterly journal in modern foreign literatures. This chapter examines whether workers are gaining greater control over terms of work, and if so, if disparities in control over terms exist by data set that i have developed for this dissertation is unique and will be a vital asset to my future research. The overall focus of this interdisciplinary research aims to enhance equitable and responsible management of tropical ecosystems and is based on integrating knowledge of ecological processes in natural systems with the social, political and economic realities as viewed by a diversity of users. Field research is conducted primarily in indonesia where our teams investigate the reproductive ecology, demography and harvest of mast-fruiting dipterocarpceae, the world’s most economically important family of tropical timber trees coupled with vertebrate and invertebrate seed predator populations that require dipterocarp s in protected forest, commercial logging areas and rural villages as well as extensive regional or large-scale surveys are incorporated to address management concerns across several jurisdictional boundaries. Research is/has been funded by nasa, usaid, nsf, as well as several non-governmental organizations and international conservation foundations. Five complimentary long-term research projects are underway:If i were to join the faculty at reed, i would also like to develop a research program on sexual signaling using local animal species that could be studied both in the laboratory and field in the months when classes are in session. To facilitate the development of this new direction to my research, i would be interested in establishing collaborations with dr.
This project has been funded by the office of naval research, with an objective of developing “smart” underwater vehicle systems so that the enemy cannot detect …the new sensing method is numerically validated on a thick-walled cylindrical shell with 55 piezoelectric panels pment of intelligent aerospace and underwater future research goal is to develop “intelligent structural systems” from the micro-scales (mems) to macro-scales (aerospace systems and underwater vehicles), which will… for this research goal, i will focus on the following three research areas. First, i will carry out research on structure/fluid/control interaction phenomena …will be critical design issues in those complex structural systems, both in micro- and macro- scales, so the fundamental understanding of the phenomena is very important to successful implementation of the structural/acoustic control algorithms. Second, i will extend my specialization in smart structures technologies to the development of advanced sensors and actuators for intelligent …integrated within the systems will be critical in future areas of research. Finally, i will continue my research on advanced control and decision-making algorithms for noise and vibration reduction of complex structural systems….