A practical toolkit for researchers
In order to be successful in the highly competitive arena of international research, you need to continually develop various skills and to engage in a wide range of activities. This toolkit compiled by Corvinus University Library offers you a set of freely available resources that can help you to enhance your career as a researcher.
As a successful researcher, you need to hone your skills of academic writing, presentation, research methodology and research project planning. These useful resources will help you on your path.
Writing
Writing
Academic writing encompasses a set of skills you need to communicate your results effectively in formal written prose.
Academic Writing courses and consultations at Corvinus University Library
Academic Writing courses and consultations at Corvinus University Library
Whether you are a young BA student or a seasoned researcher, we have something to offer you. Our Academic Writing courses and personalized consultations are open to all Corvinus citizens. For more information, explore our Writing Center:
Online Writing Guides and Tutorials
Online Writing Guides and Tutorials
In addition to joining one of our courses and consultations, you may also wish to consult one of the many online writing guides and tutorials such as:
Style guides
Style guides
Follow one of the established style guides to make sure that your publication follows the expected norms and looks respectable. Make sure to pick the style guide that is relevant for your field.
AP (journalism, news) | overview from Purdue University; the guide itself | |
Chicago Manual of Style (humanities) | overview from Purdue University; the guide itself | |
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Style (computer science, engineering) | overview from Purdue University; the guide itself | |
American Psychological Association (social sciences) | overview: coming soon; the guide itself |
Visual formatting
Visual formatting
First impressions matter, and the first impression your paper makes on readers is by its physical appearance. Make sure your paper looks great in terms of formatting by following this tutorial from the Modern Language Association Style Center:
Formatting Your Research Project (by the MLA Style Center)
Citation best practices
Citation best practices
As researchers, we have many reasons to cite: to acknowledge the work of others, to allow readers to check our sources, the point readers to useful literature, and to show that we have done our research. How and what to cite, however, can be thorny issues. The resources listed here help you to adopt citation best practices and to steer clear of plagiarism:
1. An overview from MIT Libraries of Citing Sources
2. On overview from MIT of Academic Integrity
3. Avoiding plagiarism:
Citation styles
Citation styles
The technical details of citing and referencing can be dauntingly complex and there are different citation formats out there. Here you can find thorough descriptions of some of the most widely used systems. Note also that there are many easy-to use citation management tools which make citing and referencing very easy (see next section).
Chicago Manual of Style
American Psychological Association (APA), from Purdue University
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (from Victoria University)
Citation management tools
Collaborative writing tools
Collaborative writing tools
As a researcher, you are never on your own: science is all about collaboration. Luckily, there are many tools out there designed to make working together easy and efficient: Here is a collection:
Reading, organizing and annotating papers and manuscripts
Reading, organizing and annotating papers and manuscripts
Reading and annotating previously published research is a daily routine of every researcher. You can move beyond paper and pencil by using one of the tools below:
Storing and organizing files
Storing and organizing files
As researchers, we are generating lots of files and we are constantly on the go. Therefore, it is essential that you find a way to store and organize your files. These application have proved helpful to many people:
Conference talks, presentations and posters
Conference talks, presentations and posters
In addition to written publications, researchers communicate and share their results by giving talks and poster presentations at conferences and workshops. These events are great for sharing your results, increasing your visibility, getting inspired by others, professional networking and a lot more. It is important that you hone your presentation skills to be successful in this important arena.
Presentation trainings at Corvinus University Library
Presentation trainings at Corvinus University Library
Whether you are a young BA student or a seasoned researcher, we have something to offer you. Our presentation trainings are open to all Corvinus citizens. For more information, explore our Writing Center:
Online Guides and Tutorials about conference talks, presentations and posters
Online Guides and Tutorials about conference talks, presentations and posters
While many of us researchers are a bit on the introverted side, it is important that we develop the presentation skills needed to make the most of conferences and workshops. The good news is that here as well, practice makes perfect – but some tutorials can also be helpful:
- Video tutorial from Corvinus University Library
- A concise tutorial about giving a talk by Michael Ernst (University of Washington)
- Another concise tutorial by Michael Ernst, on poster presentations
- A detailed and wide-ranging tutorial by Mikhail A. Kats (SPIE)
- Dos and Don’ts of giving a talk by Scott Keogh (Australian National University)
Creating a presentation
Creating a presentation
There are many tools for creating a presentation, here is a selection:
- Creating a scientific presentation in PowerPoint (Northwestern University)
- Creating a presentation using LaTeX: A tutorial for beginners from Overleaf
- Also check out the LaTeX courses of our Writing Center in English and in Hungarian
- Creating a scientific presentation in Prezi
Creating a poster
Creating a poster
Creating a good poster is considered by many to be an art form. Here are some selected tutorials plus templates for your use.
- A guide to designing effective posters in PowerPoint (University of North Carolina)
- How to create a research poster? (New York University)
- Creating an Effective Poster Presentation (University of North Carolina)
- Free poster templates at PosterPresentations.com
- Another source of free post templates (MakeSigns)
Research methodology and Research data management
Research methodology & Research data management
In science, claims need to backed up by solid evidence. And exactly how solid your evidence is depends on your methodology and on your data. Below, we provide a handful of selected resources.
Research methodology
Research methodology
- Sage Research Methods is a comprehensive, detailed and very user-friendly source on pretty much everything that comes under the umbrella of research methods (subscription-based, full access for Corvinus citizens through Corvinus VPN)
- Field-specific, detailed and up-to-date research guides from MIT Libraries
Research data management
Research data management
- A comprehensive research data management guide from MIT Libraries
- A guide to social science data preparation and archiving from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
Research project management
Research project management
As any PhD student will tell you, life as researcher involves trying to stay atop several concurrent research project. Thus, research project management skills and tools are essential. Here is a collection of resources.
Research project management skills
Research project management skills
- This Project Planner from SAGE will guide you through the stages of your research project (subscription-based, full access for Corvinus citizens through Corvinus VPN)
- Vitae offers a comprehensive take on the various aspects of research project management
Research project management tools
Research project management tools
- Research project management tools (from Vitae)
Publication strategies
Publication strategies
In academia, the results do not always speak for themselves. It is your task to market your findings, and this involves the adoption of an appropriate publication strategy.
The publishing process
Academic publishing is a long, winding and often arduous process. Knowing what to expect and getting prepared to make the right choices at important junctions is the key for successfully navigating this challenging terrain.
Picking the right journal for your paper
Choosing the right journal for your paper vastly increases the chances of acceptance and publication. What is more, it also increases the visibility of your paper by helping you to reach just the right audience.
- EconBiz (a service of the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics) offers a concise and friendly tutorial about finding the right journal for your paper, the rewards of open access publishing, the perils of predatory journals (and how to avoid them) and your rights as an author
- The University of Manchester Library offers guidance on where to publish your research
- Springer has a useful checklist on choosing a target journal
Maintaining your publication profile
Taking care of your author ID (ORCID, Publons or Scopus Author ID) and maintaining a profile of your academic activities (on ORCID, GoogleScholar, Publons or Scopus) is essential in order to make your publications visible.
- The University of Bergen Library has a handy guide
Repositories & Open Access
Repositories & Open Access
As a researcher, you want your academic output to be available to the broadest possible audience, as early as possible. Repositories and the open access movement are your friends in this endeavour.
Repositories
Repositories are essential in making your academic output accessible to the widest possible audience, at the earliest possible time:
- Institutional repositories of Corvinus University Library
- A great guide to the various kinds of repositories (institutional, disciplinary and multi-disciplinary) from the University of Southern California Library
- Looking for the right disciplinary repository for your paper? Have a look at the Disciplinary Repository Wiki.
- A guide from Taylor & Francis to data repositories
Open access
The open access model of publishing is taking academia by a storm, and for very good reasons. Check out these hand guides and get ready to join the revolution:
- A detailed guide to open access from Corvinus University Library
- Open Access Tutorial from Springer Nature
Conferences & Workshops
Conferences & Workshops
Contrary to popular beliefs, academica is extremely social and community-based. Conferences and workshops are crucial rituals and also very practical exchanges of ideas and inspiration.
Participating at Conferences & Workshops
Conferences are the lifeblood of research: the place where you can share your ideas, inspire and get inspired, and forged professional and personal relationships. In order to make the most of your conference experience, check out the guides below:
Organizing Conferences & Workshops
Organizing conferences is an important service to the research community. It is also a great way to expand your professional network and increase your visibility and name recognition. Conferences are logistically complex events which need a lot of forward planning. The resources below provide essential help to get started:
Teaching
Teaching
Most researchers also have teaching duties. Ideally, these two activities reinforce each other. In practice, combining these two is not a trivial task.
The benefits of teaching for your research career
- The benefits of teaching for your research career, from Science
How to combine research and teaching
- 10 simple rules to combine research and teaching from PLOS
Reviewing & Editing
Reviewing & Editing
Reviewing and editing are part and parcel of academic life. In addition to being acts of essential service to the community, they are also a nice way for you to widen your perspectives and expand your professional network.
Reviewing
Accepting a request to act as a peer reviewer is an important service to your discipline. It is also a way for you to expand your professional network and increase your visibility. Writing a good peer review can be a challenge. The good news is that there are many useful guides:
Editing
Acting as an editor of a journal or a volume of studies is a tremendous responsibility and a huge task. In addition to being a major act of professional service, editorship is also a great way to increase your knowledge and expand your professional network.
- Springer Nature has a useful concise guide for editors
- Taylor & Francis offers comprehensive guidance to editors
- The University of Kansas Libraries have an excellent collection of resources for academic editors
Online presence
Online presence
Just like our private lives, more and more of our professional lives are taking place online. Social media, your professional homepage, blogging or microblogging are essential ways to build up and maintain your profile as a researcher.
Personal professional homepage
A personal professional website is probably the most efficient way to take ownership of your online presence and persona.
- Why have a personal academic website – from Claremont Graduate University
- A concise guide from the University of California (Berkeley)
- A practical guide from The Leveraged PhD
Twitter is increasingly used by academics both to engage in academic discussion and also to reach a non-academic audience.
- A guide from PLOS SciComm
- A friendly step-by-step beginners’ guide from Sarah Mojarad
- A very insightful discussion of the pros and cons of a Twitter presence from Johns Hopkins University
Blogging
Blogging about your research can increase your visibility and recognition (both to a professional and a non-professional audience), but it is not without its pitfalls.
- The London School of Economics has a wealth of material related to academic blogging
- A concise guide to writing an academic blog from the University of Waterloo
Social media (ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Mendeley, LinkedIn)
Social media is a crucial tool for curating your professional profile and making your work and yourself visible.