{"id":133,"date":"2008-02-19T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-19T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/2008\/02\/19\/crossposting-due-to-image-incompetence\/"},"modified":"2008-02-19T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-19T15:40:00","slug":"crossposting-due-to-image-incompetence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/2008\/02\/19\/crossposting-due-to-image-incompetence\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossposting due to image incompetence"},"content":{"rendered":"

I originally created this post simply as a place to display an image for my Nature Blog, which has a very confusing link and upload process. It’s totally not working out so I’m just going to leave the image here, and paste the text in too so it makes a bit more sense!
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<\/a>
My job as a research development facilitator means that I get to help colleagues write their grants. Lots of them. For very different projects. For example, I\u2019m currently working on 6 different applications to the same competition, including basic, translational and clinical research proposals.<\/p>\n

The various PIs and clinicians who I work with often ask me to write all, or part of, the grant\u2019s introduction section. Due to the wide range of projects I cover, this is often on a subject that I\u2019m not all that familiar with. Luckily this is something that I enjoy and am good at, and the more I do it, the more I see a pattern in my literature searches.<\/p>\n

The pattern resembles a diamond \u2013 starting off at a single focused point, broadening out until I seem to have read half the contents of the library, then narrowing back in to a focused introduction section.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an illustration of the process (and of why I\u2019m a writer, not an illustrator):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Step 1) I start with a focused review article in the area of interest. I read it, and highlight the primary papers that look relevant.<\/p>\n

2) On to PubMed<\/a>! I widen my scope by printing* and reading the first set of research papers.<\/p>\n

3) Each one cites more primary papers that also look relevant.<\/p>\n

4) Back to PubMed! More printing and reading!<\/p>\n

5) Bloody hell, these papers are citing others that I haven\u2019t even looked at yet. Gotta keep broadening that scope.<\/p>\n

6) Back to PubMed! Can\u2019t I just go to the Pub instead?<\/p>\n

7) Oh my god, there\u2019s more. Will it never end?<\/p>\n

8) Back to PubMed! I\u2019m starting to forget what the surface of my desk looks like. If my reading gets any broader I may as well just pull out the novel that\u2019s calling my name from my gym bag.<\/p>\n

9) A theme starts to emerge. Connections are made with papers that I read way back before the dawn of time (i.e. yesterday). I think I\u2019m getting it.<\/p>\n

10) Some of these papers actually aren\u2019t as relevant as I thought they were. Better get a bigger recycling bin.<\/p>\n

11) More themes! And some of them lead logically into one another! Hip hip hooray, and the sun is even shining. I can write a focused structural plan for my introduction now.<\/p>\n

12) This writing stuff is a doddle once you\u2019ve done all the reading and organising.<\/p>\n

13) There you go Dr X, a beautifully focused and relevant introduction to your grant\u2019s hypothesis\u2026<\/p>\n

…oh, the hypothesis changed today?<\/p>\n

Will someone please bring me a new review paper? And a large whisky?<\/p>\n

Ta.<\/p>\n

1) …<\/p>\n

*Yes, the process uses a lot of paper, but I just can\u2019t read properly on screen. I compensate by printing double-sided, recycling absolutely everything, and feeling guilty all the time.<\/p>\n

Also seen here<\/a>. With or without image, depending on when you look and which browser you’re using…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I originally created this post simply as a place to display an image for my Nature Blog, which has a very confusing link and upload process. It’s totally not working out so I’m just going to leave the image here, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,28,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career","category-communication","category-grant-wrangling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/vwxynot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}