Curate Your Own Work

By Janet Salmons, Ph.D.

“The past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare in The Tempest

We know how to proof and edit without mercy. We are accustomed to having our writing reviewed by editors and peers. What happens when we take these processes to the next level and initiate a critical review with an eye to a radical update, synthesis, and new publication(s) based on the writing we’ve done throughout our careers? That is the project I am undertaking as a fellow of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies. The concept grew out of a TAA conference session, so I look forward to sharing lessons learned and inviting you to consider curating your work.

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Routledge Sells Out Authors to AI

by Janet Salmons, PhD

An unassuming post on LinkedIn asked “Have you ever published with Taylor & Francis, Routledge, CRC Press, F1000 or Dove Medical Press? If so the rights for AI to harvest your work have been sold to Microsoft which it will use to power MS Co-Pilot.”

Really. Funny thing, I never heard a peep about this from Routledge, even though I have three books published with them. I wrote to ask what the heck is going on, and received this response from a Taylor & Francis/Routledge Editor:

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Writing under duress (or, Writing 2020!)

On one hand, with social isolation and no distractions from travel, concerts, theatre, or friends, it has been a productive year. I’ve completed three short books, and two more are in press. Writing has given me focus and kept me busy. (Alas, no sourdough…) On the other hand, it has been extraordinarily difficult.

My writing practice is centered on books and blogs. This year I discovered a big difference—besides the obvious one of length.

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Writing an award-winning book: Interview with Dr. Cheryl Poth

Innovation in Mixed Methods Research: A Practical Guide to Integrative Thinking with Complexity won the 2020 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. In 2019 Dr. Poth was awarded TAA’s McGuffey Longevity Award as co-author of Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Given that last month we focused on mixed methods and this month we are focusing on careers, I wanted to chat with Dr. Poth about her book, and strategies that might help prospective textbook authors succeed.

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Writing with open ears

It’s time for a new edition of Doing Qualitative Research Online! I previously wrote how I began the process of updating and enhancing this book. Every time I write or update a book, I promise myself that I will do better next time and not end up with chaotic versions or incorrectly-labeled figures. I was approaching this project in a systematic fashion, reading through the 2016 edition with fresh eyes, making minor changes, and taking notes about steps to take for more significant additions to content.

I was confidently moving along, and then…boom! The world changed! Whether we’re grappling with school closures, isolation, illness or spending our time cancelling all the travel we had planned, it is hard to escape this pervasive pandemic. And for researchers, the impact is nothing short of profound.

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Author Interview with Dr. Callie Rennison

Has this ever happened to you? You are reading online about someone’s work, then discover they are close-by in your own community? When I was looking at the impressive winners of this year’s TAA awards, I was struck by the fact that one SAGE author won prizes for two books. This is a very rigorous peer-reviewed award, so winning twice in the same year is remarkable. As luck would have it, Dr. Callie Rennison is a local.

Back in the halcyon days of last week, when we could actually meet someone in person for coffee, I had a chance to speak with her. I was so impressed by her whole approach to research, writing, and teaching, I wanted to give MethodSpace readers a chance to hear from her. So rather than give you a written exchange, we met in GoToWebinar for this interview.

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