Building a research pipelineBPS Doctoral Consortium 2013Kira R. Fabrizio

Boston University

Pruning: choosing the branches of the treeFocus your growth; choose what

NOT to work on. Prune aggressively.

Reinforce important branches◦Look for opportunities to pursue

additional research questions.◦Find ways to use and recombine your

data to investigate new topics.

Watering:feeding the growth of your treeCo-authors: leverage & energy or

distraction?Join the discussion

◦Follow the research conversation◦Go to conferences, seminars, talks ◦Seek out peers for discussion groups◦Share your work early and often

Keep your eyes open for events and opportunities that relate to your interests (policy changes, corporate announcements, historical events, etc.)

Ethics re: tree growthMaintain your own highest professional

standards. Doing cutting-edge, creative research is the best way to advance.

Copying your own published work is still copyright infringement. Be careful.

Be a respected part of the research community.◦This depends on your research,

thoughtfulness, integrity, and respect for others.

What shape is your tree?

What shape is your tree?Be aware of the research profile

you are building, craft it purposefully, be reflective about your work.◦What interests you about your

projects?◦Where are there commonalities?◦What are the biggest outstanding

questions?Write your research statement

NOW, revisit it every year.

Maintaining motivationYour work WILL get rejected. Probably many times. Find your way to stay motivated:

◦Co-authors and peers to share experiences with.

◦Work on topics that you believe are important; reflect on the tree you are developing and why it is meaningful.

◦Build your life outside of your job (family, hobbies, faith, etc.)