Reproducibility is pivotal to research. Researchers from various disciplines must be aware of valid studies to build on, sifting away unreliable methods and data, or worse still, false leads.

Depending on the discipline that your research is located in and your specific research project, there are broadly two different ways in which you can approach organising, reading for and writing your literature review: either chronologically or thematically. This article explores some of the factors to consider as you begin to plan your literature review.

The main focus in a chronological literature review is to trace the development of studies, debates or theories in your subject area, and to identify how a central ‘problem’ or question(s) has been dealt with over a period of time.

In a thematic literature review, you group the literature "as you see it". It is perhaps therefore a more common way to organise your literature review than a chronological literature review. 

The impact factor (IF) is a number, a metric, a ‘way to keep score’ that is based upon the number of citations that articles published in a journal receive over a specific time. This article discusses the benefits and disadvantages of this metric.

In research, bias means a deviation from the truth in data collection, analysis, interpretation or publication. This article discusses the reasons why biases occur and some steps for avoiding them.

The ‘impact’ of a piece of research is difficult to quantify. For that reason, researchers often turn to the impact factor (IF) of journals within which they are published. Unfortunately, there has been an unhealthy overreliance on IFs in the academic space, which calls to question whether this is a useful metric, and is prompting researchers to rethink their take on ‘impact’.

This webinar, organised for Peer Review Week 2022, discusses the importance of peer review in enabling research integrity.

A duplicate publication is the publication of the same paper in more than one journal. It may also refer to the publication of a paper that overlaps substantially with one already published, without reference to the original publication.

The significance of a study refers to the contribution(s) to and impact of the study on a research field. The significance also signals who benefits from the research findings and how.

Many PhD students don’t manage to publish their findings during their PhD, but are encouraged to do so after completion of their project. This articles provides some practical tips for publishing and promoting your thesis.

The PhD prospectus is an academic document usually demanded in American university systems. It is mostly associated with PhD programmes.

The PhD application package usually requires that you prepare a number of possible documents. Regardless of which items are required, you should consider all the documents as components contributing to a whole application. These components, when reviewed together, should be able to effectively convey your motivation for researching a particular topic at a specific institution.

In this webinar organised for Academic Writing Month 2022, watch our experts share tips on how to write your literature review.

When meeting with a disproven or failed hypothesis, after having expended so much time and effort, precisely how should researchers respond? Responding well to a disproven or failed hypothesis is an essential component to scientific research. This article explores common reasons why a hypothesis fails, as well as specific ways you can respond and lessons you can learn from this. 

Withdrawals and/or retractions can negatively impact your reputation as a researcher, which is why it is important to avoid them and keep your publication pipeline healthy and productive.

Occasionally, researchers inadvertently submit their articles to predatory journals. Here, we consider some scenarios that you might find yourself in, and suggest some steps that you can take in each case.

In this webinar organised for Academic Writing Month 2022, watch our experts share tips and strategies on how to avoid common academic writing errors.

If your submission is not accepted by your first-choice journal, that journal’s editor can refer the paper to another publication which they think would be more suitable. This is known as journal transfer or transfer cascade.

An academic monograph agree is generally a single-authored, scholarly contribution of professional research on a specific topic or aspect of a topic. This article explains the reasons and considerations for writing and publishing a monograph.