New PubHub website helps students hone research-publishing skills
UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa. — For students struggling with writing manuscripts for refereed
journals, or even those who just want to hone their research-writing skills,
help has arrived in the form of more than 50 online learning modules, collectively
called PubHub and
made available last spring by the Penn State Council on Engaged Scholarship.
“As
part of the Council on Engaged Scholarship, we were looking at ways to expand
opportunities for undergrads to engage in research experiences,” said Khanjan
Mehta, director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship
Program and assistant professor of engineering design. “One of our observations
while talking to faculty members and students was that while a sizeable number
of students were engaged in research, only a fraction of those experiences led
to publications. Publishing one’s work in a refereed journal is the pinnacle of
participation in the professional academic culture. It provides students with a
window into a professional career as a researcher and enhances their
competitiveness in graduate school applications and the job market.”
To
help students advance their research writing and publishing abilities, Mehta
and more than 30 additional Penn State faculty and staff members designed
PubHub, a collection of four sets of learning modules in the form of
downloadable PDFs that relate to navigating the publication process, preparing
strong manuscripts for refereed journals, developing research-writing skills,
and making the most of professional conferences. WPSU created a video describing the modules available through PubHub. The
modules are available to all students, regardless of their major or area of
study.
“We
were careful to include examples from different disciplines — from engineering
and natural sciences to the humanities and social sciences,” said Mehta, who
noted that stronger writing skills and conference participation are helpful to
all students.
PubHub
also includes video clips of staff members from across the University
explaining the services they provide to students. In addition, modules are
available to help students brand their research, write competitive fellowship
or grant applications, and write research proposals.
The
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence and the Council on Engaged
Scholarship, which has evolved into the Student Engagement Network, sponsored
the creation of PubHub. The network’s goal is to encourage undergraduate
students to engage in experiences that complement in-class learning.
“Research,
publishing and presenting are important aspects of student engagement,” said
Mehta. “Through these activities, students develop skills such as
communication, persistence, creativity, judgment and organization. They also
gain greater autonomy and self-efficacy.”
In
turn, he added, having undergraduate students participate in research and
publishing helps faculty members increase their research productivity and
ultimately enhances the visibility of the University as the volume of
high-quality publications grow.
“There
is an ethical imperative to publish and make knowledge public, especially when
the research is supported by taxpayer dollars,” said Mehta. “And students are
best served by Penn State if they understand the ins and outs of this process.
That’s why we created PubHub.”
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
No comments:
Post a Comment