We recommend methods and software/tools to facilitate management of concurrent research activities across the timeline. Here we lay out a conceptual taxonomy of the life cycle of a project, from brainstorming ideas through to a final deliverable product. Interestingly, unlike other fields such as business, there are few well-known, generally accepted guidelines for best practices available to researchers. The optimization of resources and talent toward impactful goals requires the ability to organize, store, and rapidly access information that is integrated with project planning structures. likewise occur over several different timescales. The planning of changes in research emphasis, hiring, grant-writing, etc.
Mailsteward how to#
Especially difficult is the fact that attention needs to span many orders of scale, from decisions about which problems should be pursued by the group in the coming years and how to tackle those problems to putting out regular “fires” associated with the minutiae of managing people and limited resources toward the committed goals. The integration of deep creative thought together with the practical steps of implementing a research plan and running a laboratory on a day-to-day basis is one of the great challenges of the modern scientific enterprise. At the same time, however, the PI must make strategic decisions that will impact the future direction(s) of the laboratory and its personnel. In the immediate term, there are experiments to do, papers and grants to write, and presentations to construct, in addition to teaching and departmental duties. Additional difficulties arise when one is the Principal Investigator (PI) of those researchers: as group size and scope of inquiry increases, the challenges of managing people and projects and the interlocking timelines, finances, and information pertaining to those projects present a continuous challenge. Researchers, at all stages of their careers, are facing an ever-increasing deluge of information and deadlines. The principles and workflow described here are applicable to many different fields. Strategies for managing the organization of, and access to, digital information and planning structures can greatly facilitate the efficiency and impact of an active scientific enterprise.
Mailsteward software#
Specific software products, suggested use cases, and examples are shown across the life cycle from idea to publication. Here we discuss strategies and tools/software that, together or individually, can be used as is or adapted to any size scientific laboratory. Numerous tools now exist that facilitate the storage and retrieval of information necessary for running a laboratory to advance specific project goals within associated timelines. These range from enhancing creative thought and keeping track of ideas to organizing and prioritizing the activity of the members of the group. Primary Investigators at all levels of their career face a range of challenges related to optimizing their activity within the constraints of deadlines and productive research.
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