Since writing my previous blog post 'the importance of being open', I was asked to write a guest blog for the DNA Digest website and newsletter. DNA Digest is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote the secure sharing of genomics data for research. I was given the briefing to "try to somehow generalise the data sharing problems in scientific research and base it on your own experience in ecology". Although I was excited to have the opportunity to produce a piece of writing and have that shared with a wider audience than my twitter account can reach, I was also quite nervous. Surely there was someone better for the job than a first year PhD student with only a few years of exposure to the realm of scientific research, how much did I really know about the topic? I will be honest and say that I wrote and rewrote the piece way too many times and worried about it constantly for a good couple of weeks. But in the end, with a bit of Googling and reading around I was able to produce something that I didn't think was completely wrong, especially after a nudge from my supervisor to just stop and send it off. And I am glad I did!
As an experience, it was a good one. I was able to write a piece, directed at an audience that was wider than the ecological community, work on being concise and learn a little more about an issue not only within my own field but one that is prevalent in others too. I have also learnt not to worry too much about what other people will think, that shouldn't be a barrier to learning. Researching a topic and writing about it is a great way to learn and knowing that you or someone else will post the finished product forces you to get it done.
So, don't let the nerves get the better of you! I would encourage anyone to try and write a short piece on something they feel they know little about, you soon realise you know more than you think and it encourages you to research the area so as not to say something completely wrong! If you aren't going to post it somewhere yourself, find somewhere else to put it; perhaps your department has a blog. You never know who could read it and what other opportunities could arise from that small piece of work.
If you are interested in seeing my post, it can be found on the DNA Digest website here.
As an experience, it was a good one. I was able to write a piece, directed at an audience that was wider than the ecological community, work on being concise and learn a little more about an issue not only within my own field but one that is prevalent in others too. I have also learnt not to worry too much about what other people will think, that shouldn't be a barrier to learning. Researching a topic and writing about it is a great way to learn and knowing that you or someone else will post the finished product forces you to get it done.
So, don't let the nerves get the better of you! I would encourage anyone to try and write a short piece on something they feel they know little about, you soon realise you know more than you think and it encourages you to research the area so as not to say something completely wrong! If you aren't going to post it somewhere yourself, find somewhere else to put it; perhaps your department has a blog. You never know who could read it and what other opportunities could arise from that small piece of work.
If you are interested in seeing my post, it can be found on the DNA Digest website here.