How to be an Independent Researcher
An informative video all about becoming an independent researcher from someone with 3.5 years of experience before transitioning to a funded PhD program. This video is geared towards the Humanities, specifically within the UK, but the guidance will apply across disciplines and geographies. I also speak about the nuanced difficulties of being an independent researcher in the Social Sciences and STEM.
Video chapters:
00:00 Introduction
05:03 What is an independent researcher?
08:09 Why should you become an independent researcher?
10:39 Defining your goals and intrinsic motivations
11:50 The pros
14:13 The cons
17:45 The first five steps
22:22 Networking tips
25:10 Publishing tips
30:05 Practical resources
36:53 Closing remarks
Practical resources mentioned at the end of the video include:
Accepted Society
Perlego
JSTOR account
ResearchGate
R.Discovery
Taylor & Francis, or similar, alerts for selected journals
Your choice of reference manager software (e.g. Zotero, Mendeley, etc.)
Routledge Open Research for peer-reviewed publication
BlueSky
LinkedIn
Cfplist(dot)com - call for papers database
SkillShare - search term: academic research
YouTube, for student-created research guidance videos
Coursera - Free courses
University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education - Short Courses; these courses range in cost with attendance options including online, in-person, and hybrid