7 Must-read academic blogs for researchers and PhD students

February 13, 2024 | Sector: FMGC

I am a scicomm junkie! I love scouring the Internet for instances of researchers and other professionals within science and academia engaging in online science communication and outreach. Not to mention picking up and following the buzz around various trending social media conversations initiated by these individuals! Of all the existing forms of online engagement, academic blogs are at the top of my list of sources to learn more about what researchers really feel about the scholarly publishing industry. Blogs offer a great way to pick up chatter about what’s brewing in scholarly publishing and what researchers think about specific aspects of academia.
 
Today, researchers blog to talk about their research interests, their own publications, advances and innovations within their academic disciplines, and personal views about various aspects of the scholarly publishing industry. They also use blogging platforms to share experiences and anecdotes from across their academic careers as well as some of the challenges they faced along the way and how they scaled them. Several blogs are also dedicated to providing tips and guidance to fellow researchers and PhD students as they embark on their own academic journey.
 
In this post, I’d like to share 40 popular blogs by academics. Each listing gives you a brief idea of what you will find in the blog. Aside from being avid bloggers, these academics also have a prominent Twitter presence. For this reason, I’ve also included one of their tweets at the end of each listing. I hope you like this list and find an academic blog that you really enjoy reading!

1. Academics Write (@academicswrite):
 
As the name suggests, Academics Write is a blog about “academic writing in all disciplines.” Blog owner, Kim Mitchell is from a nursing discipline and is an Instructor at Red River College, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. Academics Write hosts an interesting mix of blog posts that includes research-based information, experience-based stories and anecdotes, and opinion pieces. Writing for an audience of post-secondary instructors, academic writers, and students, Kim blogs about topics such as the value of writing, self-efficacy, myths about academic writing, and deciding when it is right to grant a student an extension.

NEW BLOG! 6 myths of academic writing that are not helping our students learn to write better. Please comment and add to the list. I know I've probably missed a few. #AcWri https://t.co/wTV6AM50Xd
 
— Academics Write (@academicswrite) January 23, 2018

2. Athene Donald's Blog (@AtheneDonald):
 
Athene Donald is a Physics Professor at the University of Cambridge, and has been a professor for over 20 years. Unlike some of the other blogs in this list that have adopted a coaching-oriented approach, Professor Donald’s blog seems to offer researchers’ opinions and perspectives. Her blog posts cover topics such as what to do and avoid doing at academic conferences, gender disparity in academia, etc. She also attempts to maintain a balance by sharing a few blog posts about her personal life and interests. 

Who are the worst offenders in conference time-keeping? My post:Guilty of Rambling on https://t.co/OHIKIDWOyZ
 
— Athene Donald (@AtheneDonald) March 30, 2018


3. Belcher Writing Advice (@WendyLBelcher):
 
Belcher Writing Advice is a blog that covers two broad topics--writing advice for academics, and research and teaching about Africa. It is managed by Wendy Laura Belcher, Associate Professor of African Literature at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Department of African American Studies. With respect to academic writing, Belcher Writing Advice covers topics such as writing a journal article, writing a book review, how to read journals, and how to manage a peer-reviewed journal. The blog also offers a rich archive of reading material for readers who share Wendy’s research interests, i.e., African literature.

Reviews of Peer-Reviewed Journals in Humanities & Social Sciences
 
The scuttlebutt on academic journals,
aiding you in selecting the right journal for publication,
written by Princeton grad students.https://t.co/CchlTDc27h#AcWri #GetYourManuscriptOut #PhDChat #12weekarticle
 
— Wendy Laura Belcher (@WendyLBelcher) February 25, 2018


4. Beyond the Doctorate (@FionaEWhelan):
 
Beyond the Doctorate is a blog managed by Dr. Fiona Whelan, Academic Standards and Quality Officer at Queen Mary University of London. Dr. Whelan’s blog goes beyond discussions about her academic career. She started this blog with the intention of sharing her experiences with other doctoral students as she made “a transition away from pure research into a practical, real-world job.” She blogs about topics such as the challenges of post-doctoral research life and advises students about dealing with different stages of academic life, exploring alternative academic careers, etc.

Why I didn't apply for that "perfect" academic job and how I learned to be honest with myself about what it would take for me to come back to academia. Hint: it is about wellbeing. #ecr #ecrchat #altac https://t.co/5fxSJoHp3O
 
— Dr Fiona Whelan ☘ (@FionaEWhelan) April 3, 2018

5. Dan Cohen (@dancohen):
 
Dr. Dan Cohen is a Vice Provost, Dean, and Professor at Northeastern University. He blogs about topics such as current trends in library and information science, digital libraries, ebooks, the influence of digital technology on various aspects of life today, web cultures, digital humanities, digital public libraries, science communication trends, and science publishing. In an interesting post, Dr. Cohen talks about a concept that he has called “blessay.” According to him, the blessay is “a manifestation of the convergence of journalism and scholarship in mid-length forms online.” He further explains that a blessay avoids academic jargon as it is written for “both specialists and an intelligent general audience.”