Drafting and crunching

Today:



I sent my bit of a paper off to a co-author for checking.


I started drafting a second.


I crunched a lot of data in an Excel spreadsheet.

Searching: Could it be you?

Spent most of today tailoring a research paper to meet the specific publication requirements of my key target journal.  Nearly there.

In the meantime, a call has come round the psychology department for an academic to talk to local media about the speculated lottery win that may have taken place in Coventry.

They would like someone to discuss the psychological impact of winning a huge sum of money, and the possible reasons why the winner of the recent Euromillions jackpot has not yet claimed it.

I was tempted to volunteer but (a) I have no particular expertise in this field and (b) I may well be tied up conducting a fingertip search of all the pavements and litter bins in Coventry... just in case.

pic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/National_Lottery_play_here%2121_sign.jpg

Time for a trim

Spent today responding to enquiries about the motivational interviewing courses, and then trying to be ruthless with a research paper I've written on my PCOS research. 

It has a lot of qualitative data extracts in it, and I need to edit it from about 6,000 to 4,000 words.  When I last looked at it I found it impossible to decide which women's words could be cut out.  But if I want to have a chance of changing the way healthcare is offered in similar cases, I need to get at least part of the story published. A shorter paper that gets into print will have infinitely more impact than a longer 'richer' one that never sees the light of day.

Out with the metaphorical scissors I think.