Margaret Kosmala

Author's details

Date registered: October 2, 2015
URL: http://margaretkosmala.com

Latest posts

First steps — February 16, 2017
A missing voice — February 8, 2017
On requesting letters of recommendation — January 11, 2017
First year retrospective — January 4, 2017
How NOT to get a postdoc position — December 14, 2016

Author's posts listings

The resurgence of Title IX and women’s rights in U.S. academia

February 24, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

February 24, 2016

Less than two years ago, the U.S. Department of Education released a list of 55 institutions of higher education in 27 states that it was investigating for improper handling of sexual harassment and assault complaints. Since then, results from surveys looking at sexual harassment and assault in U.S. higher education and in the field have …

Leave comment

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/02/24/the-resurgence-of-title-ix-and-womens-rights-in-u-s-academia/

Parent accommodations at ESA 2016

February 15, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

February 15, 2016

Abstracts for ESA’s annual August meeting (in Fort Lauderdale this year) are due soon — a week from Thursday. And if you are early career and a parent, you may be making your decision about whether to attend or not right now. For many of us early career folks, presenting at the meeting is required …

5 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/02/15/parent-accommodations-at-esa-2016/

Reflections on my first first-author pub (and the seven years it took to get there)

February 10, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

February 10, 2016

Coincidentally coinciding with my birthday, my first first-author publication came out this week. A nice birthday gift. Considering the paper has been seven years in the making (and that I’ve only been in the ecology field for a little more than nine years), this publication is also a moment for reflection for me. I’m hoping …

9 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/02/10/reflections-on-my-first-first-author-pub-and-the-seven-years-it-took-to-get-there/

Stop using unlinked footnotes, please!

February 8, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

February 8, 2016

Please, please, for the love of the 21st century, stop putting unlinked footnotes in your blog posts. I know, I know, “everyone” does it. But you guys, it’s really rude. What’s an unlinked footnote? It’s when you write something, and then wanting to comment on what you just wrote (or give references or whatever), you …

9 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/02/08/stop-using-unlinked-footnotes/

The Problem of the 12 Hats

February 3, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

February 3, 2016

I can’t think of any other profession that requires quite the diversity of skills as a scientific academic. By the time you’re a tenure track professor, you are expected to be proficient in a dozen skill sets, each of which is sufficient for a profession in of itself [1]: researcher and expert statistician grant writer …

7 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/02/03/the-problem-of-the-12-hats/

Grad students: Want to learn to be awesome at science communication? Attend ComSciCon

February 1, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

February 1, 2016

Hey you guys! Applications are now open for ComSciCon, which is a science communication workshop for graduate students. In particular, applications are open for the national workshop, which is an awesome experience. ComSciCon is three intense days (all expenses paid!) of learning how to better communicate science – whether that’s written, spoken, or multimedia. I …

Leave comment

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/02/01/grad-students-want-to-learn-to-be-awesome-at-science-communication-attend-comscicon/

Postdoc Land: the Wild West

January 27, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

January 27, 2016

What is a postdoc anyway? Grad students are fairly well-defined: If you are enrolled at an accredited university, working towards a Masters or Doctorate degree, you are a grad student. If you are told someone is faculty somewhere, or a lecturer, then you might have some questions about exactly what type of position the person …

Leave comment

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/01/27/postdoc-land-the-wild-west/

Maybe we shouldn’t be trying to “read more”

January 20, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

January 20, 2016

You hear the self-indictment again and again: “I really should be better about keeping up with the literature,” “I need to read more,” “my goal for the year is #365papers”. Do you know anyone that says “I read too much”? How about, “I’ve got it all down pat and read just the right amount to …

11 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/01/20/maybe-we-shouldnt-be-trying-to-read-more/

Analysis preregistration gets a big boost in the form of a million dollars

January 18, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

January 18, 2016

The Center for Open Science has recently issued The $1,000,000 Preregistration Challenge. What is preregistration? Briefly, the idea is to reduce “researcher degrees of freedom.” Researchers often explore their data and then make data-processing and analytical choices based on the data that will be analyzed. But this can lead to biased results and incorrect scientific …

9 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/01/18/analysis-preregistration-gets-a-big-boost-in-the-form-of-a-million-dollars/

Is citizen science ethical?

January 13, 2016

by Margaret Kosmala

January 13, 2016

I was really surprised the first time someone asked — I think it was in a review of a proposal — about whether it was ethical to do citizen science. “Isn’t this exploitation?” was how the concern was phrased. Getting unpaid people to do what was previously paid work might seem problematic. As citizen science …

3 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/01/13/is-citizen-science-ethical/