The Path towards Research Productivity

Research has always been part of our lives, even way before we graduated high school and college. This is actually a private process that all of us master on our own accord and pacing. An interesting fact about research is that we very rarely discuss the process of doing research itself. This is because we immediately jump to discussing the findings that have been collected and assessed through research. We do not dwell that much on research itself as a method. So, how do we make sure that the processes we do implement for research are indeed effective? There should then be a need to assess research productivity. To do this, it would help to have your research planned out, so that you can make sure that all the bases are covered.

One important concept to consider when assessing research productivity is automaticity. No such term exists, but automaticity actually refers to that certain absence of self-consciousness. You may think that this lack can be detrimental to your research somehow, but this is not true at all. When you are not self-conscious about your research methods anymore, then you can go about all you need to research quite faster. What’s more, you will be relying on the images you get with whatever words you are using, rather than the words themselves. This method of casual awareness actually makes the whole process of research faster and more productive. You will know you’re being unproductive when you toil over each and every word you use. You become your own meticulous editor, and this takes a lot out of your time.

Another thing to remember is that research productivity has no relation to any magical sources at all. You surely must have heard of authors complaining about getting writer’s block and not having enough inspiration that drives them to come up with superb novels and pieces. Well, research productivity is not like that at all. This is actually the fruit of your labor, the end-product of hard work and determination. You will know you are being productive when you have a certain timeframe allotted for your research activities.

Cognitive strategies are also very important in research productivity. There are several effective ones, but you have to find the one that works best for you. Some prefer to talk aloud when they are trying to figure out the things that need to be done for the completion of certain projects and reports. Some also encourage themselves with positive self-talk, telling themselves that they can finish a part or parts of the project within the next two hours or so. This helps every researcher form realistic goals for the completion of the whole project.

Networking also has a hand in the success of research productivity. If you have many colleagues in your support system, then you can very well have their support for just about anything you might need while doing research. A good support system can do wonders for research productivity as well. What’s more, your colleagues can offer ideas and suggestions as to how you should go about conducting your research. So, this is actually very helpful in more ways than one.