Jonathan O'Donnell

@thesiswhisperer.bsky.social Hi Inger. Listening to the latest On the Reg re referrals from Chat GPT.
Had a look at our stats. Chatty is there, but still below LinkedIn and Facebook. As you say, tiny compared to Google: 38K vs 426 in 2025.
Interesting.

Okay, I will preface this with the GIGANTIC disclaimer that I promise I know how this looks, and I *swear* this is not personally motivated: If you have an old #LiveJournal account, and it has things you still care about in it, download it or import it to Dreamwidth SOON. Details:

This looks like great fun.

Librarians are the single most under-used resource on campus. When was the last time you talked to yours? They can support not only your research but your teaching.

I hate the world right now.
2016 SocArXiv: Academic publishing is pwned. Let's have an archive of our own.
2025 SocArXiv: We are drowning in slop. Let's use peer review as a filter.
Seriously, I hope that you can find your way through this. We need you now, more than ever.

Can you spare a minute to help this campaign? Save the State Library of Victoria!

Help! Sign & share the petition to save the State Library of Victoria from rolling crises, gallery closures, harassment/jettisoning of staff & new cuts to destroy services for children & adults. c.org/Hj9G9WSg2f. (Or change.org, search Save The State Library of Victoria.) #StateLibrary #librarians

Librarians versus the world Photo of London’s National Art Library by Sebastien LE DEROUT on Unsplash Here at the Research Whisperer, we love librarians. They are smart, dedicated people who want to help you with your researc…

Don't tell me that, Hannah. We've just written a post called 'Librarians versus the world'. It is full of praise for librarians. Soz.
researchwhisperer.org/2025/11/25/l...

Librarians versus the world Photo of London’s National Art Library by Sebastien LE DEROUT on Unsplash Here at the Research Whisperer, we love librarians. They are smart, dedicated people who want to help you with your researc…

"Say ‘no’ to Elsevier. ... Until this dispute is resolved:
Do not submit to Elsevier journals.
Do not review for Elsevier.
Pause your work on Elsevier editorial committees.
Boycott Elsevier and all its works and all its empty promises."

researchwhisperer.org/2025/11/25/l...
#ResearchWhisperer

Cooking outside the PhD Photo by Webvilla on Unsplash. Most research development models assume that time, energy, and executive functioning are equally distributed across scholars. They aren’t. Especially not for early ca…

I just published a new piece with @therealrw.bsky.social: “Cooking Outside the PhD.”
researchwhisperer.org/2025/11/18/c...

I wrote this for scholars whose research lives don’t fit the linear PhD–postdoc–tenure template.

Great article about what we do, and what we should do, with research records.

Although having people see my multiple, unread, files is a something I could do without.

#history #archives #digitisation #informationmanagement

Where would you go to spot a Critically Endangered species? Possibly not to a city cemetery? But here in Vienna, European Hamsters Critecus critecus are thriving. @mammalconeurope.bsky.social @mammalsociety.bsky.social @habitatfoundation.bsky.social 🐹📸 #wildlife #photography #nature #conservation

Survival of the cutest!

@raulpachecovega.bsky.social provides excellent advice on improving your analytical and interpretive writing. Move beyond description.
www.raulpacheco.org/2025/07/a-gu...

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Privacy in Research What implications does Gen AI have for privacy considerations in research. Part of Privacy Awareness Week.

In 2011, Justice Michael Kirby wrote: “Uncritical technological euphoria is not a proper response to the challenges to privacy presented by new technology and the shifting public use of it. This is not a subject where 'anything goes'.”
Discuss.
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/generative...

Q: When should I stop reading and start writing?
A: You will never stop reading. You will always need to read to stay up-to-date.
And you should start writing NOW.
It's not read or write.
It's read and write.
#PhDchat #ECRchat #Phdforum #acwri

The Centre for Contemporary Histories at Deakin is providing 10 Writing Fellowships for Early Career Researchers, valued at $500 each. You'll be commissioned to write one opinion piece and one policy briefing note related to your research. #histodons #fundingAlert […]

Good night Bluesky.

Together is the only way we build liveable todays and tomorrows.

After a very enlightening, sometimes amusing & a little challenging conversation with a data scientist, I really think all humanities peeps should have a STEM buddy.

Hearing how they see the world is fascinating; a good way to learn what can be done with AI for the humanities.

#history #STEM #AI

Great moments in research funding.
Eratosthenes "...knew it was 800 km. Why? Because he hired a man to pace out the entire distance..."
#ResearchFunding #BudgetsMatter

Carl Sagan explains how the ancient Greeks knew the Earth was round and calculated its circumference over 2,000 years ago.

We cannot let the Wayback Machine get deep-sixed, as it may be the only place we can find some govt docs/sites that this regime alters or "disappears." NPR article: is.gd/BsVRpI

Donate: archive.org/donate
FAQ: help.archive.org/help/categor...

(The Internet Archive is a US 501c3 non-profit org.)

#WritingResources: The Pomodora Technique
buff.ly/47x6E8q
The idea is short bursts of focussed activity.
Set a timer for 25 minutes
Focussed work with no distractions
Take a 5 minute break.
Repeat
#PhDchat #acwri #ECRchat

My funding is gone! Can crowdfunding help? Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash. Gaining research funds is always tough, but some people are having it tougher than usual at the moment. In late 2024, the New Zealand government cut all Human…

If you have lost your research funding, crowdfunding may help BUT it isn't always straightforward. Here is my quick guide of what to think about.
#CrowdfundResearch
researchwhisperer.org/2025/04/15/m...

a large iceberg in the middle of the ocean with mountains in the background Alt: A large iceberg in the middle of the ocean collapsing and melting.

Every time you use Gen AI, a penguin dies.

Ping @thesiswhisperer.bsky.social

Whoa … this is getting real! Thanks, @mikejennions.bsky.social for putting this together. I'm blushing! 😊

This looks useful.
Scholarly Podcasting for Research Dissemination: A Scoping Review. By Lindsay Persohn and Stephanie Branson from Caffeine Classroom podcast.
Ping @thesiswhisperer.bsky.social, @tseenster.bsky.social, @superlinguo.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.1177/2158...
#ScholarlyPodcasting

Developing a Confident and Authoritative Writing Style for Grant Proposals Learn how to develop a confident and authoritative writing style for your grant proposals. Enhance the persuasiveness and impact of your applications

"...confidence is about clarity and precision, not complexity." - Holly Zink, I Do Grants.
You aren't begging. You aren't boasting. You are clearly saying what you will do, writing from a position of strength.
#ECRChat
hollyzink.com/2024/12/03/w...

Dog editors vs Cat editors As an author, my writing goes through stages. Sometimes it’s a fragile flower, sometimes it’s an almost perfect final draft. And that means I need different feedback from co-authors and…

"A dog editor loves you, loves your work, believes it's possible, can't wait to read it."
...
"A cat editor is fastidious, busy with their own work, and needs to be convinced your work is worth their time." - @katherinefirth.bsky.social.
#ECRChat
researchinsiders.blog/2024/12/06/d...

Mistakes Were Made: My Experience of Adult ADHD by Brian Spurlock In late 2011, I was woken from a deep sleep by a call letting me know the lab where I was doing undergraduate research in organic chemistry had flooded. I rushed to campus along with two or three g…

"Be kind to yourself and embrace the mess. I’m sorry that it’s hard, and I wish it weren’t, but you’ve got this." - @Brian Spurlock on his experience with adult ADHD.
wp.me/pbK9S3-1hN