I am sometimes asked how I manage multiple research projects - because if you glance at my CV - it can be challenging to tease out coherent themes.
When I started my career, I kept a running list of projects in a word file. There wasn’t a lot of rhyme or reason to it. My record was incoherent - because I was working opportunistically.
As I approached my third-year review as an assistant professor, one of my mentors expressed concern about the incoherence - & noted it was hard to tenure or earn a promotion to Full if my record didn’t quickly become thematic.
My mentor suggested that I sit down and draw a Venn diagram to map the overlap of my areas & then strategically pick my next couple of paper topics.
So I did the work - carefully considered the theories, methods & outcomes in my disparate papers - found that while my work revolved around a broad DV, my work mapped to three general domains - with an extra circle for research methods.
The Venn diagram was fun - but what was more important - was that it made me think through what I was doing, how it related to other parts of my current work, & what I should do next.
Since that time, I have periodically gone back to my diagram & updated it - it has helped me become more focused, more thematic, & assess the level of effort it will require to start new research.
The Venn diagram has evolved into a personal research agenda over time - where I keep a document that tracks my goals, where my work appears, & the relatedness of ideas to one another.
In my experience, when a project deviates from my agenda - I have a harder time engaging with the team & finishing it.
As a result, I rarely take on projects that do not align with my current agenda which has made me a happier, better collaborator.
So what should a personal agenda include?
First, I create a graphic that ties my work together helpful - visually representing the connections between themes helps me see how it relates to ideas & methods that span projects.
Second, I keep a complementary spreadsheet of projects - that maps finished, in-progress & future papers into themes.
This helps me see the connections between my past, present & future.
When my work connects, the projects move faster & more likely to succeed.
Third, it should include your toolkit. What methods do you know, what methods can you evaluate & what methods can you assess.
I don’t shy away from learning new methods - but it helps me know what to expect.
Fourth, it should formalize goals - what volume of papers do you want to write? And where do you want to publish?
This helps me benchmark the quality of work to come & what to pay attention to in future projects.
Finally, I version control my diagram and goals - looking back on them helps me feel more accomplished when I achieve goals & motivated to form new ones.
An agenda has made me better & I hope it help you too! Best of luck!
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