As writers, we researchers are lucky if we can find sympathetic and understanding colleagues to read and comment on our work in draft form. Sometimes, a coauthor may contribute less to the nuts and bolts of writing than a friendly reader (though the coauthor may have contributed in other ways that are also important).

Even when we pay for an editor to look at our work, it can be a matter of luck if costs and expectations match perfectly.

Finding an editor or editing company that can consistently provide such a match it not something we can expect to happen instantly. The best idea is to have more than one paper go through an editor, and to try different editors, and see if the costs and results are satsfactory.

Giving a draft to an editor is not the end of a writers work, it is really just the second stage in a process that may take several more steps. It is best to plan for a generous amount of time between completion of the first draft, and eventual submission to a publisher.

Some editing companies may offer quick or light editing at lower prices than slow and heavy editing. If the latter is really needed, for the intended use of the written work, than choosing quick and light may end up being more expensive and slower in the end, as the slow and heavy editing will still be necessary.

Writers need to make an effort to communicate openly and clearly with a possible editor or editing company before making a contract. Don't assume that others know exactly what you want or need, or what you can afford to pay.

If you cannot find any person or company to work with here in the Research Cooperative, consider again the people in your own circle of friends and colleagues. Can you ask for help closer to home? Can you offer something in return? Has your institution or department ever discussed how writing efforts can be supported from within the institution or department itself?

The Research Cooperative has been created to encourage a sense of the value of cooperation in academic research and publishing. This includes cooperation outside the confines of our own network, and outside the academic world. Even when commerical editors and translators are involved, it is best to approach them in a cooperative or collaborative way, not to see them as mere beasts of burden.

Most editors and translators who offer to work for academic writers are themselves academically trained to some extent - and often to a great extent. If we look around, and communicate with care and attention, people with a huge variety of interests and skills can be found.

So, to conclude: please expect real costs - in terms of your own time or money - if you wish to engage seriously with an editor, and see good results for your writing.

It is possible to have minimal costs, financially, if you can form or join a network of trusted friends or colleagues, to share work in progress and offer mutual support. But building and maintaining such a network is naturally a long-term and gradual process. It won't happen if you never try or make a start.

It is also possible to have reasonable costs and reasonable expectations, based on experience - and experience is a key word.

For example, if you have never worked with professional editors, learn how to make most effective use of the interaction, in order to get good value for the cost. And by good value, I do not mean just value for the particular work being published. I also mean good value for your experience.

Investing in a good editor can be similar to investing in a training course for a special skill - in this case, the skill of writing. If you can learn from your editors, that raises the value for money immensely.

Finally - weigh the cost needed to get your work published by your target publisher against the costs of:

- doing the actual research and writing, and

- not getting the work published in the place where you want it to go.

Investing (say) a month's salary in the publishing process, for a good piece of research, may eventually help you move into a better paying position in the same institution or another institution. The cost may be high in the short term, but if you have confidence in the research you have done, and a long-term interest in the subject, then it may not be a high cost in the long-term.

Researchers often face very uncertain employment conditions and prospects, but building up a record of original and well-written publications will certainly help in any quest for employment.

The quality is more important than the quantity - not just from the employer's point of view, but also so that we can be happy in ourselves, and confident about our own abilities.

After watching another Sherlock Holmes episode with my 15 year old son, I am experiencing the Irene Adler Affect once again: That tantalising, tender feeling of almost...

Hmmm.

A dictionary definition of the term 'affect' as a psychological term is suitable here: 'a feeling, emotion, or desire, esp. leading to action'.

What is it that leads us to action as scientists? Not always, or perhaps even rarely, some kind of logical chain of argument. We are ultimately motivated by personal feelings, unless we happen to be robotic automatons.

Of course, we all have different feelings, and reasons. But the Irene Adler Affect for Sherlock Holmes is the attraction of a mystery and trail of clues that lead to a resolution that is never complete, that inevitably leads to further mystery, and a new trail.

She is forever unreachable, setting up a trail of clues and answers that are forever tantalising to him, no matter how close he comes to her.

As scientists, we cannot live in a fictional world and recast ourselves in different centuries in order to pursue our scientific curiosity. We have to accept that the unattainable Irene Adler will outlive us.

All we can do is add questions and answers to a tangled trail of clues, and hope that others will pick up something we left for them in a year, or ten years, or in a hundred years.

When I write a research paper, no matter how obscure the topic and the publication, I like to think that someone might find something new to follow even if they pick up the trail one hundred years later.

Perhaps to be immortal, as scientists, we have to be both Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler at the same time. In the movie fiction, the two characters do almost seem to be different faces of one person.

Unfortunately, we have to be our own scriptwriters as well. No matter how exciting the work seems to us, unless we are also great writers, the work may not seem so very exciting to others.

Not to worry. Even a deadpan and dry manuscript that has no obvious importance or historical significance can emerge as the veiled clue that tantalises and tempts others, later.

It is better to to do great research without fanfare than poor research with great fanfare.

With time, great research will eventually be recognised, if we all make an effort to see the greatness in others.

Irene A. has given us a clue, and is waiting.

Our group  Research Group Bloggers is a place where members can introduce any research- or communication-related blogs of potential interest to our members, from within our network or beyond.

Of course it did not start with nothing, but in just one night I was able to pull together a book production team to meet our deadline with the printer last Monday.

We already had a full set of manuscripts and the basic book design ready, but I could see a wall of logistical impossibility fast approaching. I was heading for a crash.

First I had to break down the work into smaller tasks, and then I could delegate.

Here's what happened, when I looked though our Research Cooperative members list:

1. Copyediting the reference list at the end of each chapter - found  Julie Martin in the USA (previously recommended to me by a friend in New Zealand).

2. Copyediting the main text of each chapter - Julie recommended another Co-op member in the USA, Elizabeth Humphrey .

3. Cross-checking references, in the text and reference list of each chapter - found a highly experienced, but retired researcher in New Zealand, with a general interest in the subject of our book, and some spare time: Richard Benton , also a Co-op member.

4. General problem spotting and checking figures - contacted Mark Smith , a Research Cooperative member here in Osaka, to come to the museum and look for problems of any sort, alongside my Research Assistant Ms Etsuko Tabuchi (also a Co-op member). Mark came, and settled into checking figures for each chapter, then continued the work at home.

5. Drawing new figures - we found several figures that either had to be abandoned or redrawn; Tabuchi-san gave herself a crash course in computer graphics, and has fashioned a number of excellent maps in a short amount of time. (Truly, it would help if more authors could employ illustrators to produce maps, if they cannot to the work themselves, when submitting papers for publication!)

I will pay them all a fair price (I hope it is fair!) soon. They have already done most of what was needed.

We are on schedule!

While the team dealt with all these technical details, I could give time to further substantive editing, co-ordination with our authors, and co-ordination with my main co-editor.

Tomorrow we will begin work on the first proofs, I expect.

5. Indexing - found an expert indexer, Mary Coe (also a Co-op member). She has already read our chapters, and is ready to jump into the last-minute indexing process when the second or third proofs arrive -- with page numbers added.

I will write again when we have a book to announce!

Addendum: see a related discussion of cartography 'standards'.

Damien Carrington at SciDev has written a nice introduction on how to set up a science blog - and why.

Members of the Research Cooperative can use their own pages on the Cooperative to blog about anything, but ideally they will also use them to blog on matters related to scientific writing, translation, editing, and publishing.

Which leads me to a question - what are the connotations of 'research' and 'science' as nouns, or 'research' and 'scientific' as adjectives?

My own feeling is that 'research' as a noun, verb, or adjective refers more closely to the practical investigation a particular something.

'Science', 'doing science' and 'scientific' may have broader meanings, suggesting a larger realm of knowledge or a larger discipline within which research is carried out.

If a global recession continues to deepen, this is likely to depress basic economic activities related to food, water, energy, transport and construction.

In this situation, can government leaders and investors give education and research more attention, in order to build livelihoods and economies over the long term, after giving too much attention to financial pyramid schemes? Or will all areas of social activity be dragged down?

Some economists encourage public spending in a time of recession, in order support employment and family incomes. This usually takes the form of spending on material infrastructure, rather than say, providing free training in trade skills, more access to higher education, and more funds for research that might lead to new economic opportunities.

As researchers, language specialists, and publishers, can we look ahead and see new opportunities for research and for society?

In a time of global recession, it is more important than ever for wealthier nations to support economic development in poorer nations (alongside development in the wealthier nations).

The goal should be a greater diversity of local and international economic activity, with greater potential for reducing transport distances and economic risk. A deflated world economy could become a better economy, if it is developed with care.

Industrial nations of the world have been like an untrained horde sprinting on a short track towards a brick wall, with all eyes pointing in the same direction, but not seeing. It would be better if we could be more like long-distance runners, exploring the open landscape in many directions, with our eyes open for good routes.

Postscript:

The Asahi Shimbun, in the Japanese edition of the International Herald Tribune (10th October 2008), has an editorial celebrating the Nobel prize of a Japanese biologist (Oasamu Shimomura), and stating the need for more funding in basic research:

'When financial conditions are tight, budget allocations tend to concentrate oon applied research that offers the benefit of immediate practical use. Basic research tends to attract less investment because it is difficult to foresee how it can prove useful to future geenerations.... [but] 'the government needs to realize that applied research cannot proceed without a solid foundation in basic research'.

I would like to add two further points:

(1) If this argument applies to a wealthy country suddenly facing a decline in wealth, it also applies to poor countries in which research of all kinds is chronically under-supported; scientists in even the poorest conditions can contribute to basic research, which may depend more on personal orientation and research freedom than on any particular level of research funding.

(2) Basic research is like the discovery that stone is a strong material; if we wish to reach the sky at the top of a pyramid, our basic understanding of stone allows us to build a real pyramid; this is an example of basic research knowledge that has served us well for millions of years; our modern pyramids of paper have created wonderful illusions, but we still need stone (or some modern synthetic version of it) if we want to stand in a high place.

Hi, I been trying to make a few improvements to the site this weekend.

Now we have drop-down menus for: 

• searching the forums and member list ('Search' tab above), and
• sending messages in the forums (see the 'Send' tab above).

Now we can reach these important areas of the site from various directions. I hope this will encourage members to send more messages in the forums!

For the last two weeks or so I have been in Kokoda, Papua New Guinea, for field work with a group of archaeologists and environmental historians.

It was good being offline, without electricity, and with almost no phone contact with the outside world. I could concentrate on writing field notes, and enjoyed the nightly conversations with other members of the expedition.

So, now I have lots of follow-up work to do, but I will try to give some attention to the cooperative again as well.One thought I had was to write a piece on keeping field notes.

There are some special techniques that can be used to make field notes easier to use, and more useful. Any ideas about this from members of the Cooperative would be welcome.

Today I created a support group for an online journal called Ethnobotany Research and Applications ( see the group here ).

If you are the owner, editor or manager of a journal, and would like to create a similar support group inside the Research Cooperative, please let me know.

Support groups can be created here for online journals and also for print-only journals.

At the end of June (29th June - 4th July, 2008) I will be attending WAC6 in Dublin, Ireland, and I plan to try and recruit more members during the conference.

If you happen to be attending the congress, and have found this message, please contact me if you would like to meet in Dublin.

I would be happy to discuss the aims and future development of the Cooperative, and how it could also help us in archaeology and related disciplines.

Thanks, Peter