Wallowing in post-holiday feasting happiness? Got some time in this weird interstitial space before a new year starts? Add to this Wiki entry on "Research Culture" that @therealrw.bsky.social's @jod999.bsky.social created! Make it better! Read on: researchwhisperer.org/2025/12/09/r...

"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

We're running a very short survey to explore why academics are increasingly turning to GenAI to do things that they know/feel they should probably be doing themselves (e.g. write peer reviews, draft papers, data analysis etc.) - please share (or fill in!): redcap.helix.monash.edu/surveys/?s=L...

Problem is: Neither our work culture nor our education culture incentivizes deep learning. Instead, we're incentivized to economize--to learn only what's needed to finish the task or get the answer right on the test. So, people use ChatGPT, even when they know they could learn more by other means.

I am excited to see serious #QualitativeAnalysis & #QualitativeResearch applied to the senses by #QDA assisted Big congratulations @christinaqdas.bsky.social Daniel Turner @pointered.bsky.social @anujacabraal.bsky.social All the best in #Edinburgh 13+14 Nov 2025 www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...

Turn off Gemini in Google! It's been turned on by default. Go to your Drive, click the gear icon, click settings, go to "manage apps" and uncheck that nasty "use by default" box. www.zdnet.com/article/how-...

Ever run researcher development sessions and noted a gender disparity? Our paper on this topic, simmering away since 2024, is out! Our fearless leader + heaviest lifter on this work is undeniably @drmeagantyler.bsky.social. * insert 'We're not worthy' meme * Thanks, @herdjournal.bsky.social! 🫰

Informative thread.

So, Signal does what we can to provide a service w integrity in the concentrated ecosystem we're working in. We protect your comms w end-to-end encryption, so that we can use AWS and others as a highway across which to send Signal data in ways that don’t let AWS, or anyone else, gain access. 12/

In short, the problem here is not that Signal ‘chose’ to run on AWS. The problem is the concentration of power in the infrastructure space that means there isn’t really another choice: the entire stack, practically speaking, is owned by 3-4 players. 11/

In huge positive news, the Australian government just ruled out handing the work of their country’s creatives to AI companies for free 🙌 They resisted the well-funded tech lobby & shut down proposals to upend copyright law. Other governments should do the same! www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

If you're from a discipline that's unfamiliar with qualitative research, or methods like questionnaires, it may seem easy to use them, but it's not. Working with methodological experts will reduce research waste and mean you actually get useful answers to the things you want to know about.

When thinking about qualitative analysis, many think of coding by hand or software such as NVivo. However, there are many other ways. We're running a workshop working with different analytical tools combining rigour, creativity & fun. More info here: tinyurl.com/bzjpp2mk #QualAnalysis #CRMethods

I'm running an Edinburgh workshop this November on creative qualitative analysis, complete with art trips, chocolate tasting and emoji analysis! Details here: www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/sho... #qualitative #research #Edinburgh #training

With yet another university hosted event closed to 'non academics' (aka those not employed by a university)* I'm just going to leave this piece by @drhelenkara.bsky.social and myself here blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci... * yes I know it's utter nonsense and academics/researchers exist outside unis

Recent post on the blog: Help! I’m an Early Career Researcher and genAI doesn’t know who I am "Discovering that my work was being inaccurately represented by genAI was frustrating and concerning." - Tess Shirefley researchwhisperer.org/2025/05/20/h... #AcademicSky

Good morning—some Monday morning motivation

However you define political violence, the right is responsible for more of it. The Anti-Defamation League (hardly a left-wing org) found that all “domestic extremist-related killings” in 2022 were done by right-wing extremists, the vast majority (84%) white supremacists. trib.al/SaMpxtS

A thread you can direct some action to this Monday morning. The damage the policy has done, and the mindset it encourages, is significant and ongoing. An Arts degree is good for so much more than getting a job (which it also does, contrary to popular mythology).

"PhD-level experts in your back pocket" is a completely nonsensical description of AI but a pretty good description of social media if you follow the right people

Unless we're dumping on X and Musk (and we absolutely should be), the "Nazi AI" is a footnote. The headline is "LLMs are trivially manipulated by an unseen hand that can change how responses work after testing and promoting an app to prod and there's nothing you can do to mitigate this." 2/

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

I’m planning on running a 10 week course on doing conversation analysis - learner time commitment will be a few hours per week. It’ll be online, asynchronous, & with direct feedback from me. It will be available worldwide. Join the mailing list to find out more! www.bedsidemanners.com.au/contact

I was just remembering that 5 years ago at the start of the lockdowns @anujacabraal.bsky.social @patthomson.bsky.social started the #VirtualNotViral chat over on the other platform. It was honestly such a highlight joining the chat most weeks and really inspired me at the start of my PhD journey.

When I wanted to leave academia, I was worried I wouldn't find a use for my qual skillset because I had bought the idea that quant is more valuable. Actually, the demand for qual skills in applied spaces is HIGH! Soooo much of what we do in evaluation & technical assistance spaces requires qual 💪

If you could plan the ultimate degree for building a society and culture in our contemporary world skillset, what disciplines/ topics would you expect a graduate to be across? In 2012 the US Department of Defence suggested a skillset that included civic awareness, global knowledge and languages.

This is well worth reading if you're trying to work out your scholarly practice for social media - insightful and clear. Thanks, @proflaurenball.bsky.social. 🙌 #AcademicSky #PhDchat #SocialMedia #PublicScholarship

I've just added @leedslitfest.bsky.social to this Starter Pack, are you a book related event, festival, or award and would like to be added?Please let me know go.bsky.app/PHw99bS

Hi everyone! We are finally here :D

Christ almighty. Some of the replies I am getting here make me hope some of you will revert to twitter. If you don't understand something when you are new, it is possible to read, then ask, rather than confidently asserting the wrong thing. Yes, there is a discover feed. No-one uses it. Use this:

Bluesky tip for newbies: Bluesky has no real algorithm. Likes here do nothing but show the poster that you enjoyed their content. That kindness is always going to be appreciated by creators, but if you want to help to boost something here, you have to repost it so others see it. 🙂

If you're looking for an encrypted messaging service, Signal is run by a non-profit, not an oligarch. signal.org

As someone who has reported on AI for 7 years and covered China tech as well, I think the biggest lesson to be drawn from DeepSeek is the huge cracks it illustrates with the current dominant paradigm of AI development. A long thread. 1/

Bluesky is getting its own photo-sharing app, Flashes

WhatsApp is a Meta/Facebook/Zuckerberg app. Signal is the replacement. This one's easy. signal.org

Writing isn't what you do after you have an idea. It's how you develop an inkling into an insight. Turning thoughts into words sharpens reasoning. What's fuzzy in your head is clear on the page. "I'm not a writer" shouldn't stop you from writing. Writing is a tool for thinking.

Fact of the day!

This was one of my all time favourite live tweet threads. Absolute gold! Had me in stitches!!

Another alternative to all the spam emails and social media adverts to the transition into the new year… www.exploreandcreateco.com/the-wellbein... #selfcare

Just sitting on a fallen tree listening to baby magpies squeak, ring neck parrots chatter with each other and kookaburras laugh #greentearefillsrequired

Braun & Clarke resources are incredibly helpful. I also enjoy seeing how each student uses RTA. It can be a very unique process and that's how I felt about my journey with RTA as a student.

@grupoanfibio.bsky.social has created a starter pack of philosophers of science (and #philsci groups & societies) in/from Ibero-America. Please share widely and self-nominate if your name is missing! go.bsky.app/4XmN14i #HPS #philsky #HPBio #LatinskySTEM #LatinoSky

"Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research: Ethnography with a Twist" This edited volume is #Free2DownloadAndRead from Routledge. As an ethnographer, I found it quite refreshing. www.routledge.com/Challenges-a...

Many people I've been speaking to are struggling right now with unkind works from others. This is for anyone that needs it right now. You are important and you matter.

Pause Breathe in Breathe out Let go of what they said to you Their thoughts - not yours You are walking your own path Only you know what that path has been You control what this moment holds Breathe in and Breathe out Grounded in this moment The next step is for you Not them

There are quite a few posts on @therealrw.bsky.social that I've written in a rage. Thought I'd share them for the holiday season because why not? Every eggnog deserves some bile. 😄

This is... actually a fairly reasonable takeaway from this year.

This is aligned to what @christinaqdas.bsky.social and I advocate for in the qual software analysis space. You need to be thoughtful and considered and reflexive about use, how it fits with purpose and method. It's not about productivity or speed. #qualitative #qualAI