The National Institute of Statistical Science (NISS) and the American Statistical Association will hold a writing workshop for junior researchers during JSM this year. The goal of the workshop is to provide instruction for writing journal articles and grant proposals. Participants will be required to provide a recent sample of their writing, which will be reviewed by a senior mentor. The sample could be a current draft of an article to be submitted for publication, or it could be an early version of a grant proposal. (Submission of the manuscript will be required as part of the registration process. Prior experience suggests that the best results come from submitting an early draft of something written solely or primarily by the participant.)
Mentors will be former journal editors and program officers, who will critique (a portion of) the submitted material. Individual feedback will be provided as part of the opening session, and participants will be expected to prepare a revision in response. The workshop will open with a one-day session of general instruction on effective writing techniques and close with discussion and debriefing at a follow-up lunch.
The full-day session is scheduled for Sunday, July 29. At the close of the formal activities, mentors will meet individually with participants to go over their writing samples. Each participant will then prepare a revision of a critiqued portion of the paper and return it to the mentor by Tuesday evening, July 31. Mentors and participants will meet again in conjunction with a lunch on August 1 to discuss the success of the revisions. The lunch program also will include general feedback to participants, mentors, and organizers.
Attendance is limited and will depend on the number of mentors available. Applications are due by June 1, and successful applicants will be notified by June 30. Applications received after June 1 will be considered if space is available. There is no fee to participate. Participants will receive lunch on Sunday, July 29, and Wednesday, August 1. They must agree to attend both the full Sunday session and the Wednesday lunch. We anticipate funding for partial travel support.
This workshop is designed for researchers with a recent PhD in either statistics or biostatistics. Top priority will go to those who have held the PhD for 0–3 years. The limited available funding will be used to support attendance by researchers at U.S. institutions. Current PhD students who are completing their degree before the end of the summer and who will be at U.S. institutions in the fall also will be considered. If space is available, researchers at institutions outside the United States will be admitted, but not provided with travel support.
For more information, contact Keith Crank at kcrank@comcast.net
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