Online course in conjunction with face-to-face workshops to improve writing skills leading towards more publications in peer reviewed journals

Background: Researchers in the developing countries often have inadequate scientific writing skills to publish their research in international peer reviewed journals.Objectives: To improve the research-and proposal-writing skills of researchers and to evaluate the impact of this interve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Amon P Shoko, Ismael A Kimirei, Baraka C Sekadende, Mary A Kishe, Innocent E Sailale
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Association of Science Editors 2021-02-01
Series:European Science Editing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ese.arphahub.com/article/54417/download/pdf/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Researchers in the developing countries often have inadequate scientific writing skills to publish their research in international peer reviewed journals.Objectives: To improve the research-and proposal-writing skills of researchers and to evaluate the impact of this intervention.Methods: An off-the-shelf online course (AuthorAID, developed by INASP) was embedded in the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute’s (TAFIRI) website and offered to the institute researchers in Tanzania. The 8-week course was followed by a 2-day face- to-face workshop that used the course material contextualized to local conditions, and the combination was repeated one more time.Results: A total of 47 participants completed the course and attended the workshop: 21 (54%) completed the course in 2016 and 26 (67%) in 2017. The number of papers published annually by TAFIRI staff more than tripled between 2016 and 2019 after the AuthorAID intervention, most of them (114, or 91%) by researchers who had undergone the training.Conclusion: Embedding and contextualizing proven learning materials, such as the AuthorAID online course, can be an economical and effective approach to improving the writing skills of scientists in developing countries.
ISSN:2518-3354