This book provides important advice to scientists at all stages of their careers on how to be a more effective and impactful researcher. It provides tips on: designing, performing, and analyzing experiments; writing, submitting and revising manuscripts; preparing and giving scientific talks and posters; writing grant proposals; and writing and defending a graduate thesis. It also provides advice on soft skills, like communication, networking, creativity, critical thinking, and working in teams. A major emphasis of the book is the importance of writing and publishing scientific manuscripts, as this is the main way that scientific knowledge is disseminated, as well as being an important element for building a strong curriculum vitae. The book should be an extremely valuable resource for graduate students throughout their studies but should also be useful for postdocs and professors who want to hone their research skills.
The book is written by three scientists from the same family who are each at different stages in their careers and can therefore provide different perspectives. David Julian McClements is a distinguished professor who is currently the most highly cited author in Food Science in the world. He has published over 1300 scientific articles and numerous books. Jake McClements is beginning his career as a lecturer in the United Kingdom, while Isobelle Farrell McClements is just starting her career as a graduate student in the United States.