Becoming a Successful Scientist
Strategic Thinking for Scientific Discovery

A practical guide to a successful scientific career, including creativity and problem-solving techniques to enhance research quality and output.

Craig Loehle (Author)

9780521735063, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 December 2009

258 pages, 2 b/w illus. 2 tables
23.9 x 17.3 x 1.3 cm, 0.35 kg

'… complex, very well considered and will be helpful to those who are interested in maximizing their career experience from both a personal satisfaction and scientific productivity angle … [a] thought provoking read which has the ability to genuinely help guide you in a science career.' http://noconsensus.wordpress.com

Scientific research requires both innovation and attention to detail, clever breakthroughs and routine procedures. This indispensable guide gives students and researchers across all scientific disciplines practical advice on how to succeed. All types of scientific careers are discussed, from those in industry and academia to consulting, with emphasis on how scientists spend their time and the skills that are needed to be productive. Strategic thinking, creativity and problem-solving, the central keys to success in research, are all explored. The reader is shown how to enhance the creative process in science, how one goes about making discoveries, putting together the solution to a complex problem and then testing the solution obtained. The social dimension of science is also discussed from the development and execution of a scientific research program to publishing papers, as well as issues of ethics and science policy.

1. A science career
2. The inner game of science
3. Scientific discovery in practice
4. The social dimension of science
5. Summary: the strategic approach to science
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Life sciences: general issues [PSA]