It has been a long time since I had much to do with any Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grants, but since the deadline is coming up on the 15th for the Standard Research Grants Program, I thought that it might be useful to post a few thoughts in that direction.

Useful links and other information:

• SSHRC Standard Research Grants Program Description

• SSHRC online system
• Tri-Council Financial Administration Guide
• Jo VanEvery, a fellow grant coach, has an e-book called “Writing your SSHRC Grant Proposal” available on her website. According to her page “A friend . . . calls it ‘the instructions you wish SSHRC gave you’.” It will help applicants navigate the tricky questions of “I read books and think big thoughts. What do I put in a methodology section?”.

When I have some time, I would like to read Jove’s book. I’m sure that her experiences as a SSHRC Program Officer gave her unique insight into how to approach (and avoid) many of the common pitfalls SSHRC applicants face.

NSERC posted an analysis of the 2009 Discovery grant competition (including comparisons to the 2008 competition) on their Program News page.

This is the most detailed analysis I have ever seen from NSERC. The change in grant level scatter plots are particularly fascinating.

FYI – I had a bit of trouble getting the file because the release links directly to the pdf. Here is the URL directly to the pdf.

Dictionaries
Canadian Oxford Dictionary 2nd Edition
Dorland’s Pocket Medical Dictionary 20th Edition

Style Guides
Chicago Manual of Style 15th Edition
Editing Canadian English 2nd Edition
Scientific Style and Format 7th Edition

Other
Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference 1995
A mishmash of miscellaneous writing guides
Assorted biochemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, microbiology, marketing, human behaviour, management and economics textbooks
Access to other web-based reference materials

The sub-title of this post should be: “How to make the most cost-effective use of a professional author’s editor”.

I occasionally get queries from graduate students looking for editing assistance with their dissertations. My response is often as follows:

The cost of an editorial review is dependent on several factors: the level of editing necessary, the length of the manuscript, and the turnaround time required. I should also mention that I require written confirmation from your supervisor that they are aware of and agree with your use of editorial support for your thesis before I can even begin.

Generally, I will only proofread and copyedit theses. If your supervisor agrees, additional feedback can be provided, such as structural and logic commentary, but I do not offer rewriting services to thesis clients.

Regarding costs, most professional editors estimate based on word count not page count. Therefore, x# of pages (of 250 words/page) would cost around $$ to $$$ plus GST, depending on the hourly rate of the editor. Don’t be dissuaded by a specific hourly rate – often a more expensive editor will be faster and catch more errors than a less expensive (and often less experienced) editor. An alternative billing option is to set a fixed budget and we would work together to get the biggest improvement for your investment. I can give you a better estimate of costs if you provide me with some sample pages to determine the intensity of editing required.

A good proportion of the queries are spooked by either the cost and/or the fact that I require that their supervisor be informed about the process. Why do I require their supervisor’s consent? As a member of the Editors’ Association of Canada, I follow the standards of ethical conduct established for editing academic theses. Following these standards ensures that the student’s work remains largely their own.

According to surveys of editors across Canada, editorial services can range from $30 to $90 per hour. The range can be geographically dependent, but is often directly linked to the skill and knowledge of the service provider. Technical editing rates in specialized scientific fields can be even higher. Some editors offer discounts for academic clients, but the most effective things that students can do to control costs include:

1. Use your word processor’s spell checker and grammar checker – apply what makes sense and ignore what doesn’t. Microsoft’s grammar checker is notorious for missing grammatical mistakes or offering error-riddled suggestions.

2. Use your word processor’s find and replace functions to:

• remove all double spaces after periods;
• make sure that specialized terms are spelled correctly throughout the document and make a list of approved spellings of special terms (your own dictionary, which will make your life easier in the future); and
• get rid of contractions in formal documents (search for the apostrophes).

3. Read your document carefully. Use a few different techniques to slow yourself down and increase your rate of catching errors:

• Read out loud – to yourself or to someone else. If it sounds funny – it probably has some type of error.
• Read it backwards – go through the document line by line from the bottom to the top. This helps you pay attention to each sentence individually.

4. Cross check all your figures and tables with references in the document, including your table of contents and the figures themselves. After many iterations, errors tend to creep into drafts and what you may refer to in the body of the document as figure 4, has now become figure 6. Checking the legends of figures and tables is essential to make sure that the conclusions in the legend are complementary (not contradictory!!) to the narrative.

Taking these steps should smooth out the draft and make it easier for a professional author’s editor to catch the remaining problems still in the document.

In March of 2008, Ag-West Bio launched go-BiO: Biofuel and Bioproduct Resources Saskatchewan, a one-stop source of information about individuals, companies, funding agencies, service providers and other organizations involved in bioproducts, biofuels, and bioprocessing in the province of Saskatchewan.

In its first year of operation, the site has averaged 4,700 search requests per month – that’s over 61,000 searches this year!

The site functions as a referral portal by housing brief profiles that facilitate targeted searches. Along with a profile, each listing includes a back link to the participant’s website, key search terms and direct contact details.

Participation in go-BiO is free, however, organizations and companies must have a Saskatchewan presence to be included. Potential participants apply online to become part of the database. Once the application is approved, participants can customize and update their entry at their discretion, thus providing flexible and up-to-date reporting of activities.

The key benefit to participation is exposure. Besides being accessible through searches, participants receive extra search engine recognition whenever go-BiO is re-catalogued.

Searching go-BiO is also free. The database portal has received praise from several Canadian and international organizations as a valuable tool for seeking Saskatchewan-based partners for business and research ventures. In addition to pan-Canadian and international networking, Ag-West Bio hopes that listed participants will search the database to find collaborators within the province.

“Go-BiO helps make connections within the Saskatchewan biofuels and bioproducts sector,” stated Terry-Lynn Quadri, Vice President Strategy and Business Development at Ag-West Bio, “The traffic on the go-BiO site indicates the value of this comprehensive online resource. Go-BiO is clearly a benefit to Saskatchewan’s growing bio-industrial sector.”

Harms & Company Consulting was pleased to participate in the original development, design, and population of go-BiO and hopes that the tool will continue to be of benefit to the Saskatchewan bioproducts, biofuels, and bioprocessing sector.