A Self–fulfilling Prophecy

<p>Author Profile vii</p>
<p>Foreword ix</p>
<p>Preface xi</p>
<p>1 Becoming a Strategic Researcher: Increasing your Chances of Long–Term Success 1</p>
<p>Introduction 1</p>
<p>Mentors and Role Models 2</p>
<p>Positive Peer Relationships 5</p>
<p>Hot Research Topics 6</p>
<p>Active Professional Engagement 7</p>
<p>Rapid Career Progress 8</p>
<p>Summary 9</p>
<p>2 Critical Self–Analysis and Personal Improvement: Do I Currently Have the Skills and Knowledge to Become an Expert Health Researcher? 11</p>
<p>Introduction 11</p>
<p>Critically Evaluating your Strengths and Weaknesses 13</p>
<p>Summary 20</p>
<p>3 Benchmarking your Capabilities and Performance: Improving your Chances of Success within a Competitive Environment 23</p>
<p>Introduction 23</p>
<p>Benchmarking your Career Progress 24</p>
<p>Identifying your Career Targets 26</p>
<p>Profiling your Competitors/Peers 27</p>
<p>Understanding the Background to Research: Australia s National Priorities in Funding Health Research 28</p>
<p>Purpose of Personal Support: The NHMRC Post–Doctoral Training Fellowships 30</p>
<p>Scoring Individual Applications 31</p>
<p>Picking the Winners 37</p>
<p>Summary 38</p>
<p>4 Choosing the Cutting–Edge of Health Research 39</p>
<p>Introduction 39</p>
<p>Identifying a Hot Research Topic 39</p>
<p>New Research Horizons: The Heart of Soweto Study 42</p>
<p>Increasing Admissions for Heart Attack in Soweto: A Historical Comparison 46</p>
<p>Taking it One Step Further: Identifying a Unique Topic 52</p>
<p>Summary 54</p>
<p>5 From Potential to Reality: The Importance of Achieving Timely Milestones to Bring your Research to Fruition 57</p>
<p>Introduction 57</p>
<p>Completing a Timely and Successful PhD 59</p>
<p>Key Qualities of a PhD–Qualified Researcher 64</p>
<p>Consolidating a Foundation for Success: Post–Doctoral Fellowship 68</p>
<p>Summary 70</p>
<p>6 Becoming a Prolific Publisher 73</p>
<p>Introduction 73</p>
<p>Publishing: What Should You Be Aiming for? 74</p>
<p>Key Attributes of a Prolific Publisher 77</p>
<p>Summary 80</p>
<p>7 Successfully Applying for Competitive Research Funds to Support your Career Path and Research Programme 81</p>
<p>Introduction 81</p>
<p>Improving your Chances of Funding Success 82</p>
<p>Putting It All Together as Part of a Persuasive Research Application 85</p>
<p>Developing a Compelling Curriculum Vitae 121</p>
<p>Completing a Successful Interview 130</p>
<p>Summary 131</p>
<p>8 Putting It All Together: A Self–Fulfilling Prophecy of Career Success in Health Research 133</p>
<p>Introduction 133</p>
<p>Putting It All Together 133</p>
<p>Personal Reflections on an Emerging Research Career 135</p>
<p>Summary 165</p>
<p>References 167</p>
<p>Index 169</p>