Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
The Graduate Junction has only just been launched online and is growing fast but we need your help to spread the news; please help us spread the news byinviting other researchers.
If you have a question or suggestions for the site email us now.
If you want to know more about adding a listing to the website our listing frequently asked questions
Below are some answers to a few of the questions we have received so far.
1) Is this site useful for me?
The Graduate Junction is designed for Masters, Doctoral and Postdoctoral researchers in any field, in any part of the world and whatever stage of the research process they are at. If you are working towards a Masters and just starting your research career, you have an idea of what area you want to focus on but will also want to know who else is doing that kind of research. If you are a doctoral candidate or a post doctoral fellow it is essential to stay informed about current work. If you are writing a research proposal you will want to know what kind of work is being done right now. We feel The Graduate Junction will have something to offer all researchers. Keeping in touch with people whose work is interesting to you is advantageous for any researcher.
2) How does it work?
Upon registering, which is completely free, you have the option to enter as much or as little basic information about yourself and your research, however most importantly is your research keywords. These can be a mixture of general and specific keywords which describing your research interests. You will then be able to search for other users by research keywords or by insitution, department, supervisor or name. Once you find someone whose shares your research interests, you have the option email each them and/or and create a 'research link. A research link allows you to bookmark the research profiles you are interested in and keep a record of the network you are building. In addition to basic information, profiles can be further customised by including a research summary, publication list, educational background and a picture.
3) Why do I have to register?
We ask people to register before they can use the search function and view other researchers' profiles. This is partly to encourage active participation in the community, but primarily as a security measure which helps protect the privacy of our members. Although we encourage researchers to fill in details about themselves and their research interests in order to meet the aims of our site, any information you add to your profile is entirely optional and can be removed at any time.
4) How can I unregister?
At the moment there is no automatic unregister function. If you would like to be removed from The Graduate Junction, then please use the contact email function and let us know. We will then remove your details permanently from our database.
5) What if I finish my research?
If you have completed your research degree but are staying on in related research area, you can still keep your profile and just update your status over time. Even if you are leaving research for good but you want to leave a record of your research behind, we are developing an archive of 'final profiles'. This will allow others to see what you did and find out about any publications resulting from your research etc.
7) What is a research link?
The Graduate Junction allows you to make 'research links' with others. Research links are simply a way of bookmarking the research profiles which you are interested in and keep track of your research network. If two people feel that they share similar research interests, a virtual research link can be made. These links do not imply that two people are in collaboration or even work in identical fields. They simply allow a user to quickly find those people whose research they are interested in and they have made contact with in the past. Since these links are shown on a user's research profile, they also help other people who visit a particular profile to find even more people within a given network.
8) How do I form research links?
Research link requests can be made when viewing the profile of another user. Once the request is made that person will receive an email and be given the option to accept or decline the request. If you change your mind it is possible to cancel the request or delete the research link from your own profile page.
9) Why don't you restrict keywords?
The Graduate Junction recognises that research is incredibly diverse. Some users have asked us why we don't restrict keywords or subject areas by offering a selection from a dropdown menu. The Graduate Junction wants to celebrate the diversity in research. We feel that finding a small number of people who are interested in almost exactly what you are is better than finding a large number of people who work in the same general area. This might mean users have to be a little more inventive when performing searches but we think the outcome is more productive. To help you search we have added predictive text to the keyword fields of the advanced search forms.