This is adapted from a series in the UOPX Student Newsletter dedicated to helping students navigate and gain value from the Research Hub but is applicable for all users.  Have a topic or question?  Email us at researchhub@phoenix.edu.  Make sure to log in to best view links below. 

What are Research Hub Blogs?

Research Hub blogs are short articles written by your UOPX research peers about topics related to the research experience.  Blogs might be from an academic or professional scholarship perspective.  Blogs are a dynamic aspect of the Hub in that they allow us to build a knowledge base of our expertise and experiences in a format that allows for discussion, critique, and sharing.   

Blogs typically convey the following types of information:

• Experiences, such as what it was like to attend a conference or understand reviewers feedback on a dissertation draft;
• Leadership, such as what it means to be a scholar-practitioner-leader or critical questions within a research center; and
• Information, such tips to submitting a presentation, critique of a mixed methods design, reviewing servant leadership, or what makes something Boyer’s scholarship.

There are different types of blogs:

• User blogs, published by users on a variety of topics;
• Research Center and Special Interest Group blogs that contain news and information particularly relevant to their research area and members, moderated by the center or SIG leader; and
• Editorial blogs that have a specific theme and review process such as the Research Process Blog and the Practitioner Corner.

Why should I read blogs?

Blogs provide you with information, but they also provide you with an opportunity to engage and grow as an emerging scholar.  When reading a blog you might gain exposure to a different interpretation of a theory or additional information beyond traditional education.  You can use the opportunity to become a critical consumer of scholarship and to ask questions or engage with the author (and other readers) about the content.  And, perhaps you will even find a blog author who shares a similar interest!

Finding the Blogs:

There are four ways to find blogs on the Research Hub. You can read the top three featured blogs from the Research.phoenix.edu homepage.  Second, you can navigate from the top header menu: click on News, then click on Blogs.  Third, you can click on the blog menu from any University Research Center or Special Interest Group home page (example).  Last, the blogs show up under in author's User Profiles under their profile picture (example).  You can also search for a topic within the blogs here.

Write a blog:

Did you know you can write a blog, as a registered Hub user?  This is a great chance to share your expertise and gain experience as a scholarly writer.  Learn more here.