Nature Masterclasses Online

This course is designed for both those who are new to publishing and those wishing to refresh their skills. Throughout the course you will develop your writing skills and confidence writing for journals, gain an understanding of the editorial process and what editors are looking for, and learn best practices for submitting a paper and peer review.

Key features

• 3-part course with course certificates
• 36 editors from 20+ Nature Research journals
• 11 hours of learning
• 10-minute lessons
• English language captions and transcripts

Skills gained

• Develop writing skills and confidence writing for journals
• Understand editorial processes and what editors look for
• Learn best practices for submitting a paper and peer review

Part 1: Writing a research paper (Duration: 4h20)

Part 1 of the Scientific Writing and Publishing course focuses on how to write a clear and concise article that will appeal to a broad audience.

Modules

1. What makes a great paper?
2. Elements of writing style
3. Titles and abstracts
4. From introduction to conclusion
5. Data management
6. Data presentation

What you'll learn

• What editors look for in a great paper
• How to write clearly, write a great title and abstract, and structure your paper
• How to manage and present your data

Part 2: Publishing a research paper (Duration: 5h30)

Part 2 of the course focuses on how to submit your research paper and gives a comprehensive overview of the editorial and publishing process.

Modules

• Authorship and authors' responsibilities
• Selecting a journal for publication
• Submitting your paper
• Understanding peer review
• Journal decisions
• The editorial process
• Measuring impact
• Plagiarism and other ethical issues

What you'll learn

• How to select a journal for publication and submit your paper
• How to navigate the editorial process, including how to write cover letters, the peer review process, as well as the different editorial decisions and how to appeal them
• Ethical considerations, such as duplicate submission

Part 3: Writing and publishing a review paper (Duration: 1h10)

Part 3 of the course focuses on how to write and publish a scientific review paper.

Modules

• Writing and publishing a review paper

What you'll learn

• What makes a great review paper
• How to plan, structure and write a review — and create a clear and compelling story supported by relevant citations
• How to referee a review paper

This course has been developed for researchers looking to participate in or set up and lead collaborative projects. Taught across 3 parts, with 8 hours of learning, this course helps you to understand the benefits and challenges of collaborative research. The course teaches you key collaborative skills, how to initiate and run successful collaboration, and how to maximise your projects.

Key features

• 3-part course with course certificates
• 17 experts in collaboration including researchers, funders, editors and professionals
• 8 hours of learning
• 15-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Skills gained

• Understand the different forms, benefits, and challenges of collaborative research
• Develop key collaborative skills such as communication and teamwork
• Learn how to initiate and run a successful collaboration
• Learn how to maximise the value of, and conclude, a collaborative project

Accessible dip in and out format

• The course's five modules contain bite-size lessons and provide an accessible, dip in and out format
• You can download a certificate of completion at the end of each course-part

Part 1: Introducing collaboration (Duration: 1h00)

Part 1 of the Effective Collaboration in Research course introduces the idea of research collaboration and how becoming a more effective collaborator could help to further both your research and your career. Even if you’ve already participated in collaborative research, Part 1 provides a useful introduction to the topic of research collaboration and valuable context and advice around the pros and cons of collaborative projects and how they can help you reach your goals.

Modules

1. Why collaborate?

What you’ll learn

• Why collaborative research is becoming more prevalent
• The pros and cons of collaborating
• The specifics of collaborating with industry
• How collaborative projects can help advance your research and career

Part 2: Participating in a collaboration (Duration: 1h30)

Part 2 of the course focuses on how to ensure you make a meaningful contribution when you join a collaborative project. It will help to equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to become an effective and valuable member of the team. This part is particularly suited to researchers who have little or no experience in working collaboratively.

Modules

1. Being an effective collaborator

What you’ll learn

• Strategies for working in a new research team
• Key collaborative skills such as dividing tasks, managing your time, and communicating efficiently
• Tools to help you collaborate
• How to plan to maximise the skills, ideas, and contacts you’ll gain from collaborating
• How to overcome possible roadblocks when participating in collaborative projects

Part 3: Leading a collaboration (Duration: 5h30)

If you already have collaborative experience and are ready to initiate your own research collaboration, Part 3 of the Effective Collaboration in Research course covers all aspects of setting up, leading, managing, and closing down your own collaborative research project.

Modules

1. Initiating and leading a collaboration
2. Running and troubleshooting a collaboration
3. Outputs and next steps

What you’ll learn

• Identify and approach potential collaborators with the right skills and expertise
• Effective leadership behaviours to drive a successful project
• Set up collaboration agreements, codes of conduct, and project management plans
• Seek and apply for funding for your project
• Keep collaborators motivated, monitor progress, and address delays
• Manage challenges including conflict between collaborators, stress, ethical misconduct, administering shared funds and resources, and going over-budget
• Maximise the outputs, value and impact of your collaboration
• Publishing collaborative papers
• How to wrap-up a collaborative project that has reached its goals, or end a project early if required

The Focus on Peer Review course is delivered by journal editors from Nature Research, as well as active researchers from King’s College London and Imperial College London. In four short modules you will gain a comprehensive and insightful overview of peer review.

Key features

• 3-4 hours of learning
• 11 editors from Nature Research journals and two active researchers
• 10-minute lessons
• English language captions and transcripts

Skills gained

• Understand the importance and responsibilities of peer reviewers
• Learn how to prepare a peer review report
• Discuss ethics and innovations in peer review

Designed for busy researchers

• Total course duration: 3-4 hours
• Bitesize lessons: Log in with a spare 10 minutes
• Flexible learning: Complete the course in a single sitting or use it as a ‘dip in and out’ resource
• Certificate of completion available

Module 1: Your role as a peer reviewer (Duration: 0h40)

What you’ll learn

• express the importance of peer review in the scientific process
• understand the role of the peer reviewer and what is expected of you once you accept a peer review assignment
• recognise when it is and isn’t appropriate to agree to peer review

Module 2: The peer review report (Duration: 1h10)

What you’ll learn

• develop a strategy to perform peer review in an efficient and thorough way
• recognise which aspects of a paper you should review and what to look out for in each section
• identify the appropriate tone and construction for your report

Module 3: Ethics in peer review (Duration: 0h50)

What you’ll learn

• outline your responsibilities as a peer reviewer
• recognise and respond to conflicts of interest
• recognise acceptable confidentiality practices

Module 4: Variations and innovations in peer review (Duration: 0h50)

What you’ll learn

• identify and explain the types of peer review that are in common usage
• describe and evaluate different initiatives to keep peer review open and honest
• consider variations across journals and disciplines

The Narrative Tools for Researchers course explains how to use narrative techniques to help you communicate your research to the scientific community in an effective, compelling and memorable way.

In this course you will discover why narrative is such a powerful tool for communication, how good use of narrative can benefit you and your research at every stage of your career, and how to create, combine and refine narrative elements to make your research clear, memorable and persuasive in many different contexts – from talks and papers to grant and job applications.

Key features

• 3-module course with a course certificate
• 10 experts in using narrative techniques in scientific communication, including researchers, Nature editors and science journalists
• 3-4 hours of learning
• 15-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Skills gained

• Understand the benefits of using narrative tools to communicate your research more effectively to scientific peers and stakeholders
• Learn how to create and combine narrative elements to build a compelling scientific story
• Learn how to refine your research story depending on the audience and format for your communication

Modules

1. Why use a story?
2. Building your story
3. Refining your story

What you’ll learn

• The benefits of using a compelling story to communicate your research to your peers and stakeholders, such as funders or industry partners
• How to build and combine different narrative elements that can help you create a more compelling scientific story
• How to tailor the details of your story according to the needs and expectations of your audience
• How to refine your story by soliciting feedback and implementing edits

The Managing Research Data to Unlock its Full Potential course covers the key elements of effective data management during research projects.

In this course you will discover how good data management will benefit your research and career, and learn how to implement best practices in research data management in order to maximise the outputs of your research.

The course is suitable for new researchers wishing to build their skills in data management, as well as more experienced researchers looking to enhance their research data practice and/or mentor others.

Key features

• 4-module course with a course certificate
• 10 experts in data management including researchers, funders, data publishing and institutional data management specialists
• 4-5 hours of learning
• 15-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Skills gained

• Understand the benefits of managing research data effectively
• Learn the steps required to create and maintain a data management plan
• Learn how to apply best practices to organise, store, archive and check the quality of your data
• Evaluate the different options for sharing research data

Modules

1. Welcome and introduction
2. Creating and maintaining your data management plan
3. Managing data during your research
4. Sharing your data

What you'll learn

• Why effective data management is beneficial to your research and your career
• How to create and maintain a data management plan
• How to apply best practices for organising, storing, archiving and quality checking your data
• How to ensure that your data is understandable to yourself and others
• The pros and cons of different options for sharing your data

The Persuasive Grant Writing course is aimed at researchers in the natural sciences who want to use narrative tools to improve the quality of their grant applications to make them more informative and persuasive.

The course contains insights from experts with wide-ranging experience in grant writing, including:

• Writing and editing grant applications
• Securing grant funds for research projects
• Reviewing grant applications
• Using narrative techniques in science communication

Key features

• 3-module course with a course certificate
• 9 experts in grant writing including researchers, program officers from funding bodies, and the Chief Editor of the Nature Research Editing Service
• 3.5 hours of learning
• 15-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Modules

1. Before starting your grant application
2. Targeting your audience
3. Creating a narrative

What you'll learn

• Understand how narrative tools can improve the quality of your grant applications
• Learn to align your grant proposal with the requirements and objectives of your chosen funder
• Learn how to apply narrative tools when writing their grant proposal to make it more informative, persuasive and engaging

The Networking for Researchers course aims to support researchers in acquiring practical skills to build and maintain successful professional networks to advance their research and career in person and online.

The target audience of the course is scientific researchers wanting to gain confidence by improving their networking skills, or mentor others through the networking process.

Key features

• 4-module course with a course certificate
• 10 experts in networking including researchers, experienced academic networkers, fellows, networking consultants and communications specialists
• 3-4 hours of learning
• 15-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Modules

1. Why network?
2. Getting ready to network
3. Connect with new networking contacts – in person and online
4. Nurturing and harnessing the power of your network

What you'll learn

• Understand the theory behind and the importance of networking, and how to use your research and career goals to guide you to find appropriate networking opportunities
• Learn how to research and prepare key resources to help you build an effective network
• Learn strategies to approach and connect with potential contacts, and how to follow up – both in person and online
• Learn strategies for nurturing your networking contacts, and how to leverage them to advance your research and career

This course is aimed at researchers in the natural sciences who want to improve the quality of their peer-to-peer scientific presentations to both virtual and in-person audiences. It provides the foundation for inexperienced speakers to construct and deliver impactful presentations. It will also allow experienced speakers to perfect their presenting skills by learning how to apply storytelling techniques to their talks.

Key features

• 4-module course with a course certificate
• 10 experts in scientific presentations including researchers and professionals such as the Editor in Chief of Nature who excel at presenting their work, renowned presentation designers and trainers and experts in narrative tools
• 7-8 hours of learning
• 15-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Modules

1. Overcoming your research presentation challenges
2. Developing the story behind your talk
3. Building an engaging slide deck
4. Preparing and navigating your talk

What you'll learn

• Identify techniques that can help to overcome the challenges that researchers commonly experience when delivering oral presentations
• Learn how to build compelling research stories to use as the foundation for your presentations
• Learn how to create professional slide decks that effectively communicate research findings to your audience
• Learn how to apply strategies to help you deliver your presentation effectively on the day, in both virtual and face-to-face environments

This course is for researchers in the natural sciences who want to develop their data analysis skills, or mentor others through the process.

Key features

• 2-module course with a course certificate
• 10 experts in data analysis including experienced statisticians and data scientists, journal editors and early career researchers
• 3-4 hours of learning
• 20-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Modules

1. Introduction to data analysis and the importance of planning
2. Preparing your data for analysis

What you'll learn

• Understand the importance of planning and preparing for data analysis
• Learn the key terms and processes relating to data analysis
• Learn the principles of creating and updating a data analysis plan

This course is for researchers in the natural sciences who want to develop their data analysis skills, or mentor others through the process

Key features

• 3-module course with a course certificate
• 10 experts in data analysis including experienced statisticians and data scientists, journal editors and early career researchers
• 4-5 hours of learning
• 10-20-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Modules

1. Introduction to data analysis
2. Exploring your data and reviewing your analysis plan
3. Analysing your data

What you'll learn

• Understand the importance of conducting effective data analysis
• Identify the best tools for exploring various datasets
• Identify the range of analytic methods available and understand which is most suited to your data
• Learn strategies for obtaining feedback, troubleshooting and expressing the limitations of your analysis

This course is aimed at researchers in the natural sciences who want to develop their skills in interpreting scientific results. It provides the knowledge, life-long practical skills and confidence required to address their scientific question, contextualise their findings to understand the bigger picture, and understand what they bring to their scientific field, and write an interpretation with a focus on their key message.

Key features

• 1-module course with a course certificate
• 5 experts in interpreting results including a Nature Portfolio journal Editor, and experienced researchers, statisticians and data scientists.
• 3 hours of learning
• 10-20-minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

What you'll learn

• Recognise and avoid the most common pitfalls when interpreting results
• Understand the steps you can take if your results are unexpected
• Learn how to address your research aims, contextualise your findings and understand how they advance your scientific field
• Communicate your findings with a focus on your key message

Key features

• 4-module course with a course certificate
• 9 experts in experimental design including experienced researchers and Nature Portfolio Journal Editors
• 7 – 8 hours of learning
• 10 – 30 minute lessons
• English language subtitles and transcripts

Modules

1. Foundations of experimental design
2. Developing your motivation, assumptions and hypotheses
3. Assembling your experimental plan
4. Utilising your experimental design

What you'll learn

• Understand the benefits of honing your experimental design skills before embarking on full-scale experiments
• Learn how to develop research motivations, identify assumptions and formulate hypothesis
• Learn how to select the precise methods, tools, techniques and protocols you need to answer your research question
• Learn how to refine and make use of your experimental design

Key features

• 4-module course with a certificate of completion
• 11 experts in research career development including experienced academic researchers, Nature journal editors, and coaching and career specialists
• 7 – 8 hours of learning
• 10 – 30 minute lessons
• English language captions and transcripts

Modules

1. Exploring your values, interests, skills and career goals
2. Finding a research position
3. Applying for a research position
4. Excelling at the interview

What you'll learn

• How to find potential opportunities that align with your personal attributes, desires and goals
• How to apply for positions in a way that will highlight your strongest attributes and most relevant qualities
• How to present yourself authentically and effectively during all stages of the interview process, giving you the best possible chance of success
• Understand how to assess whether a job you are offered is suitable and choose between competing job offers