What good researchers do when they don’t know what they’re doing with Prof. Inger Mewburn (The Thesis Whisperer)

​Research means working at the edge of what is known, so uncertainty is not a sign that something has gone wrong. Uncertainty is part of the job. Yet researchers are rarely taught what to do when they are unsure how to proceed.

​In this talk, Professor Inger Mewburn explores the practical habits researchers use to make uncertainty productive: searching, talking, sketching, writing, testing ideas and following promising leads. Rather than treating expertise as knowing all the answers, she argues that experienced researchers develop better ways of finding their next move.

​The session will offer practical strategies for getting unstuck, thinking through difficult problems and continuing to make progress when the path ahead is unclear.

​Inger Mewburn is Director of Researcher Development at the Australian National University, where she runs professional development workshops and programs for researchers. Alongside founding the Thesis Whisperer, she writes scholarly papers, books and book chapters about research student experiences, with a particular interest in post-PhD employability.

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