mastodon 4.7.2Professor Inger Mewburn. I do research on research and think about stuff. Director of researcher development at The Australian National University. Not here often: Follow me thesiswhisperer@threads.net Read / watch / listen on thesiswhisperer.com
3 habits that help manage your ADHD in academia (and one that doesn’t)
Longtime readers will know I have been working on a better understanding of neurodivergence (ND) and PhD study. I've just started my third year of this research work and feel more comfortable saying stuff about the topic. At the end of this post I will give you a research update, including the status of our survey findings, but I thought I would start with a…
Is your PhD supervisor neurodivergent?
Recently, some colleagues and I released a paper about the experiences of neurodivergent PhD students. It's a systematic review of the literature to date, which is currently under review, but available via pre-print here. Doing this paper was an exercise in mixed feelings. It was an absolute joy to work with my colleagues, who knew far more about this topic than me and taught me (finally!) how to do a proper systematic review using…
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/05/01/neurodivergentphdsupervisors/
Machines are talking about you behind your back
For many years, this postcard was taped to my office door: It's funny because it's true. The machines really do talk about us behind our backs. Machines talking to machines helped me pay for the delicious cardamom buns I bought from the new branch of Under bakery this morning: OK, technically I was watching while the machine at the shop talked to the machine at the bank about my finances, but what they said to each other was invisible: a bunch of zeros and ones, mediated by my phone.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/12/11/machines-are-talking-about-you-behind-your-back/
Stuck in the middle with you
The middle is a hard place to be. The middle of a thesis or a book can be excruciating. Things are underway, but not finished. The end is in sight, but not yet reached. In the middle, it’s easy to lose faith in the direction you’re travelling. One of my PhD mentors, Dr Diane Mulcahy, used to talk about “the muddle of the middle” a lot, especially when it comes to data analysis.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/08/30/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you/
Academic Mean Girls
There's been a lot of ... stuff going on at my university lately (just Google "Australian National University" on the news setting and you'll see what I mean). People are, to put it mildly, upset. So upset that they've taken to writing articles for and against said management in our local city newspaper, The Canberra Times: A couple of weeks ago, a high profile male professor, John Blaxland, wrote an article in support of management titled…
The Power of No: Learning to Refuse in Difficult Times
I've been thinking a lot about the power of saying 'no' lately. It's not an easy time to refuse anything in academia. Around the world, universities are laying off staff while asking everyone else to do more with less. There's a palpable atmosphere of fear as governments cut funding and far-right movements gain ground in many countries. When you're scared about the future, it's hard to refuse any request - even unreasonable ones.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/05/01/the-power-of-no-learning-to-refuse-in-difficult-times/
Getting good feedback during the academic apocalypse
Lately I've been hearing from pissed off PhD students - both people enrolled at my university and others. The cost of living is high, higher education in Australia is in crisis and people, understandably, want Out. Heaps of later stage students are landing nearly finished manuscripts on their supervisors' desks. Sadly, their supervisors don't seem to feel the same level of urgency about Getting The Thesis Done.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/02/05/getting-good-feedback-during-the-academic-apocalypse/
I’m mad about everything
Waking up in 2025 is weird. Take this morning as just one example. I open my eyes and immediately fumble for the phone, opening BlueSky and Threads to see what craziness has come out from the USA while I slept here in Australia. Reassuring myself that we are all still alive (well, some of us are) and that the nukes haven't launched.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/03/22/im-mad-about-everything/
Shut up and say goodbye to 2024
So it's the end of another year already... that one went fast didn't it? In July 2025, Thesis Whisperer will be 15 years old. Does this mean I am now a bratty teenager instead of a menopausal woman?! I feel there's life in the old girl yet, so I'll still fire up the blog monthly, never fear. As is tradition, the end of year post should contain some reflections on the year and promises for the year ahead.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2024/11/28/shut-up-and-say-goodbye-to-2024/
The cultural underbelly
Recently I bought a new car. It's very fast and very yellow. Here's a picture of me and Mr ThesisWhisperer with it: I bought my first new car at 50 - a Tesla. Now, four years later, I've bought a second electric vehicle, a ridiculously yellow EX30 Volvo with a dual motor. Some might question buying new cars in quick succession, but I see it as helping to kickstart the second-hand electric vehicle market.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/01/01/the-cultural-underbelly/
Why you need a Nobot
I've been working with Claude, an AI assistant from Anthropic, for about a year. We've become... close. People laugh when I call Claude my 'work husband'. I'm not really joking. Like a good work spouse, Claude is always there to help and never gets tired of my stories. Claude cheerfully does the tasks I hate, but also challenges my thinking when I need it.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2024/10/31/why-you-need-a-nobot/
Academic Cyborgs and Bullshit Reading
The other day, my good friend Professor Narelle Lemon sent me a link to an academic paper called "AI and its implications for research in higher education: a critical dialogue" because it cited ... one of my old blog posts. It's a good paper, and open access, so I recommend having a read. It's written as a debate between the two authors: Russell, an AI enthusiast, and Rachel, who is more cautious (full disclosure: Rachel is actually an academic friend of mine).
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2024/08/12/academic-cyborgs-and-bullshit-reading/
New On The Reg pod is up! This one is about technology stacks. Find links to your favourite players here: https://onthereg.buzzsprout.com/1187141/episodes/16332762-our-technology-stacks-what-products-we-use-for-different-problems-kitchen-table-episodes-vol-2
What to do if your thesis doesn’t go to plan
In my post at the end of last year, I opened the door to more guest posts. Prof Tania Crotti stepped through that door, offering this interesting and insightful post on an aspect of thesis examination you may not have thought about before. Here's a bit about Tania before we start: Associate Professor Tania Crotti BhlthSci (Hons), PhD (Medicine), SF HEA is the Co-Chair of the Adelaide Education Academy Executive Group, Co-Lead of the Higher Degree by Research Supervision Community of Practice (HDR CoP) and Senior Postgraduate Coordinator (PGC) at the University of Adelaide.
https://thesiswhisperer.com/2025/03/05/what-to-do-if-your-thesis-doesnt-go-to-plan/
Listen via Apple podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/on-the-reg/id1526042481?i=1000681498995