Why do I have to do research? It’s horrible! And it has nothing to do with my subject.

Almost everyone in professional life will use research at times. Sadly, not all research is good research, and it is helpful to know how to distinguish good from bad. One of the best ways to acquire the necessary skills is to do a research project yourself.

Can you help me with my essay, proposal, dissertation, or thesis?

I get so many emails and messages on social media from students asking for help that I can no longer answer them. Your tutors or supervisors should be able to help you or, if you’re not currently in education, seek out relevant books and websites.

Do you work with individual students?

No. I get asked for this a lot, and I simply don’t have enough time.

Will you come and speak at my university?

Yes, if you’re paying a reasonable fee plus expenses. If you’re unsure what ‘a reasonable fee’ is, contact me and I’ll be happy to advise. If you want to figure it out yourself, you’ll need to take into account time for correspondence, preparation, travel, and administration, as well as the event itself.

How can you justify charging so much?

People who pay me for work buy not only my time but also the right to draw on my experience and skills. These include: 12 years of work experience across all three sectors; over 25 years of experience as a commissioned researcher; three research degrees; almost 15 years of work as an independent scholar; several published books on research methods and ethics; teaching at universities around the world since 2008.

Do you charge for everything?

I’m always happy to have an initial discussion about possible work and collaborations at no charge. I am open to doing deals, so sometimes I work in exchange for non-monetary rewards such as a place at a conference. I will do a proportionate amount of up-front work on a grant application if the bid includes an allocation of work for me. I don’t charge for working with marginalised researchers, such as Indigenous researchers or service user researchers, as long as I can do that work from my own office.

Can you offer me an internship or paid work, or help me get research funding?

No. I work alone and generate my own paid work for myself; I am not able to generate paid work for other people. I have minimal experience of applying for research funding as in the UK, where I am based, independent researchers are not eligible to apply for any government research funding. There are occasionally small grants from associations for which independent researchers are eligible, but they are always heavily over-subscribed.

I want to be an independent researcher; do you have any advice?

First read this. Then search my blog for any other information you need, using the search box and/or the tags (‘money’ is a good one). Check out the National Coalition for Independent Scholars which, despite its name, is a global organisation and includes researchers as well as scholars. They have an active Facebook group you can join without having to be an NCIS member. Consider a part-time job to start with while you build up your independent research work. Good luck!