The Writing Process

The Art of Cartography: Creating Maps for your Research

Posted on March 24, 2025March 11, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*A figure of national research stations in Antarctica, which I recently created for my research using the Python library Cartopy.*

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved maps—I was a major geography nerd growing up. Jumping forward to today, my like-minded roommates are just as obsessed as I am: the walls of our dorm are literally covered floor to ceiling with maps. These include (but are not limited to) a glaciological map of Antarctica, public transport maps of numerous cities (Toulouse, Christchurch, and New York are just some examples), and a road map of my home state of Washington!

Maps aren’t just a fun hobby: They’re also enormously important in numerous research fields (in addition, of course, to just being plain useful). Whether your research field of interest is history or meteorology or epidemiology, there’s a good chance that you’ll be reading—and making!—some maps. In my own field of glaciology, maps are of paramount importance, whether it’s a map of glacier melt contribution from southeast Alaska or a map of Antarctic ice core sites. I’ve written this guide to provide some helpful resources and tools for making maps for your research, so hopefully it will serve as a good starting point! I should note that this isn’t a tutorial, but plenty of great tutorials should exist on the Internet for all of these tools.

Research Insights Series: An Interview with James Raymond Vreeland

Posted on March 19, 2025March 7, 2025 by Shannon Yeow

Book Cover of The IMF and Economic Development featuring a photo of a protesting group with a magenta color overlaid — *Book Cover of The IMF and Economic Development by James Raymond Vreeland* *(Cambridge University Press)*

James Raymond Vreeland, a Ph.D. graduate from New York University, holds the position of Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Politics. His research focuses on international political economy, particularly in the realm of international institutions, and serves on the editorial board of International Organization. His publications span various scholarly journals, such as American Political Science Review, International Organization, and Journal of Politics, showcasing his extensive contributions to academia.

As a former student in POL 396: International Organizations, I was introduced to a wide range of research on international organizations, including works by academic scholars and Professor Vreeland himself. While continuing my Research Insights Series from last spring, a series of blog posts to provide glimpses into the current research landscape at Princeton, I knew I wanted to interview Professor Vreeland. As my first politics course at Princeton, it sparked my curiosity about political science research, and more broadly, research in the social sciences.

A Guide to Reading Research Papers Like A Pro

Posted on March 5, 2025February 19, 2025 by Haya Elamir

This is a blackboard featuring some difficult concepts from a neuro class I took. I had to read research papers a lot for this class, so it partly inspired this post, hence the inclusion of this photo — *Blackboard featuring some neuroscience concepts from a neuro class taken at Princeton*

We all have to do it: read research papers. They can be jargon-y, long, confusing, and all in all an upsetting experience, but there’s no way around it.

First of all, let’s start by approaching this with a more positive mindset. Reading research papers can give us access to a bucketload of information that no other resource can provide. It is the most updated source on your favorite scientific topics, a Vogue magazine for the scientific world if you will. As such, reading them can be fun–but only if you know how. Now that we are a bit more optimistic about reading them, we can start with the first few steps.

Citations, Citations, Citations: A Guide to Keeping Track of these Pesky Beasts

Posted on February 28, 2025February 19, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*Many books in a library. Citing them all would probably take a long time. Credit: Emil Widlund*

If I have to be completely honest, dealing with citations is my least favorite portion of the academic writing process. Ascertaining what citation style I need to use, successfully figuring out how to actually format citations in that style, and managing the hodgepodge of footnotes and endnotes are all tasks that seem, to me, cumbersome. Of course, these are necessary tasks: it is imperative that if we paraphrase, quote, or utilize in any way the work of others, we should always attribute the proper credit to them. But recognizing the importance of academic integrity doesn’t prevent us from still finding the task of dealing with citations to be a chore! If you’re in the same boat as I am, I’ll try to provide some advice and tips on dealing with citations!

Go To A New Library

Posted on December 18, 2024December 12, 2024 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Depicts inside of East Pyne Courtyard in the snowfall — *East Pyne Hall, former home to the Princeton University Library Collection*

As someone who has spent more than a little time in libraries both here and back home, I can’t express how important libraries are. Oftentimes, we reduce our campus libraries to simple study spots, places we can go when we really just need to lock in. But, this is reductive. Libraries are connection points, providing the opportunity to connect and reconnect with friends and peers in the most serendipitous of ways. Additionally, our libraries are invitations to discovery. Each building stands as a testament to the physical accumulation of centuries of knowledge. From the official writings of American presidents to enzyme analyses of gene editing technology, Princeton’s libraries are practically bursting with knowledge to be uncovered.

When I talk to friends about studying at Princeton, one thing I always find myself circling back to is the beauty of our campus and community. This goes beyond the aesthetics of the buildings, but relates to the experiences that Princeton students can all share in. Our campus is one of connection and discovery, and I believe that there is no aspect that makes this as clear as our libraries. The Princeton University Library system claims the 9th largest collection of titles of any University in the country, so it’s no surprise that our campus is dotted with libraries. Of these numerous libraries though, many get overlooked. These overlooked libraries all represent unique opportunities that deserve to be noticed.

Proven Tips on How to Read Scientific Literature

Posted on December 16, 2024December 11, 2024 by Gabriel Ascoli

A printed article with yellow highlighting under a blue pen with the hands of the person reading and annotating. — *A person reads and annotates an article printout. Photo Credit: Y.Arcurs/iStockphoto*

In our undergraduate years, as we get involved with research and science, it can be incredibly overwhelming to read scientific literature. It’s easy to drown in hundreds of thousands of articles with fancy-sounding titles, pages and pages of complex writings, and dozens of figures that you have no idea what they mean. However, reading scientific literature is a necessary skill to have, and you must be able to understand what scientists know, and what they don’t.

Therefore, I’ve created a list of tips and advice to tackle scientific literature as an undergraduate. Follow my advice, and you’re on your way to impress your supervisors with your knowledge, and create a nuanced understanding of where your research lies within the body of knowledge that scientists have been cultivating!

Diving into the “Scholarly Conversation” and Other Tips on Academic Writing

Posted on December 4, 2024December 2, 2024 by Advik Eswaran

A blank Google Docs document. — *A blank Google Docs file, with academic writing potential as of yet unrealized.*

Every student at Princeton lives their own unique experience, but if there’s one thing all Princeton students have in common, it’s that we all need to know how to write academically. The only required class for all Princeton students, first-year writing seminar, is a rite of passage. Later on, students of nearly every single major must complete independent work, writing their junior papers and senior theses; when writing these, knowing how to effectively communicate your findings is an essential skill. Here, I’ll talk about some strategies for getting a handle on academic writing, which I hope you’ll find useful!

A Guide to JP-Writing in the Humanities

Posted on November 15, 2024November 5, 2024 by Ignacio Arias Philippi

Books in Library — *Finding the right sources within a literary field is a key part of all independent work*. *Photo credit: Olena Bohovyk.*

Writing a Junior Paper (or two, depending on your major) can be a stressful process. But it does not have to be that way. Below are some strategies to help you minimize JP-induced stress and streamline your research process.

Mystery Writers in Research Labs: How to Analyze Your Data

Posted on October 25, 2024October 25, 2024 by Haya Elamir

The image is to depict a study corner in the Trustee Reading Room to add the feel of a study session to the post since it is about analyzing data. — *Trustee Reading Room, Firestone Library*. *Photo credit: Matt Raspanti*.

“So what does this data mean?” My professor asked, looking at me expectantly. What does the data mean? “What does this data tell you about the cancer cells?” If he thought rephrasing it made it any better, it didn’t. I am not quite sure what I said to save face (and frankly, I really do not want to remember), but I must have said something because my professor just nodded. “When you look at your data, I want you to create a story. It may be a mystery, but then you’d be providing a certain set of clues.”

It is very easy to get caught up in generating data, especially if the data is particularly tricky and you’re concerned about making sure it looks right, generating the right graphs, having the right axes, numbers and titles. It can be a headache. By the time the graphs are done, I would rather not look at it anymore or think too hard about the numbers. However, as lab reports and analysis questions stack up for our classes, it becomes prudent to know how to analyze these graphs. While I am not a seasoned veteran, I have a few tips that helped me approach these types of situations.

Surf’s Up: A Guide to Internet Surfing, and other Assorted Browsing Research Skills

Posted on October 16, 2024October 16, 2024 by Advik Eswaran

This image depicts a Google search of "What is research," which symbolizes the purpose of this post—i.e. figuring out how to research online. — *What is research? Perhaps we can ask the Internet…*

If you’re anything like me, you first thought that “research” essentially amounted to surfing the Internet. Back in the glory days of middle school, “research” meant the rewarded privilege of getting to use the laptop carts, productively using class time on googling information about our various project topics (and definitely not secretly playing games). Now, as the mature, worldly college student you now are, perhaps you think you know better. “True” academic research, the clever reader now knowingly tells themselves, is historians dusting through archival documents and scientists mixing frothy chemicals in the lab.

Yet there’s a missing part here: a crucial element that takes us back to our elementary and middle days of excited googling. To make any significant intellectual contribution to any field, one first has to understand the current state of knowledge in that same field. To borrow the term favored by the Writing Program, we need to understand the scholarly conversation. How do we know if we’re making a contribution to something, if we don’t understand what that something is? Understanding the current state of research in a given field is a crucially important skill—really, a prerequisite—for conducting your own effective research in that field.

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