SSP invites 'early years' professionals to take part in study

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The Society for Scholarly Publishing is looking to better understand the challenges and needs of early career individuals in the scholarly communication field, and is inviting them to take part in a study relating to their needs and preferences.

'Early years' professionals (those with less than 10 years' experience) do not need to be a member of SSP to participate. The goals of the study are to better understand the current needs of those just starting out in the industry, to survey the resources that are beneficial to understanding the field, as well as to develop a plan of how the SSP can better prepare early career members for fulfilling careers.

'In the day-to-day workplace of an early career professional in scholarly communication, the broader development and education of these individuals can often be overlooked,' said Matt Cooper, co-chair of the SSP's Early Career Task Force. 'The survey allows for those just starting out in the field to voice their work and training experiences, and to share with the community the resources they seek out and require further, in order to grow professionally.'

Participants will be asked to provide information about their education and work experiences, career objectives and interests, challenges faced, training and development preferences, and professional development resources they find to be the most helpful.

'One of SSP’s strategic goals is to enhance engagement of early career professionals by encouraging and enabling membership, attendance, and participation,' said SSP executive director Melanie Dolechek. 'Before we can effectively develop programs to better support this important demographic and the future leaders of scholarly communications, we must first understand the unique challenges they face and what resources will help them achieve their objectives.'
 
Results of the survey will be summarised and presented at the 2016 SSP Annual Meeting in Vancouver and will be used as a resource for new initiatives for the SSP board and committees.
 
To take part, visit: www.surveymonkey.com/r/SSP_PR. The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and the identity of all participants will remain confidential. The survey will remain open until March 1st. Participants will be entered in to a drawing to receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), founded in 1978, is a nonprofit organisation formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field.