Blog submissions: Contributing to the site

The Scottish island research network has been created to bring together research and researchers working in or with Scottish islands. The site hosts a blog, where island researchers are invited to contribute news about upcoming research projects, and information about the findings of previous research projects.

Blogs are searchable, and each blog is also tagged by research topic and the island(s) which it relates to, supporting communities and researchers to identify current and past research of interest.  

Blogs are invited from researchers working in academic and other environments and at different stages of their career. We ask only that blogs meet the requirements set out below. Blogs will be reviewed by one or more of the site editors prior to publication. At present the site editors are Rosie Alexander, Bobby Macaulay and Becky Ford. But we would welcome other volunteers to join the blog as an editor – please contact us if you are interested in becoming an editor. Before writing a blog for us please contact us with a short outline of your planned contribution.

Instructions and style guide for blog authors

We welcome blogs of up to 1000 words in length. Shorter blogs are welcome too, and please remember that shorter blogs are often more effective.

Blogs should normally either:

• Outline findings of a research study
• Present an upcoming research study, including call for participation

Blogs should be written in an accessible manner, suitable for the general public. It is especially useful if blogs can focus on the practical implications of research for island communities.

Blogs should be accompanied by at least one image. Please ensure that you have the rights to use this image, or identify an image that is free from copyright restrictions using a site like pixabay.com.

Blogs should also be accompanied by a list of key words or tags. These should at a minimum cover the island / islands that the research relates to and the topic of the research.

Posts should be fully referenced, but please use hyperlinks to resources rather than bibliographies or footnotes.