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Editorial
. 2021 Oct 28;17(10):e1009440.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009440. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Ten simple rules for training yourself in an emerging field

Whitney M Woelmer  1 , L M Bradley  2 , Lisa T Haber  3 , David H Klinges  4 , Abigail S L Lewis  1 , Elizabeth J Mohr  5 , Christa L Torrens  6 , Kathryn I Wheeler  7 , Alyssa M Willson  8
Affiliations
Editorial

Ten simple rules for training yourself in an emerging field

Whitney M Woelmer et al. PLoS Comput Biol. .

Abstract

The opportunity to participate in and contribute to emerging fields is increasingly prevalent in science. However, simply thinking about stepping outside of your academic silo can leave many students reeling from the uncertainty. Here, we describe 10 simple rules to successfully train yourself in an emerging field, based on our experience as students in the emerging field of ecological forecasting. Our advice begins with setting and revisiting specific goals to achieve your academic and career objectives and includes several useful rules for engaging with and contributing to an emerging field.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The percent of publications that use the term “emerging field” or “emerging discipline” out of the total publications published in Web of Science from 1970 to 2020.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Timeline of the development of ecological forecasting, an emerging field that combines methods, data, and theory from a number of parent fields.
Some of the milestones in the field are provided as examples of the accumulation of resources and community building that has occurred thus far.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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