Update: This post (and a later post) used to contain a link to a local copy of the essay “Networking on the Network”. I’ve taken it down in response to a request from the author; it can (probably) be found by searching online.
Phil Agre has written an essay, “Networking on the Network” (NotN), that I strongly recommend to anybody involved in research, at any level, but particularly to those beginning research careers. NotN is ostensibly about the process of building and maintaining electronic networks as part of a research career. In fact, it contains an enormous amount of information on all aspects of research.
I intend to use NotN as source material to stimulate exploration, analysis, and synthesis. To that end, I have archived the August 18, 2002 version of the document on my website. More recent updates may be available at Agre’s website.
(As an aside, I wonder at the origin of the document. It offers a wide range of insights into research, so much so that the underlying organizing principle of electronic networking sometimes feels a little artificial. Perhaps Agre felt a need to distinguish the document from others texts on the research process?)