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Insights into technical challenges in the field of microplastic pollution through the lens of early career researchers (ECRs) and a proposed pathway forward

Danopoulos, Evangelos; Stanton, Thomas; Ma, Yini; Horton, Alice A.; Chen, Qiqing; Levermore, Joseph M.; Li, Jiana; McGoran, Alexandra R.; Lai, Yujian; Nolte, Stefanie; Li, Ruilong; Alvarez Barrantes, Lucrecia; Tu, Chen; Beaumont, Hazel; Williams, Ben; Hartl, Mark G.J.; Shi, Huahong; Rotchell, Jeanette M.; Nel, Holly A.

Authors

Evangelos Danopoulos

Thomas Stanton

Yini Ma

Alice A. Horton

Qiqing Chen

Joseph M. Levermore

Jiana Li

Alexandra R. McGoran

Yujian Lai

Stefanie Nolte

Ruilong Li

Chen Tu

Hazel Beaumont

Ben Williams

Mark G.J. Hartl

Huahong Shi

Holly A. Nel



Abstract

Early career researchers (ECR) face a series of challenges related to the inherent difficulties of starting their careers. Microplastic (MP) research is a topical field attracting high numbers of ECRs with diverse backgrounds and expertise from a wealth of disciplines including environmental science, biology, chemistry and ecotoxicology. In this perspective the challenges that could hinder scientific, professional, or personal development are explored, as identified by an international network of ECRs, all employed in MP research, that was formed following a bilateral workshop for scientists based in the UK and China. Discussions amongst the network were grouped into four overarching themes of technical challenges: in the field, in the laboratory, in the post data collection phase, and miscellaneous. The three key areas of representativeness, access to appropriate resources, training, and clean labs, and the use of databases and comparability, as well as the overarching constraint of available time were identified as the source of the majority of challenges. A set of recommendations for pathways forward are proposed based on the principles of research openness, access to information and training, and widening collaborations. ECRs have great capacity to promote research excellence in the field of MPs and elsewhere, when provided with appropriate opportunities and suitable support.

Citation

Danopoulos, E., Stanton, T., Ma, Y., Horton, A. A., Chen, Q., Levermore, J. M., …Nel, H. A. (2023). Insights into technical challenges in the field of microplastic pollution through the lens of early career researchers (ECRs) and a proposed pathway forward. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11, Article 1271547. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1271547

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 1, 2023
Online Publication Date Nov 17, 2023
Publication Date Nov 17, 2023
Deposit Date Jan 5, 2024
Publicly Available Date Jan 8, 2024
Journal Frontiers in Earth Science
Print ISSN 2296-6463
Electronic ISSN 2296-6463
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 11
Article Number 1271547
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1271547
Keywords Representativeness; Contamination; Comparability; Time constraints; Networking; Limitations
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4484625

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2023 Danopoulos, Stanton, Ma, Horton, Chen, Levermore, Li, McGoran, Lai, Nolte, Li, Alvarez Barrantes, Tu, Beaumont, Williams, Hartl, Shi, Rotchell and Nel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.




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