Latindex and AuthorAID successfully complete second online research-writing course in Spanish

In collaboration with Latindex, AuthorAID has run the second online course in research writing in Spanish for researchers in Latin America. This six-week course began on 21 June 2016 and came to an end in early August. It was moderated by Alex Arreola, an INASP Associate in Mexico, and facilitated by two members of Latindex, Andrea Sanchez and Saray Cordoba.

The 322 researchers who began the course came from 21 countries in Latin America, with large numbers of participants from Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Guatemala and El Salvador.

“Nearly 59% of the course participants were female. We are delighted that female participation continues to remain high for this particular course,” said Ravi Murugesan, INASP Associate and course administrator.  

“The course had a 53% completion rate, and most of the participants who completed it obtained a mention of merit. Courses like the one we offered are in great demand in Latin America and Spain,” observed Latindex course moderator Alex Arreola.

Alex added: “The online format adds flexibility that makes this course attractive to researchers, who are often busy. After this successful course, Saray, Andrea and I are very excited about the next INASP-Latindex course that will begin in October.”

“There were 4168 applicants from which were selected 600 people, 358 people were registered and 213 concluded the course. We plan to open new course on next October 2016 for 1000 people,” said Latindex course facilitator Saray Córdoba. 

To complete the course, the participants had to obtain a score of 80% in each weekly quiz, and they were encouraged to take part in the writing activities, which included peer assessment.  

Latindex (Regional Cooperative Online Information System for Scholarly Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal), established as a network in 1997, is a free bibliographical information system. Latindex aims to disseminate, foster and develop information to support science in the best manner possible.

The AuthorAID programme based at INASP helps researchers in developing countries to publish and otherwise communicate their work. It also serves as a wider global forum to discuss and disseminate research. AuthorAID is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).