The Inclusive Researcher:
A Guidebook

Leela Viswanathan’s guide to incorporating EDI principles into the research enterprise is an important and illuminating addition to the suite of tools available to researchers. I love this guide and anticipate it will be a very popular book!  

Despite the current sociopolitical backlash to DEI initiatives, there is substantial empirical evidence that inclusion leads to positive individual and organizational outcomes. This book provides an astute collection of best practices (and guidance in implementing them) for particularly being an inclusive researcher. Bravo for this important work, and may researchers widely read and adhere to these practices!  

The Inclusive Researcher presents an inventory of tools, practices, and methods for investigators across the disciplines seeking to do principled research on issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. It provides vivid examples and practical suggestions for ethical and effective work by explaining the need for social relations of research suffused with humility, respect, curiosity, and empathy. This book is both a practical handbook and a ringing call to conduct research in ways that are as beneficial to the researched as to the researchers.

Figuring out how to engage EDI principles can sometimes feel awkward and exhausting. Enter The Inclusive Researcher. It offers something valuable: a grounded, clear, and practical path toward implementing EDI without anxious hand-wringing. Dr. Viswanathan brings decades of award-winning interdisciplinary experience to this guidebook that centres your agency as a critical researcher to help you reflect on your positionality, confront systemic barriers, and co-create knowledge. This is the book we all need as we remain committed during difficult times. Wise, accessible, and story-rich, this is a helpful how-to guide that you’ll be reaching for again and again.  

Written in an approachable tone, this practical and encouraging guide responds to the need for a foundational book on EDI in research. I would recommend it to faculty researchers to enhance their grant submissions, to staff researchers to incorporate into their training plans, and to PhD students needing professional development. 

Viswanathan’s expertise on equity, diversity, and inclusion principles is simply invaluable for interdisciplinary researchers at different stages, working in various environments, because it provides us with the urgently needed tools to support and improve research designs and practices with greater mindfulness, integrity, and rigour.  

Dr. Viswanathan’s book is the only one that examines the emotional and ethical stakes of embarking on a PhD. This is a unique and innovative approach to the PhD ‘how-to’ genre.  

After first reading the book, I was struck by the opportunity it created for me to revisit my values and consider how intentional I have been in my academic and research career. It’s easy to be distracted by what other people want for/from you and the ways things ordinarily work within academia. The book was a great reminder to look inwards, and remind myself of the things that mattered to me and that they didn’t have to be siloed off from my professional/academic self. 

I would highly recommend this book to PhD students at any stage. It offers invaluable insights and actionable steps to navigate the challenges of doctoral studies while maintaining alignment with personal goals. The networking chapter is a gem, I foresee myself referring students to time and again, regardless of where they are in their doctoral journey. Its insights into building social and career support networks are invaluable reminders of the importance of community and mentorship in navigating academia and careers successfully. 

The book is a must read for those both contemplating doing a doctorate and for those who are already immersed in a doctoral program. It’s practical with concrete examples and guidance on both the joys and pitfalls one may encounter during the doctoral journey, bringing clarity to the process.

This step-by-step guide, based on the author’s own journey to academic success, aims to help you avoid burn-out and maintain your equilibrium throughout.

If I had had a book like The Deliberate Doctorate when I was a student, I believe it might have changed my life and my own graduate experience.  

The Deliberate Doctorate is a powerful, momentum-building guide on how to navigate a PhD. Leela accomplishes what books that become the cornerstone of people’s lives do, express their competence, passion, and vulnerability all at once. This book provides a blend of stories and practical steps and places the PhD journey in the larger context of society. It has helped guide me through explorations of my decision to pursue a PhD and my broader career path at large, and I am confident it will do so for others.