The EARLI Special Interest Group Writing and the ZHAW School of Applied Linguistics, organize the SIG Writing Research School from May 29 to June 1st, 2026. The research school takes place prior to the 21st biennial SIG Writing conference to be held at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland, from June 2nd to 4, 2026.
Theme and Topics
The SIG Writing Research School will focus on methods for writing research. Junior researchers working towards a PhD will get to know various research methods from respective experts in the field. The trainers will also engage in dedicated mentoring and coaching sessions to give feedback on drafts provided by the participants (for research papers, the PhD project proposal, etc.). We will provide space for discussing all things writing research and academia at large.
Courses will cover:
- Uncovering Hidden Writing Processes: A Hands-on Introduction to Keystroke Logging with Inputlog
- Analyzing and Visualizing Keystroke Logging Data
- Fluency as a Multifaceted Construct: The Various Concepts and Measurement Methods
- Measuring Handwriting Fluency and Control — A Research-Oriented Introduction to CSWin
- Tracking Writing and Researching Processes Across documents and Tools by Using Screen-Recording
- Writing and AI: A Process and Product Viewpoint
- On, for, and with practitioners: Fostering transdisciplinary dissertations in times of science criticism
- Publishing your Writing Research Study—Insights into Editorial Processes
- In Search of your Inner Supervisor
Venue
The SIG Writing Research School 2026 takes place at the Seminarhotel Boldern (belongs to Männedorf), Switzerland.
Application
Junior researchers working on a PhD project or aiming to start a PhD project are invited. The submission system asks for the following information that will allow the trainers/mentors of the research school to decide about acceptance to the research school:
- Motivation: Why do you want to attend the research school? What do you want to gain, what are your expectations? What do you bring to the research school? Make references to specific parts of the program (300 words)
- PhD project: Title and brief description (200 words)
- PhD process: Status of the PhD project (are you thinking about a suitable topic or already near completion) and description of the process (e.g., cumulative vs. monographic, will there be publication and/or defense, field of your degree) (100 words)
- Supervisor and institution: Where do you do your PhD, what is the field of your degree, who is your supervisor, are you part of a larger project or a research group? (50 words)
Submission of the Application
All applications must be written in English and submitted using the online submission system: https://www.earli-eapril.org, application will close on January 17, 2026. Please note that this is a firm deadline!
To submit a proposal, you need your user name and password for the EARLI system. If you never used any service by EARLI, you first need to create an account.
On the User Dashboard, you find the section “My Submissions.” Click “New Submission” and then “SIG Writing Research School 2026”. In the meta data section, please choose exactly 4 keywords matching your interest or your PhD project. The keywords are used to assign reviewers accordingly.
Application Criteria
The applications will be reviewed by the trainers and mentors of the research school. They will use the provided information for balancing participants, adjusting the program, and to ensure a significant experience for everybody. The main criteria for acceptance is the motivation: what do you want to gain from and what do you bring to the research school?
The number of participants is restricted to 20.
Important Dates
