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Module 3 – Collect and organise your evidence

This module explains how to record, document and organise evidence of your skills and experiences.

In this module:

  1. Take a systematic approach to gathering evidence of your accomplishments.
  2. Practice communicating evidence of your growing expertise and experience.

By the end, you’ll have a well-organised collection of achievements you can confidently draw from whenever needed.

Collecting and organising your evidence

This module starts with two experiences you’ve likely had:

  1. Backing up your claims with evidence:Whether in research, academia, or daily life, we’re often expected to support our statements with solid evidence. From “evidence-based policy” in government to the common question, “Where’s the evidence for that?” we all know how important it is to back up our claims.
  2. Not having evidence ready when needed: Think about situations like job interviews—these often test how well you can present clear, convincing examples of your skills and experience. Yet, we’ve all struggled at times to quickly recall specific achievements that back up our expertise.
An aerial view of a woman's hand writing in a notebook on a table, with a computer screen in front of her with a woman's face on it. The desk is strewn with stationery items. Photograph from Pexels by Julia M Cameron.

Activity: Identify evidence of your development

Let’s build on your Researcher Profile from the previous module, where you analysed your experience and expertise. You’re now ready to fill in the final column: Evidence to Collect.

What to do:

  • Reflect on your achievements:
    Think about the areas of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) you’ve covered so far.
  • Identify Specific Evidence:
    List concrete examples of evidence that showcase your achievements and expertise. This can include a variety of formats—be as comprehensive as possible!

Here are some ideas for evidence you might collect:

  • Written research reports or published papers
  • Presentation slides
  • Abstracts and summaries
  • Audio recordings from interviews
  • Photographs from field trips
  • Data analyses you have conducted
  • Video recordings of your presentations or performances
  • Conference programmes where your talk is listed
  • Funding applications you have written
  • Blog posts or articles you’ve created
  • Teaching materials you’ve developed
  • Certificates from courses you have completed

Feel free to get creative! These examples are just a starting point—your evidence will be as unique as you are and reflect your individual research journey.

If you have access to the RDF Planner, consider adding your evidence to the relevant descriptors for a more organised profile.

Activity: Reflect on your evidence

Self-assessment can help you make informed decisions about the next steps of your professional development planning. Let’s take some time to reflect on your progress!

Consider the following questions about your achievements in relation to the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF):

  • Where do you have plenty of evidence?
    Identify the areas of the RDF where you can easily provide supporting evidence for your achievements.
  • Which areas need more evidence?
    Think about which aspects of the RDF you might want to develop further in the future. Are there areas that could benefit from more supporting evidence?
  • What next?
    Are there any areas of the RDF that you haven’t covered at all? This might be ok, depending on your goals, or you might want to focus on developing skills. As everyone’s career pathway is unique it is unlikely that you would have covered all the areas of the RDF. With your goals in mind, think about what skills you might want to develop next.

Make some notes on your thoughts:

These reflections will be valuable as you move through the next modules, helping you to plan your development more effectively.

If you added evidence to the RDF Planner in the previous activity, consider printing or reviewing your Evidence Report online. This can provide useful insights as you reflect on your achievements!

Organising and keeping track of your evidence

Once you start being systematic about collecting evidence of your experience and expertise, you will need to decide where and how to store it.

Your university may offer specific software for helping with this, and if your institution subscribes to the RDF Planner, you could explore this as a solution.

Otherwise, you might want to create your own system, either through organised folders in your documents, or by using different tools or platforms. Some options might be:

  • Microsoft OneNote: organise professional development materials, take notes during events, and save web clippings.
  • Notion: organise your professional development goals, track your progress and store evidence like certificates and meeting notes.
  • Evernote: Keep notes from workshops, save articles, and track development activities
  • Trello: create boards for different development areas, track tasks, and attach evidence or resources
  • Google Drive: store documents, presentations and evidences; create folders for different development areas
  • Miro or other online whiteboard: visualise your professional development plan, brainstorm, and track milestones with sticky notes and diagrams

Activity: Organising your evidence

Deciding on a way to organise your evidence will be a decision based on personal preference. You may need to try out a couple of options or to continually develop your system.

Take some time now to have a think about what system might suit you, and perhaps make a start. You might want to consider organising by:

  • Date of activity
  • By type of activity or theme
  • By RDF sub-domain or descriptor

Once you have a system set up and ready to use, make a commitment to inputting and reviewing evidence.

Planning in time to do this, perhaps on a weekly or monthly basis, can help make it a habit.

Using your evidence: communicating your skills and expertise

In this section, we’ll explore the importance of effective communication with professionals who may be considering employing you or funding your projects. These individuals are often more interested in what you can do rather than just what you know.

The Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF), along with the supporting Employability Lens, provides a valuable foundation for understanding how your research skills align with what employers seek and value in researchers. It can help you transition into roles across other sectors by highlighting the transferability of your skills to employers.

Understanding employer language

Employers often use different terms to describe skills, experiences, and personal attributes. To communicate effectively, familiarise yourself with the language they use and try to incorporate it into your discussions. Speaking the same language as your audience is a key to effective communication—even if it’s not your primary language.

Presenting your application

When applying for a role, whether through a cover letter and CV or an application form, keep these essential tips in mind:

  • Match your expertise: Ensure your skills and experience align with what they are looking for.
  • Mirror their language: Use the same terminology and phrases they employ to describe the role.
  • Be concise and focused: Present yourself clearly and directly.

You can view some examples of academic and non-academic CVs and cover letters here. For the rest of this section, we will focus on responding to competency-based questions, which can come up during both applications and interviews.

Responding to competency-based questions

Employers often use competency-based questions to assess your suitability for a role, giving you the chance to provide practical examples of your experience. To ensure your responses are effective and structured, consider using the STARR approach:

  1. Situation: Describe the context or situation you were involved in and why.
  2. Task: What specifically needed to be achieved (objectives)
  3. Action: Detail the steps you took and how you approached the task.
  4. Result: Share the outcome of your actions.
  5. Reflect: Look back on what you achieved—what worked well, and what could have been improved? Implicitly, how does this evidence your competency?

Using the STARR approach will help you communicate your expertise and experiences clearly, making a strong impression on potential employers.

Activity: The STARR technique

  • Choose a specific activity or piece of evidence that you have collected in the previous activities
  • Use the STARR technique outlined above to write a short paragraph about the activity or evidence
  • To practice for interviews, you may want to record yourself explaining this example and listen back to it to identify areas for improvement

Module summary

  • Identifying evidence for your development can help you to identify areas for further development and can help you to demonstrate your skills when required.
  • Setting up (and using) a system for collecting and organising your evidence will make it easier for you to see your progress and for you to find examples for job applications and interviews.
  • Using the STARR technique can help you communicate and demonstrate your skills and experiences.

Now move on to the next module to learn about selecting and prioritising areas for further development.

Next up

Charting your path forward

Bringing it all together: creating your professional development plan