Writing together works. Help us find out why.
Shut Up & Write!® is part of the largest study ever done on writing groups, with researchers at RMIT University, the University of Cambridge ThinkLab, Keele University and Excelsia University College. If you have ever written with a group, your experience is the data.
Anonymous. About 10 minutes. Open to anyone, anywhere.
Why this study exists
Writing groups aren't new, and people who join them will tell you they work. There's surprisingly little research explaining what is actually happening in that room.
Shut Up & Write!® now runs hundreds of free sessions a week across more than 80 countries, which makes it possible to ask the question at a scale nobody has had access to before.
Who this study is for
For writers: If you write for yourself
You don't need to be an academic, and you don't need to have finished anything. If a writing group has helped you get words down, or if it hasn't, that's what the researchers want to know.
Your answers feed directly into how community writing groups get designed and run, here and elsewhere. Community writers are rarely asked about any of that, and this is the part of the study where they get a say.
For researchers: If you write for your research
This study looks at how writing groups affect academic identity, writing practice, and the communities that form around them. Findings will be published and will give universities running writing programs something more solid than anecdote.
If you have taken part in a Shut Up & Write! session through your institution, or run one, your experience is part of the evidence base.
What taking part involves
About 10 minutes.
One online survey, on your own device, whenever suits you.
Anonymous.
No identifiable personal information is collected.
Generalized reporting.
Nothing that comes back can be traced to you.
Participant information.
Who is running this
Writing Partners, the nonprofit that founded Shut Up & Write!®, is the organizational partner for this study. Researchers at RMIT University, the University of Cambridge ThinkLab, Keele University, and Excelsia University College are leading the work, looking at how writing groups shape practice, confidence, and belonging.
Research Contacts
- Dr Haidee Hicks, RMIT University, Australia
- Dr Jason Murphy, RMIT University, Australia
- Professor Lisa Hodge, Excelsia University College, Australia
- Tyler Shores, ThinkLab, University of Cambridge, UK
- Dr Huseyin Cakal, Keele University, UK
- Amaia Robertson Nogues, Shut Up & Write!
For organizers
If you organize a group
This is the one ask we'll make about the study. If your writers might want to take part, share the link.
Questions about taking part
Do I have to be an academic to take part?
No. The study is open to anyone who has written with a group, whether you write for yourself or for research. Community writers and academic writers both count.
I only went to one session. Do I still count?
Yes. One session is enough. If a writing group has been part of your writing life at all, the researchers want to hear from you.
Is it really anonymous?
Yes. No identifiable personal information is collected. Any data reported is generalized. Nothing that comes back can be traced to you.
What happens to the results?
Findings will be published and will give universities and community writing programs something more solid than anecdote about how writing groups affect practice, confidence, and belonging.
Who do I contact with questions?
Reach the research team directly: Dr Haidee Hicks or Dr Jason Murphy at RMIT University.
Take the survey
About 10 minutes, and it closes one of the biggest gaps in what we know about writing groups.