Research Tools for Graduate Students Workshop Series: Past Workshops and Resources

Monday, January 22, 3:30-4:30 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Jon Petters

You're about to collect or already have data for your research project...now what? How do you manage it? What do you name the files? How do you share it? Learn the answers to all of these questions and more in this workshop, which will present an introduction to research data management, including the following topics: 

• Data management planning

• File naming conventions/organization

• Backing-up research data

• Documentation (metadata)

• Data sharing

• Data security 

• How the library can help 

View the recording of the workshop here. 

Files from the session, including presentation slides, are available here (requires VT login). 

Monday, January 29, 2:30-3:45 pm, Zoom 

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use citation manager that can help researchers save time and frustration. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of Zotero, including adding references to your library, organizing your library, and using Zotero to cite references within a document (both Word and Google Docs). To get the most out of the session, you should have Zotero downloaded to your computer already. Information on how to download the software is available at guides.lib.vt.edu/citationmanagers/Zotero.

View the recording of the session here. 

View the slides from the session (containing step by step screenshots) here. 

Monday, February 5, 4-5 pm, Zoom 

Mendeley is a free, easy-to-use citation manager that can help researchers save time and frustration. In this interactive workshop, you will learn the basics of Mendeley, including adding references to your library, organizing your library, and using Mendeley to cite references within a document. To get the most out of the session, you should have Mendeley downloaded to your computer already.. Information on how to download the software is available at guides.lib.vt.edu/citationmanagers/Mendeley.

View the recording of the session here. 

View the slides from the session (with step by step screenshots) here. 

Thursday, February 8, 3:30-4:45 pm, Zoom

Instructor: Rachel Miles

Are you ready to publish? Are you wanting to publish but uneasy about the process? Are you uncertain about all the different types of publishing and copyright policies? Are you wary about how to select a journal? Are you confused about author rights?

This introductory workshop will take you step-by-step through the scholarly pre-publishing process to help you identify “predatory journals,” understand author rights, find journal copyright policies, negotiate your rights during submission and acceptance, understand the different Open Access (OA) types, learn how OA benefits you, find high quality journals in your field (OA or subscription), and potentially secure funding when publishing in an OA journal. 

View the recording of the session here. 

View the slides used in the session here. 

Thursday, February 15, 2-3:30 pm

Instructor: Sarah Over

Looking for a different platform besides Word or Google for your thesis or dissertation? Or do you want to go beyond the basics in LaTeX? Come learn more about working with LaTeX in Overleaf for larger projects!

In the workshop we’ll cover:

• Setup and structure of large projects with multiple .tex files

• Using citation managers with LaTeX

• Creating your own commands

• Options for collaboration

Experience with LaTeX or other coding experience is highly recommended for this workshop. Students should use their own laptops and have a citation manager (EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, etc.) installed. Although we will be using Overleaf, you are welcome to use your preferred LaTeX distribution.

View the recording from the session here. 

View workshop materials here. 

Tuesday, February 20, 3:30-4:45 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Kiri DeBose

You’ve been assigned to write a literature review...but how do you get started? What kinds of literature reviews are there? Where should you search? How do you know what search terms to use? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this interactive workshop. By the end of this session, you’ll be able to 

• Identify the type of literature review to be conducted
• Find relevant databases to search in the life sciences
• Create effective search strategies

This workshop will focus on research in the life sciences. Other discipline-specific workshops will be offered; see other options above.

View the recording of the session here.

Slides from the session are available here. 

Wednesday, January 24, 2-3:15 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Lisa Becksford

You’ve been assigned to write a literature review...but how do you get started? What kinds of literature reviews are there? Where should you search? How do you know what search terms to use? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this workshop. By the end of this session, you’ll be able to 

• Identify different types of literature reviews

• Find relevant databases

• Create effective search terms 

This workshop will focus on research in the social and behavioral sciences, such as education, communication, human development, psychology, and sociology. 

View the recording of the session here.

View the slides used in the session here. 

Thursday, February 1, 2:00-3:00 pm

Instructor: Sarah Over

You need to write a literature review for your research or class... but how do you get started? What kinds of literature reviews are there? Where should you search? How do you search efficiently and effectively? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this interactive workshop.

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Identify different types of literature reviews

• Find relevant engineering and related databases

• Create effective searches

This workshop will focus on research in engineering, including computer science. Participants from other disciplines are welcome, but should be aware of the disciplinary focus of this workshop.

View the recording of the session here. (no slides were used)

Engineering Literature Review Planning Handout 

Tuesday, February 7, 3:30-5 pm

Instructor: Sarah Over

Come learn how to get started with this popular coding tool for writing technical papers! LaTeX (pronounced Lay-tech or Lah-tech) is a free typesetting system designed for technical publications that can be used for many writing projects.

In the workshop we’ll cover:

• How to create your first article

• How to add content including text, figures and citations

• Where to learn more about using LaTeX

• How to get the most out of Overleaf

All are welcome to attend no matter your field or LaTeX experience level. 

View the recording of the workshop here. 

View materials from the workshop here. 

Monday, February 12, 2:30-3:30 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Lisa Becksford

EndNote is one of the most powerful citation managers available today. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of EndNote, including adding references to your library, organizing your library, and using EndNote to cite references within a document. More information and a link to download EndNote 20 is available at guides.lib.vt.edu/citationmanagers/EndNote. 

View the recording of the session here. 

View slides (with step-by-step screenshots) here. 

Monday, February 18, 4-5 pm, Zoom

Instructor: Lisa Becksford

Citation managers like EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero are powerful tools that can help you save, organize, and cite your references. Their use can also help improve your workflow and make the research process easier and less stressful. This session will focus on ways to incorporate citation managers into your workflow. By the end of the session, you’ll be able to

• Integrate citation managers into your existing workflow 

• Identify personal best practices for using citation managers 

• Use advanced features of the citation manager of your choice to streamline your research workflow

This session will assume that you are already using and are familiar with a citation manager like EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley. If you’re not, you should familiarize yourself with a citation manager via one of the tutorials on this guide: https://guides.lib.vt.edu/citationmanagers

View the recording of the session here. 

Slides from the session are available here. 

Monday, February 26, 2:30-3:45 pm, Zoom 

LinkedIn, ORCID, ResearcherID, ResearchGate, Google Scholar Profile...how do you choose which sites you should create professional and scholarly profiles for? This workshop will provide an introduction to creating an online scholarly presence. Learn how to create and maintain your unique author identifier to ensure you get credit for your work, link your profiles together for ease of use, and track research impact metrics and online engagement of your research.

View the recording of the session here. 

View the slides from the session here. 



Thursday, March 21, 3:30-4:45 pm, Zoom

You’ve published an article...now what? How do you share your scholarly work with others online? This workshop will cover best practices for scholars to promote their work online. Learn how to use the emerging science communication tool, Grow Kudos, to write nontechnical titles and summaries of your research in order to engage broader audiences; learn how to effectively use Twitter and other social media channels to promote your work; and finally, learn how to track usage statistics and metrics to assess and improve your promotional efforts.

View the recording of the session here. 

View the slides from the session here.