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

Wednesday, August 28, 2:30-3:15 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Lisa Becksford Russell

Who can help me at the library? How many books can I check out? What support do you offer for data management? What kinds of technology is available? How can I get something the library doesn’t own? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this virtual information session. By the end of this session, you’ll be able to 

• Locate research help at the University Libraries

• Navigate the library’s website

• Identify library resources that can help you succeed in graduate school 

Please note that in this session, we won’t be covering how to use databases or search for information; if you’re interested in learning more about those topics, please sign up for one of the literature review sessions in this workshop series. 

Slides from the session are available here. 

The recording of the session is available here. 

Wednesday, September 4, 2:30-3:30 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). 

Tuesday,  September 3, 3:30-4:45 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Lisa Becksford Russell

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. 

Monday, September 9, 2:30-3:45 pm, Zoom 

Instructor: Lisa Becksford Russell

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. 

Wednesday, September 11, 2:30-3:45 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