Kansas State University

K-State Libraries spring graduate workshop series

Submitted by Sarah McGreer Hoyt

The Library and Your Research is a free workshop series that helps graduate students enhance and professionalize their scholarly pursuits. The series is sponsored by the Graduate Student Council and K-State Libraries. 

All sessions take place from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in 407 Hale Library.

• Managing Citations and References with RefWorks, Jan. 30. Citations and references are essential to research and publishing, but the process of storing, organizing and formatting them can consume a lot of valuable time. This hands-on workshop introduces RefWorks, a powerful citation manager. Participants will set up a RefWorks account and then import, organize and edit citations. We'll also cover inserting citations directly into a Word document, creating a bibliography and more. Computers will be available, but participants are encouraged to bring a laptop so they can set up Write-N-Cite, a Word plug-in, on their own devices.

• Starting Your Literature Review, Feb. 6. Are you preparing a literature review for a paper, article, thesis or dissertation? This workshop will help you! Learn why a literature review is important, how to use K-State Libraries' databases to select articles, how to evaluate the articles and how to organize the review.

• Managing Your Data, Feb. 13. We all have data, and we all need data — whether it's text, digital photos or spreadsheets full of numbers. Learn how to identify, access, evaluate and use data.

• Getting a Head Start on Using the ETDR Template, Feb. 20. Are you preparing to graduate next semester, or would you like to get a head start? This workshop is just for you: You'll get started using the ETDR Template for your electronic thesis, dissertation or report. The ETDR Template meets the Graduate School's formatting requirements, so don't wait until the last minute to learn the ETDR ropes. We'll also cover the use of special Word features plus citation management and copyright basics.

• Understanding Academic Integrity through Multiple Lenses, Feb. 27. Academic integrity is apparent in all aspects of graduate student life. In this workshop, we will examine the various lenses you may use to view academic integrity. You will explore what it means to you as a student in the classroom, a researcher, a scholarly writer and a graduate teaching assistant. The goal of the workshop will be for you to be aware of some rules and regulations, to understand how to report violations if needed and to identify resources that will assist you in your own work and writing.

• Web of Science and PubMed: What you don't know (or need a refresher about), Mar. 6. Web of Science isn't just for the sciences: It has significant information for the humanities as well. Attend this session to see what is available for the sciences, social sciences and humanities. PubMed has a great controlled vocabulary called MeSH, Medical Subject Headings, that will help you save time when searching by retrieving results more tailored to your research. Join us to see how you can make PubMed work for you.

• Managing Your Research and Publication Impact, Mar. 13. Don't get caught unprepared using others' works or mismanaging the copyright of your own research or publications. This workshop will briefly cover managing and registering the copyright of your ETDR, determining whether something is in the public domain, making a fair use determination, completing permission requests and searching for items with creative commons licenses.

• Discovering Primary Sources at K-State Libraries, Mar. 27. Researchers in all disciplines can uncover valuable information in primary sources such as letters, photographs, maps and technical reports. Participants in this hands-on workshop will not only delve into intriguing materials from our collections, but they'll also learn how to locate and access primary sources through our university archives, special collections, databases and books.

Questions? Contact Adriana Gonzalez, head of academic services, at ajgonzalez@k-state.edu or 785-532-5760.