Guidance for Researchers: 2024 Spring workshops

The spring Term 2024 Researchers workshops programme runs from 13th to 21th March and offers researchers the opportunity to:

• Navigating EndNote: A Workshop on Efficient Reference Management and Seamless Citation Integration (2024-03-13)
• Get More from Microsoft Word with an IT Training Workshop (2024-03-14)
• Search and Discovery in Archives and Special Collections (2024-03-20)
• Thematic Analysis Insights (2024-03-21)

Consult the programme:

Join us for an interactive workshop that will empower you to harness the full potential of EndNote Web. Whether you're a seasoned user or just getting started, this session is designed to enhance your proficiency in utilising EndNote Web for effective reference management and seamless integration with Microsoft Word using the Cite While You Write plugin.

Highlights of the workshop include:

Efficient Reference Management:

• Learn how to import and export references into EndNote Web from various sources.
• Create and organise a comprehensive library of references.
• Manage your library effectively by utilising features like creating groups.

Collaboration and Backup:

• Discover strategies for organising references, sharing them with collaborators, and creating secure backups.

Cite While You Write in Microsoft Word:

• Dive into the functionality of the Cite While You Write plugin.
• Explore the automated insertion of references and formatting of citations in the BCU Harvard reference style and other popular styles.
• Generate bibliography lists effortlessly as you work on your paper or assignment in Microsoft Word.

Account Setup:

• To make the most of the workshop, please ensure you have created an EndNote Web account before the session.

Speaker: Jagjit Marwaha, an expert from IT Services, will guide you through the workshop, providing insights and practical tips to enhance your EndNote Web experience.

Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your reference management skills and streamline your academic writing process. Book your place now for an engaging and informative session. Register your place via the Library Events.

Are you a PhD student eager to develop your Microsoft Word skills for theses, monographs, and publications, or an academic researcher, looking to brush up your IT skills of Microsoft Word, e.g. polishing your rough drafts into professional publications? Join our tailored workshop with an experienced IT Trainer.

Highlights of the workshop include:

Efficient Document Creation:

• Learn the tips and tricks to streamline your document creation process, saving you valuable time.

Advanced Formatting:

• Make your thesis or research paper visually impressive, polished, and accessible.

Collaborative Editing:

• Explore the collaborative features of Microsoft Word, perfect for group projects and peer reviews.

Reference Management with EndNote Online:

• Use EndNote Online to handle references and bibliographies.

Who Should Attend:

• PhD students seeking to boost their Microsoft Word proficiency for thesis writing, research papers, and collaborative projects.
• Researchers conducting academic writing, with a view to producing long-ish research papers, reports and books or book chapters or monographs.

Speaker: Ceri Morgan, an expert from IT Services, will guide you through the workshop, providing insights and practical tips to enhance your Microsoft Word experience. 

Ceri Morgan (they/them) is an IT Training and Development Officer at BCU. They have a background in Humanities and Languages, and worked in Digital Assessment and Academic Practice before moving into IT Training. They provide IT Training workshops for staff and students at BCU, and their main interests lie in assessing and improving Digital Literacy across the University, as well as process improvement and change management. They can be contacted at IT.Training@bcu.ac.uk 

Registration is essential. You can attend it either in-person in JP004 (Joseph Priestley building on the City Centre campus) or online. Recording will be made available post event in this section. Register your place via the Library Events. 

This workshop for researchers includes the opportunity to view rare items from the University Archive & Special Collections.

We will cover:

• an overview of our collections
• where you can find records of items in our collections
• how you can gain information about items awaiting cataloguing
• access arrangements
• search tips for items in our collections and wider national collections

The Special Collections Librarian, Nancy Jackson, will be glad to discuss how we might be able to support your research or assist you to incorporate viewings or facsimiles of collection items into your teaching.

Venue is on City Centre Campus - Curzon, Room C103 - with an online option. The slides of the presentation and the collection menu will be share with online participants. However, the in-person visit to the venue (and even handling the rare material in some cases) would give you the opportunity observe and be inspired by the materials closely. We therefore strongly encourage you to book in-person if circumstances allow. If you cannot make it in person after booking, please cancel the in-person booking and register an online booking instead. Places are limited. Only 12 in-person bookings, due to space restriction. Register your place via the Library Events. 

Speaker: Nancy Jackson.

Nancy Jackson is our University Archive & Special Collections Centre Librarian at Birmingham City University. Nancy is an experienced teacher, having completed a PGCE prior to work at BCU in addition to having acquired her Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education while working at BCU. Nancy would be glad to discuss items you may wish her to present to your students or which you would like to incorporate into your existing teaching. Nancy is keen to support and facilitate research in the University Archive & Special Collections Centre, wherever possible matching your research interests with items in our exceptional collections.

Presentation slides will be shared below post-event. A Special Collections Menu is enclosed below for your information. Recording will be made available in due course.

This workshop will introduce thematic analysis, a popular qualitative data analysis technique particularly in psychology and the social and health sciences.

The presenter will:

• Share their experiences and learning, with a particular focus on Braun and Clarke's (2006) method and the updates that have followed. 
• Recommend useful resources on thematic analysis (books, articles). 
• Recommend tools that could help in your thematic analysis. 

Speaker: Chloe Smith.

Chloe is a Learning, Teaching and Research Librarian at Birmingham City University, working with the Arts, Design and Media faculty to deliver information literacy sessions to all levels of students and staff. With 8 years experience in higher education libraries, Chloe will guide you through the workshop sharing her insights and experiences from her recent MA research where thematic analysis was used to analyse interview data.

The workshop will take place online and be recorded. Register your place via the Library Events.