Research skills workshops

---

Workshops calendar 

View all workshops and events at the Information Commons

---

Reconnect with your research skills

Reconnect with your research skills

Getting ready to return to your studies after the summer? Continuing students can get ahead with our programme of one-hour webinars to reconnect with your research skills in referencing and avoiding plagiarism, and discovering and questioning information.

Research skills for dissertations masterclass

Research skills for dissertations masterclass

Are you working on your dissertation or research project?  Sign up to the Library’s Research Skills for Dissertations Masterclass. This extended webinar combines a range of short sessions covering the following topics, delivered by staff from the Library and 301: Academic Skills Centre:

• Searching for and discovering information
• Referencing tips and tricks
• Planning your dissertation (301: Academic Skills Centre)
• Discovering and using images and infographics

Library Guide to support dissertations

Research Skills Workshops

Discovering

Getting the Most Out of StarPlus

This session will focus on how to use StarPlus in the most effective way to discover your recommended reading, search for further reading, filter your results, generate citations and make full use of your library account to start organising your references.

Searching For Information: Going Beyond StarPlus

In this session you will learn how to use databases to find the best sources for your independent research project in order to achieve the highest marks.

You will consider your information needs and have the opportunity to create an effective search strategy to produce a manageable set of relevant results.

Discovering and Using Images, Graphs, Charts and Figures

In this session we cover how copyright applies to images and figures, and introduce the different Creative Commons licenses. You will also find out where to discover images and figures that can be reused and how to attribute creators correctly when you reuse them.

Using AI and GenAI for information searching

In this session you will explore how AI and GenAI can be used to troubleshoot and enhance academic information search strategies.You will have the opportunity to create your own search strategy and develop it further using Google Gemini. You will consider the limitations of GenAI chatbots for finding information, recognising the importance of critical evaluation of AI-generated suggestions and the value of established approaches to finding academic information.

How to Impress the Employer Using Commercial Awareness

Commercial awareness is one of the most sought after attributes employers look for, but do you know what it means?

This workshop, delivered by staff from the Careers Service and the Library will explain what it really means to have commercial awareness, how it can help you in your next steps after University, and how you can prove you have it.

This session will include some interactivity, introducing you to tools and resources you can use to think commercially and improve your skills in this broad area.

Understanding

Using ebooks Effectively

Want to get the best out of ebooks? This session provides an overview of their benefits, functionality and applications. You leave the session able to make efficient and effective use of our collection of online titles.

There are no sessions currently scheduled, but you can express your interest in future sessions. 

Questioning

Questioning and Evaluating Information

In this session you will consider how to critically evaluate information when undertaking independent research.

You will question different types of information and develop a critical approach, considering a range of questions and using the tools and data available to apply this to relevant sources.

Reading For Diversity

The Library has teamed up with BookSoc, Sheffield University’s book society, to create a programme of Reading for Diversity reading groups.

These will take place throughout the year and are often timed to celebrate awareness months and/ or compliment exhibitions in the Digital Exhibition Space on Level One of the Information Commons. 

This programme provides an opportunity for students to come together to critically engage with, reflect on, and discuss books from diverse and often underrepresented voices and perspectives.

Books are chosen by University of Sheffield students, and all shortlisted and discussed books are added to the Reading for Diversity Leganto Reading list, available as both print and copies via StarPlus, the Library catalogue, where possible. 

Decolonise Your Information Searching

In this reflective and practical session, you will explore issues around how certain types of knowledge and information sources have been valued over others, leading to omissions of marginalised perspectives in research.

With your peers, you will have the opportunity to identify and discuss strategies to address these imbalances. You will then have the opportunity to practise applying these strategies to your own information searching.

Referencing

Referencing and Preventing Plagiarism

This session introduces the essentials of referencing, the concept of plagiarism and how it can be avoided, and gives you an opportunity to practice referencing in the style required by your programme. The session will also provide an overview of useful citation tools for this process.

Using Reference Management Software: An Introduction

This session looks at preventing plagiarism and referencing correctly using reference management software. You will gain an overview of the software and how to use it to manage your references, including editing the output where necessary.

Creating

Producing Presentations: An Introduction

This session looks at how you can create accessible, effective slides for your presentation and gives you the opportunity to explore different presentation software.

There are no sessions currently scheduled, but you can express your interest in future sessions. 

Creating Websites Using Google Sites: An Introduction

This session will provide you with some top tips for getting started using Google Sites and give you the opportunity to work through guided activities to start creating a simple website of your own.

You will learn the basics of setting up and structuring a Google Site, adding content, and publishing your site.

Disseminating 

Blogging: From Concept to Communication

This session will introduce an awareness of the benefits and purposes of blogging and provide experience of identifying and practising a succinct writing style that is appropriate for blogging.

You will also receive all the information you need to help you choose the blogging platform that is right for you. During the session you’ll also take the first steps in creating a blog; developing your ideas and starting to draft your first blog post.

There are no sessions currently scheduled, but you can express your interest in future sessions.

Infographics: An Introduction

Infographics are a visual representation of information, data or knowledge. In this session we introduce infographics and how they can be used to communicate and share a summary or results of your research. You will also have the opportunity to create an infographic using one of the digital tools available.

---

All online webinars are delivered using Blackboard Collaborate. Please see the Blackboard Collaborate accessibility statement statement and the Library accessibility statement.

If you are a postgraduate research student please see the Doctoral Development Programme workshops.

Remember to review and record your skills development in your mySkills portfolio.

Attendance at our research skills and critical thinking workshops can count towards your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) through the Academic Skills Certificate.