All Cambridge University Libraries courses

Do you have what it takes to beat the UL? Assemble a team to take on the challenge!

A self-led Library induction with a difference! Solve a series of puzzles which will lead you all over the UL, while teaching yourself to navigate the building and our physical collections. Have fun, learn how to use the UL and you will receive a small prize on completion!

Teams of up to 6 players can participate - if you want to play with your friends you'll need to make sure you all sign up to the same session. All players must be registered users of the University Library.

Want to make it even more interesting? Let our staff know on the day if you would like to be timed for a chance to top our Beat the UL leaderboard! You can complete the challenge as many times as you like, but only your first attempt will be timed!

An introduction to the use of the specialist Theology and Religious studies bibliographic database ATLA for undergraduates, providing information on how to make the most effective use of this resource; of particular relevance to those preparing or working on a dissertation and wanting to acquire wider bibliographic information on a specific topic.

An introduction to the many resources available through the University Library's Chinese department.

This session aims to address the following:

• How to define and refine your research question
• Building up your search skills
• Learning what databases to use and when
• Getting Google to work for you
• Evaluating your sources
• Referencing what you find

The Internet has been available since the early 1990s and has been a repository for almost all human thought. It is, however, a highly ephemeral resource with websites in regular change and frequent deletion. A web archive attempts to capture, preserve, and give access to archived websites at regular intervals. This session will introduce web archives and their potential for academic research at all levels.

An opportunity to visit the main University Library (UL) with other LLM students. The tour will include an overview of the UL's law collections, a visit to the Rare Books Room and information about searching for Official Publications and historical material.

Welcome to the Squire Law Library! This introductory tour is led by the Librarian, David Wills, and Enquiry Desk staff member, Lizz Edwards-Waller. The tour will include information about borrowing, copying and scanning material, a visit to the dedicated PhD work areas within the library, an overview of the library catalogue and an introduction to the extensive law collections available to you.

A thirty minute introduction to the UL, aimed at those using our facilities and collections over the summer vacation period. An experienced member of staff will meet you in the Entrance Hall then lead you on a twenty minute tour of the UL,taking in the Locker Room, Open Bookstacks, Reading Room and West Room. Ten minutes are reserved after the tour for a question and answer session.

Do you have what it takes to beat the UL? Assemble a team to take on the challenge!

A self-led Library induction with a difference! Solve a series of puzzles which will lead you all over the UL, while teaching yourself to navigate the building and our physical collections. It's the most fun you'll ever have on a library induction!

Teams of up to 6 players can participate - if you want to play with your colleagues you'll need to make sure you all sign up to the same session.

Let's make it interesting! Let our staff know on the day if you would like to be timed for a chance to top our Beat the UL staff leaderboard! A little friendly competition can't hurt...

This session equips participants with all the fundamental skills that they need to build and execute effective search strategies to locate and critically evaluate relevant materials for literature reviews, projects and other related research activities. The structure of the session will move through the processes of basic keyword generation, constructing search strings, understanding which resources to search, developing critical evaluation skills to assess quality and relevance of found items, as well as some tips on how to keep up-to-date with new research developments.

This session is tailored to those researching and studying within the Department of Psychology and will demonstrate specific resources such as PsycInfo.

This session will be delivered using Zoom so please ensure you have it installed ahead of the session. A joining link will be sent out as part of the booking confirmation process.

If you require any help before the session, such as accessibility support, please email the Deputy Librarian for Biological Sciences, George Cronin (gmp36@cam.ac.uk), for further assistance.

This session focuses on finding literature in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The session will help you build a list of literature for your research topic (sometimes referred to as secondary literature) by introducing key resources for finding materials, illustrating a range of techniques for searching, and discussing how to stay up to date with research in your field.

By the end of this session, you should be able to: • Plan a strategy for finding literature on your research topic. • Discover a range of resources available for your literature search. • Make the most of the resources available using a range of techniques and tools. • Stay up to date with research in your field. • Build a list of relevant literature related to your research topic.

If you are a STEMM researcher, you may find our Literature Searching for Researchers (STEMM) course useful https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/cul/course/cul-rs-search-stemm

Other related courses in our Research Skills programme include Managing your References with Zotero and Managing your Research with Endnote. The Engaging with your literature: critical reading and managing literature-based research (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) course from the Researcher Development team may also be useful.

This session equips participants with foundational skills that they need to build and execute effective search strategies to locate relevant materials for literature reviews, projects, and other related research activities. The session will explore key searching techniques, where to search, and how to troubleshoot common searching problems, as well as keeping up to date with the latest research.

This session discusses the benefits and challenges of maintaining an online presence as a researcher. Starting with exploring what comes up through a quick Google search all the way through to maintaining profiles on academic sites, this session will look at the pros and cons of online engagement. Popular platforms such as Twitter and YouTube will be discussed, as will tools such as ORCID, and networking sites such as academia.edu and ResearchGate.

Participants should expect to have the opportunity to critically evaluate the various options presented in this session with the overall aim of being better informed when deciding where to invest their time and efforts when building an academic presence online.

This session will introduce you to Zotero (https://www.zotero.org/), a free tool to manage bibliographies and bibliographic databases.

Using a reference manager is one of the best ways to look after crucial research literature, whether planning for a literature review or simply keeping track of developments in a particular discipline. This session will introduce Zotero.

Using live demonstrations, discussions, and troubleshooting common referencing issues, the session will give an in-depth look at how Zotero (and tools like it) can help maximise a research project workflow while also ensuring that critical resources and information are not lost at any point in the research process.

Please note: This session will be offered, either online or in person, in Michaelmas, Lent and Easter terms.

Managing your data well is a key responsibility as a researcher and it prevents disasters. You will encounter research data in many forms, ranging from measurements, numbers and images to documents and publications.

Whether you create, receive or collect this information, you will need to look after it properly.

Managing digital information properly is a complex issue. Doing it correctly from the start could save you a lot of time and hassle when preparing a publication or writing up your thesis.

Managing your data well is a key responsibility as a researcher and it prevents disasters. You will encounter research data in many forms, ranging from measurements, numbers and images to documents and publications.

Whether you create, receive or collect this information, you will need to look after it properly.

Managing digital information properly is a complex issue. Doing it correctly from the start could save you a lot of time and hassle when preparing a publication or writing up your thesis.

Using a reference manager is one of the best ways to look after crucial research literature, whether planning for a literature review or simply keeping track of developments in a particular discipline. This session will introduce Endnote.

Using live demonstrations, discussions, and troubleshooting common referencing issues, the session will give an in-depth look at how Endnote (and tools like it) can help maximise a research project workflow while also ensuring that critical resources and information are not lost at any point in the research process.

One-to-one drop-in sessions for Population Health Sciences MPhil students to answer any questions about literature searching, or using referencing software. Please come prepared, preferably having attempted your searches and/or use of referencing software, with a list of the specific problems you've encountered.

This session will take place in the Medical Library training room, and the library will email you further instructions in advance. Please do not respond to automated reminder emails -- please instead email the library directly: librarytraining@medschl.cam.ac.uk.

One-to-one drop-in sessions for Population Health Sciences MPhil students to answer any questions about literature searching, or using referencing software. Please come prepared, preferably having attempted your searches and/or use of referencing software, with a list of the specific problems you've encountered.

This session will take place online, and the library will email you a joining link in advance. Please do not respond to automated reminder emails -- please instead email the library directly: librarytraining@medschl.cam.ac.uk.

This session is aimed at NHS and University of Cambridge staff or students who have already had prior training on database searching and want to learn more about the features of CINAHL and PsycINFO via the EBSCOhost interface. Those who want to attend an introductory session should book onto the Introduction to Literature Searching course, or the Getting the Best Results - Improving Your Database Searching if they are NHS staff.

A course to take you through conference poster design, with tips and resources to help with the content and presentation in order to ensure you communicate your research effectively. The course will cover where to source good quality, free graphics, how to include references in your poster, and advice about how best to present it at a conference. The session will NOT involve hands-on creation of a poster.

UPDATE: Please note that this session is taking place remotely, not in the Medical Library as previously advertised. Please do not go to the Medical Library training room. You will be contacted by the training team with information about how to join the session remotely.

Please note: this session may be recorded. By signing up for the session, you register your consent for recording to take place. Please email librarytraining@medschl.cam.ac.uk if you have any questions about this.

A course to take you through conference poster design, with tips and resources to help with the content and presentation in order to ensure you communicate your research effectively. The course will cover where to source good quality, free graphics, how to include references in your poster, and advice about how best to present it at a conference. The session will NOT involve hands-on creation of a poster.

This course will help you understand how to critically evaluate medical research articles, with a particular emphasis on evaluating the reliability, trustworthiness, and applicability of an article in informing evidence-based practice and decision-making in a healthcare context.

We will send you the article in advance, and it is a prerequisite that you read it before attending the session, and bring a copy with you to class.

UPDATE: Please note that some Medical Library sessions are taught in person, and some are taught online. Please ensure you check the venue details before booking a place. If it is an online session you will be contacted by the training team with information about how to join the session remotely.

Please note: this session may be recorded. By signing up for the session, you register your consent for recording to take place. Please email librarytraining@medschl.cam.ac.uk if you have any questions about this.

Critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context.' Amanda Burls, What is Critical Appraisal?, Feb 2009

'An Introduction to Critical Appraisal' will help you understand how to critically appraise a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). Using the CASP Checklist the course covers samples and sample size, randomisation, bias, statistics, significance (P Values and Confidence Intervals) and relevance.

We ask that you read a paper that will be provided before you attend the session, in order for us to make the best use of the time together.