Cambridge University Libraries course timetable

You own your own research right? Well it depends...

This session will explore the sometimes complicated world of copyright and what can happen when publishing work through formal routes such as journals or through more informal routes such as pre-print servers. The session will also introduce concepts such as third party copyright and rights retention, as well as how licensing tools such as Creative Commons can be used to not only help maximise the reach of research but also navigating reusing other people's work.

This live session is designed to build your skills in reading and assessing research articles for your Part II studies in Biological Sciences. We will cover how to approach reading for different purposes, apply different reading strategies, and critically evaluate articles. We will also spend some time on managing what you’ve read (or not yet read) and writing your literature review, including how to select items to include and reference them properly. There will be activities and discussions throughout the session so you can try your new skills and ask any questions you may have.

This session is for students taking a Biological Sciences route (NST and PBST) for Part II.

A course specifically for University of Cambridge staff and students. Attendees will learn how to search medical/healthcare databases accessed with a Raven login (such as Medline and Embase) effectively and efficiently, to learn how to save searches and references, and to create and maintain a bibliography. This course is delivered at an introductory/refresher level, and assumes you have had no prior training in how to search databases.

All attendees are required to have a Raven login. NHS staff wanting to learn similar material should book onto our 'Getting the Best Results - Improving Your Database Searching' course instead.

UPDATE: This session is taking place in the Medical Library's training room, not online.

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.

This live session is designed to build your skills in reading and assessing research articles for your Part II studies in Biological Sciences. We will cover how to approach reading for different purposes, apply different reading strategies, and critically evaluate articles. We will also spend some time on managing what you’ve read (or not yet read) and writing your literature review, including how to select items to include and reference them properly. There will be activities and discussions throughout the session so you can try your new skills and ask any questions you may have.

This session is for students taking a Biological Sciences route (NST and PBST) for Part II.

"Copyright, Plagiarism, and all that jazz" is an introduction to real world music copyright. Music copyright can be complex and confusing, but by the end of this course, you will have a better idea of its benefits, and what copyright can do for you as a musician, as well as a clearer idea of what you can and can't do with regard to music copyright. The course deals primarily with sheet music, but also looks briefly at rights in audio and visual music material, and copyright infringement's close cousin plagiarism. Looking at day to day problems, all of which have arisen at the UL, the session lasts for about an hour.

We also look at HEPML, a real game changer for staff and students in what it allows you to copy and use. A cousin to the CLA licence but with some important differences. How do you use it? Zoom along to find out more.

Managing your data well is a key responsibility as a researchers 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.

This course will teach you how to store, organise and share your research data well. Doing this correctly from the start could save you a lot of time and hassle when preparing a publication or writing up your thesis.

Please note: This session will also be offered, either online or in person, in Lent and Easter terms, with dates to be confirmed.

Referencing is a fact of academic life. Students and researchers need to explore the work of others in order to build upon it and proper referencing helps to showcase the range and breadth of research undertaken. The ideas of others also need to be credited appropriately in order to avoid accusations of plagiarism. But - it's also a fact of academic life that referencing can be boring and complicated. This session aims to change all that!

In this session we will explore online reference management tools and how they can save you time and effort when compiling your bibliography. Using the tool Zotero as an example we will show you how to import references from a range of sources, create easy in text citations and produce a bibliography at the click of a button.

Don't delay and book your place today!

This live session is designed to build your skills in reading and assessing research articles for your Part II studies in Biological Sciences. We will cover how to approach reading for different purposes, apply different reading strategies, and critically evaluate articles. We will also spend some time on managing what you’ve read (or not yet read) and writing your literature review, including how to select items to include and reference them properly. There will be activities and discussions throughout the session so you can try your new skills and ask any questions you may have.

This session is for students taking a Biological Sciences route (NST and PBST) for Part II.

This session introduces participants to the concept of research data, all the forms that it can take as well as negotiating the management of different data depending on their type.

Topics such as effective storage, handling sensitive data, and developing best practice approaches to avoid data loss during a project will be covered. The session will also explore how to create a data management plan (DMP) and the support available, as well as providing an overview of useful tools and services both within the University of Cambridge and beyond.

Publishing a protocol -- stating in advance the search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data analysis and other evaluative techniques -- is a core requirement for conducting a systematic review. The process of writing this protocol will also mean you have written in advance a large chunk of what will need to go into the finished systematic review, saving you a huge amount of time.

This session will cover the contents and types of information you will need to provide in your protocol, and will give attendees the opportunity to write a draft protocol, as well as highlighting helpful resources and further support.

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.

Designing your first academic poster can be a bit overwhelming with lots of choices to be made: how much information do you include? How do you get your key message across? How do you make it look good?

Join us for our introductory session which will explore these things and more. We'll help you work out what your key message is, give you some advice on what to include (and what to cut out), how to make everything look visually appealing as well as accessible for a diverse range of audiences. We'll even give you some tips on how to present your poster to others.

Do you feel you often experience 'writer's block' where you can't seem to start or make good progress with your writing? In this class, we will discuss ways of mitigating and getting past writer's block, particularly through seeing blocks as opportunities for writing.

Through discussing certain myths about academic writing and healthy ways of conceptualising the writing process, you will become familiar with techniques for freeing up your writing and making steady progress on your dissertation and other writing projects.

Please note: This session will also be offered, either online or in person, in Lent and Easter terms, with dates to be confirmed.

Does your desktop have multiple files labelled ‘FINAL’? Do you struggle to locate important information in your emails? If the answer to these questions is yes then this is the session for you.

In this session we will look at the basic components of good information management including back up strategies, where to store your information and how to organise your files so you can find what you need when you need it. We will also help you to build a plan for your project which means that you will always stay on top of your information.

Make your life a little bit easier and book a place now.

A course specifically for NHS staff. Attendees will learn how to search databases accessed with an Athens login (such as Medline, Embase and Cinahl) effectively and efficiently, to learn how to save searches and references, and to create and maintain a bibliography.

All attendees are required to have an NHS Athens login. University of Cambridge staff and students wanting to learn similar material should book onto the Introduction to Literature Searching (for University) course instead.

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.

"Copyright, Plagiarism, and all that jazz" is an introduction to real world music copyright. Music copyright can be complex and confusing, but by the end of this course, you will have a better idea of its benefits, and what copyright can do for you as a musician, as well as a clearer idea of what you can and can't do with regard to music copyright. The course deals primarily with sheet music, but also looks briefly at rights in audio and visual material, and copyright infringement's close cousin plagiarism. Looking at day to day problems, all of which have arisen at the UL, the session lasts for about an hour.

We also look at HEPML, a game changer for staff and students in what it allows you to copy and use. It provides a musical equivalent to the CLA licence; but what difference does it really make? And how do you use it? Come along to find out more.

Publishing journal articles is a key element of a successful research career. As you are starting on this journey, you may have a lot of questions, for example:

• Where and how should I publish my research?
• How do I maximise the number of readers and citations?
• How should I respond to reviewers?

Please note: This session will also be offered, either online or in person, in Lent and Easter terms with dates to be confirmed.

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, how to troubleshoot common searching problems, as well as keeping up to date with the latest research.

A course designed to take you step-by-step through academic writing and publication, with tips and resources to make writing up as simple as possible. The course will demystify the peer-review process, and help you to improve the precision and clarity of your academic writing.

Please note: This session will also be offered online in Lent and Easter terms, with dates to be confirmed.

Need to create a conference poster but are not sure where to start? This session will introduce participants to the fundamentals of designing an effective and engaging poster that is perfect for communicating research ideas. The session will look at good design practice, where to source free high quality graphics, as well as deciding what you should (and maybe shouldn't) include in your final poster.

This session is aimed at University of Cambridge staff or students who have already had prior training in database searching and want to learn more about the features of the Web of Science database. 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 designed to take you step-by-step through academic writing and publication, with tips and resources to make writing up as simple as possible. The course will demystify the peer-review process, and help you to improve the precision and clarity of your academic writing.

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.

The UL is unique: a national, legal deposit library with an amazing collection of around 8 million items - over two million of which you can browse on our open shelves. If that sounds a bit daunting, why not come on a brief orientation tour to help you find your way around? We’ll even tell you what we keep in the famous Library tower ...

Please note this tour does not cover the University's vast electronic and digital collections: to find out more about using these, please see check for courses on our timetable or ask a member of Library staff for help.

Glossophobia (the fear of public speaking) is something that impacts many of us. However, the ability to design and deliver an effective presentation is a valuable skill both in academia and beyond. Join us for this gentle introduction to the most common mistakes people make and how you can avoid them.

In this session we will look at the process of pulling together an eye catching and accessible set of slides, capturing the attention of your audience, preparing for the unexpected and crucially how to overcome your nerves. At the end of the hour you will be able to put together and deliver a perfect presentation, whatever topic you choose.

Note that this is a theory only session – we won’t make you actually give a presentation (unless you are so inspired that we can’t stop you!).

Hone your skills and book a place now.

Before undertaking any piece of primary research it’s important to be aware of as much of the existing literature as possible. A systematic literature review can also be a research end in itself. And it’s not something to be taken lightly. But how can you be sure you’re being as rigorous as necessary? How can you manage the references you find, document the process, and also know when to stop searching?

This session assumes attendees have already had prior introductory training in literature searching. It is a prerequisite that you have attended either Introduction to Literature Searching (if you are a University of Cambridge staff member or student) or Getting the Best Results - Improving Your Database Searching (if you are an NHS staff member). Exceptions will be made if you received similar training from another department or university - please contact us if you have any questions about prerequisites.

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.