Cambridge University Libraries course timetable

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

This course will help you understand how to critically appraise a systematic review.

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.

An introduction to the UL's Rare Books Reading Room and its collections, which include material from the first European printing presses and from the wider world up to the present day.

Need help with iDiscover? Call in at the General Enquiries Helpdesk (on the landing above the Entrance Hall) where a member of Library staff will be able to help you search our print and online collections, answer any questions you have, or give you a general overview.

Every Friday between 9.00 and 10.15.

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.

This session will show good presentation design, give tips on good science communication, as well as getting people to think about different tools and ways of presenting their ideas.

The session will predominantly be presentation and discussion based with some time at the end for some 1-2-1 focused help from librarians.

Session structure:

12pm-1pm: Presentation about Presentations!

1pm-2pm: Drop-in clinic with 1-2-1 support from librarians

While the session has a STEM focus, it is open to all University members. Booking not required but is strongly encouraged so we have an idea of numbers.

Knowing how to read academic literature can be harder than it might seem and being able to maximise your time to get through as much research as possible are key skills for any successful researcher. In this session, we will help you develop your ability to read productively so you can become a Super Reader.

At some point, everyone doing any research will probably have to do a literature review. This session will guide you through how to do a literature review really well, as well as pulling everything together into a meaningful piece of work that you can present with pride, and use to drive your research further.

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.

This drop-in clinic will allow participants to get bespoke Twitter support, so whether you're starting out on Twitter or have been using it for a while and want some new tips, come along and pick our brains on communicating in 140 characters!

While the session has a STEM focus, it is open to all University members. Booking not required but is strongly encouraged so we have an idea of numbers.

One session covering the Cinahl database, targeted at nurses. Learn how to get the best out of your literature searches.

Referencing where you got ideas and inspiration from for your research is a core skill for any good researcher. In this session, you will learn about the University of Cambridge's approach to plagiarism, as well as giving tips and tricks on how to avoid being caught out through bad referencing techniques. You will also be shown handy tools that can do a lot of the work for you as well as managing your literature reading list throughout your work and beyond.

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?

If you need to do a systematic literature review, and you’re not able to make sense of the search strategy behind this paper then this course is for you. Please bring along details of your own topic so that the session can be tailored to address your specific needs.

By law, a copy of every UK print publication must be given to the British Library by its publishers, and to five other major libraries, including Cambridge University Library, that request it. Since April 2013 Legal Deposit has included material published digitally and online.

Non-print Legal Deposit material is accessed via designated PCs in the University Library and Affiliated Libraries.

With the amount of material now deposited electronically increasing, the University Library is offering informal training sessions with staff from the Reference Department. Whether you require a general overview or have specific enquiries, these sessions will be of help to you.

A member of staff will be available from 11.30-12.00 every Wednesday. There is no need to book a place; please make yourself known to staff at the enquiry desk in the main Reading Room.

Need help with iDiscover? Call in at the General Enquiries Helpdesk (on the landing above the Entrance Hall) where a member of Library staff will be able to help you search our print and online collections, answer any questions you have, or give you a general overview.

Every Friday between 9.00 and 10.15.

This drop-in clinic will allow participants to get insights on how to communicate STEM research and ideas using popular social media platforms YouTube, Tumblr and Instagram.

While the session has a STEM focus, it is open to all University members. Booking not required but is strongly encouraged so we have an idea of numbers.

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 UL's Rare Books Reading Room and its collections, which include material from the first European printing presses and from the wider world up to the present day.

A tour of the University Library Music Department, including a visit of our closed access material behind the scenes.

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.

This workshop will work through the challenges around managing research data as well as the benefits of working reproducibly. Participants will be provided with guidance and resources on how to effectively manage projects and avoid data loss throughout the research process.

You will hear of what can happen if researchers do not manage their data well as well as what happens to research data after the end of a project, such as how to share and store data in a long-term and sustainable way. It is never too early to start thinking about these things, so get a head start on your research data management practices now!

One session covering the Cinahl database, targeted at allied health professionals. Learn how to get the best out of your literature searches.

Introduction to Bibliographic Searching in Theology and Religious Studies will give a brief overview of the issues of searching for publications in general, and follow this up with searching the specialist Theology and Religious studies bibliographic database ATLA and Index Theologicus.

This session will introduce participants to the wonderful world of open access, pre-prints, ORCiD, Symplectic and even Creative Commons licencing. All these tools and systems can help you gain recognition and keep ownership of your research, as well as sharing it widely with others raising your research profile all at the same time.

The session will open with a presentation and will then move into a 1-2-1 focused drop-in clinic where participants can explore individual tools with help from library staff.

Session structure:

12pm-1pm: Presentation overview of the tools and services covered in session

1pm-2pm: Drop-in clinic with 1-2-1 support from librarians looking at tools individually

While the session has a STEM focus, it is open to all University members. Booking not required but is strongly encouraged so we have an idea of numbers.