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For Academic Writing Month, academic writers in all disciplines and at any stage of their writing journey are welcome to join us for two hands-on writing workshops being held at the University Library. This session is part workshop in which we discuss academic writing and try out some new techniques, part practical group writing session.

Here's a taste of what to expect at these special events:

• Guidance and advice from experienced academic writers, as they address some common myths and misconceptions about academic writing.
• Tips for staying motivated, tackling large writing projects, and overcoming writer's block.
• Liberate your writing practice by trying out some creative writing exercises.
• Put what you have learned into practice with an hour's group writing time in for the 'Write Here, Write Now' section of the workshop.

The Critical Reading course aims to improve students' ability to read critically and evaluate sources, as well as giving helpful tips about productive reading, note taking and providing a checklist of questions to help them with their reading going forward. It is suitable for all students but aimed mostly at undergraduates.

This session discusses the benefits and challenges of communicating yourself and your research in the online environment. First we look why you need an online presence, followed by setting up your academic persona. Then we explore important academic profiles to have as a researcher (such as ORCID, Google Scholar and Web of Science) and touch on author-level metrics and how to use them responsibly. Then we move onto social media, looking at the practicalities and pros and cons of online engagement through tools such as Twitter/X, Mastodon, Instagram and YouTube, before finally looking at academic networking sites like LinkedIn, ResearchGate and academia.edu.

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 online profile and communicating their research.

This session equips participants with all the fundamental skills that they need to research and begin writing their literature review. This includes building and executing effective search strategies to locate relevant materials for literature reviews, projects and other related research activities, key searching techniques, where to search, and how to keep up to date with the latest research. We will then discuss what to do with material participants find during their searching, looking at skills such as critical evaluation, structural reading and how to start writing.

This session will include live demonstrations of scientific databases to demonstrate the key principles covered in action, as well as time for participants to start developing their own key words and search strategies.

In this session we will help you work out why you want to find a particular resource for your work and how having this knowledge will then help you use the best searching approach to finding the thing you need. We will work through looking for things you know exist, things that you haven't found yet, as well as things that just a bit strange.

We will help you translate recommended readings from your lectures as well as showing you all the tips and tricks that librarians use to find things, freeing you up to get on with studying and finishing that piece of work quicker!

This live session is designed to build your skills in reading critically and assessing resources as part of your first year studies. Additional techniques around using effective note-taking, selecting what to read from lectures, as well as building your critical language when writing your first pieces of work will also be covered. There will opportunities for discussion throughout the session so you can ask any questions you may have.

This session is for students taking a Biological Sciences route (Natural Sciences, Psychology & MedVet) at Part IA/IB.

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.

This session will introduce participants to different methods of communicating research before moving on to a discussion around best practice and techniques when preparing a presentation. Participants will be introduced to concepts around good design, accessibility, data presentation, and accessing Creative Commons licensed materials for their work.

The session will conclude with an exploration of good delivery techniques with additional advice on what to do if it all goes wrong.

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.

Metrics have become omnipresent in research assessment, but are often flawed and used irresponsibly. This session explores the guidelines in place to help researchers use metrics more responsibly, including recommendations from DORA and University guidance. We'll then look at common metrics such as journal impact factor and h-index, where they are found and how they are used in academia. Finally we will discuss some particular circumstances where researchers should aim to use metrics responsibly, such as tidying up your online profiles, choosing a journal and recruitment.

Participants should leave the session more aware of the issues with particular research metrics and of the guidance available within the University, and confident in their ability to use metrics responsibly in their academic career.

This course is based on a typical literature review lifecycle. You start by planning your search. You then carry out your search. Once you've found some results, you evaluate what you have found to see if it is relevant to your needs. You manage your results by saving them to a suitable place so you can come back to them. If you are interested in tracking changes in your field, you enact approaches to keep up to date with new research. And as your research evolves, you refine your search to reflect new concepts and new terms. And so the cycle continues.

While you may not be as focused on the longer term tracking of new research in your field, being able to plan, search, evaluate and manage effectively are additional skills which we will cover in this course. The course will be structured around the first four stages described above, with optional additional information about the last two stages for those who are interested.

This course is supplemented by live workshop opportunities throughout the academic year.

Need to find scientific literature and resources for your Part II dissertation or project? We've got you covered.

In this session, we will introduce you to breaking down your research question, developing your keywords or vocabulary for what you want to search for, before putting it all together using tried and tested techniques to get the best results quickly. We'll show you where to find relevant and reliable resources, how to navigate pesky paywalls and even how to hack Google...legally of course!

If you can't make our live sessions, everything we talk about (and a little bit more) is covered in our self-guided online course.

Want something a bit more advanced? Check out our Going further with your literature searching for your Biological Sciences dissertation or project workshop which will show more detailed searching, demonstrate how the reference manager Zotero can help you at Part II, as well as leaving lots of time for questions and troubleshooting.

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, an open source reference manager tool.

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.

This session will cover all the essential information needed to create an effective publication strategy. This includes choosing your professional name, considering what you actually want to publish, and how to choose where to publish, including a look at how to responsibly use journal metrics. We will also discuss the publication process and demystify things such as peer review and copyright transfer agreements, before exploring open access and Creative Commons.

Participants should leave the session feeling confident that they know how create a good publication strategy for their research, with increased understanding of the topics covered.

This short interactive module introduces you to Cambridge University Libraries and explains how to find resources for your subject. This module has a focus on the Biological Sciences strand of the Natural Sciences Tripos, and is suitable for anyone who is new to Cambridge.

Most people have online profiles and, as a researchers, your online presence offers many rich opportunities. It is helpful to be aware of tools and tips that can help you boost your visibility online, as well as common mistakes to avoid.

In this course, you will:

• begin to develop your online research profile by making yourself visible to others in a way(s) that suits you.
• learn what an ORCID is and how to obtain one.
• learn what your Symplectic Elements account is for and begin to make it work for you
• review your current visibility and consider the next steps

You will receive the URL for the course in the confirmation email after booking.

Copyright law is a complex field with direct relevance for researchers who need to protect their own intellectual work and use work written by others, and most importantly must avoid accidentally infringing copyright. This course provides you with basic knowledge you can apply to your research practice.

The course covers:

• fundamentals of copyright and why it’s important
• what to do if you want to use someone else’s work
• how to protect and share your own work
• how licenses can be used to make it easier to reuse works

You will receive the URL for the course in the confirmation email after booking.

This is an interactive online session for anyone engaging in research in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM).

Reading academic literature is critical to writing a literature review and developing your own research. This session will explore how to develop a critical reading strategy for your papers, articles, and other reading material for your research.

By the end of the session, you will be able to:

• Efficiently select appropriate readings from your search results
• Understand the difference between comprehending and critical reading
• List of a range of methods for critical reading and know where to go for more information
• Use the SQRR strategic reading method to structure your critical reading.

This session is online and will take one hour including activities.

You've passed your viva. If your examiners requested any corrections, those have been submitted and approved.

You now need to deposit a physical copy and an electronic copy of your thesis to the Library. In this session, we will focus on depositing the electronic copy of your thesis, for inclusion in Apollo, the University's Repository.

We will cover:

• What to include in your electronic copy
• What not to include in your electronic copy
• The access levels that are available and guidance on which to choose
• Third party copyright considerations
• Sensitive information considerations
• Funder requirements

We will finish with a live demonstration of depositing a thesis using Symplectic Elements.

The module covers the key things you need to know when depositing your electronic thesis to Apollo

• How to ensure you meet all the requirements for submission
• How to decide on the access level for your thesis
• A demonstration of successfully depositing your work using Symplectic Elements.

You will receive the URL for the course in the confirmation email after booking.

Fair attribution for technicians through either co-authorship or direct acknowledgement in research publications is a key component of the ‘visibility’ and ‘recognition’ areas of the Technician Commitment, of which the University of Cambridge was a founding signatory in 2017.

However, there is currently no policy or standard practice for acknowledging the role of technicians, equipment and facilities in the University or the wider sector. Technicians experience a great disparity in their recognition and visibility in scholarly outputs.

This interactive workshop will introduce you to the scholarly communications process as well as tools such as CRediT and ORCID, and facilitate conversation amongst peers.

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 online interactive course will give you advice on how to survive your first year at Cambridge. Topics include introductions to note making, referencing, writing essays, and managing your time.

The course is aimed at Part IA students, with a Science focus. However, the course is open to anyone who wishes to use it, and will be useful for any discipline, or as a refresher for those wishing to learn some new tips and tricks.

This course is based on a typical literature review lifecycle. You start by planning your search. You then carrying out your search. Once you've found some results, you evaluate what you have found to see if it is relevant to your needs. You manage your results by saving them to a suitable place so you can come back to them. If you are interested in tracking changes in your field, you enact approaches to keep up to date with new research. And as your research evolves, you refine your search to reflect new concepts and new terms. And so the cycle continues.

While you may not be as focused on the longer term tracking of new research in your field, being able to plan, search, evaluate and manage effectively are key skills which we will cover in this course. The course will be structured around these first four stages, with optional additional information about the last two stages for those who are interested.

Getting to grips with a new area of research or finding secondary literature to answer a research question can be a daunting task. This session is here to guide you, to enhance your literature search by introducing key resources and strategies that you can use for finding materials, illustrating a range of techniques for searching, and discussing how to stay up to date with research in your field. In the session, as well as looking at the Cambridge University Libraries' online catalogue iDiscover, we also introduce some of the databases that can be most useful to researches in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences carrying out literature searches.

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 databases 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