Cambridge University Libraries course timetable

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 session will show what electronic resources are available to researchers in the Physical Sciences and Technology areas. You will be shown how to effectively search specialist databases so you can get exactly what you want, when you want from University of Cambridge resources.

This session will show what electronic resources are available to researchers in the Life Sciences. You will be shown how to effectively search specialist databases so you can get exactly what you want, when you want from University of Cambridge resources.

Cambridge University Library is one of the top research libraries in the world and holds over 8 million items. If you are a member of Library staff at a college, department or faculty library and would like to give your students introductory tours of the UL, then we would love to help you gain the knowledge and confidence to do that.

Email us today (research-skills@lib.cam.ac.uk) to organise a one-to-one tour with an experienced member of UL staff. We will guide you through the orientation tour route that we use for our own tours and can answer any questions that you may have.

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.

This session will show participants the fundamentals of good Research Data Management (RDM) to help make sure all the research data that they might be generating as part of their work doesn't take over their lives!

The session will start with a presentation giving tips and tricks for good RDM practices and will move into a drop-in informal clinic where library staff will be available to answer specific questions. As the session will take place on Halloween, expect a spooky theme and free trick-or-treat candy!

Session structure:

12pm-1pm: Presentation about Research Data Management

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.

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 session will show participants why referencing is a good thing for management of your own research, as well as introducing participants to referencing tools that can be integrated with Word and specialist tools like LaTeX.

The session will start with a short presentation on the principles of good referencing as well as getting participants to critically evaluate good and bad practice, before moving into a drop-in clinic where participants can get 1-2-1 help from librarians.

Session structure:

12pm-1pm: Presentation about referencing tools and techniques

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.

There are lots of "experts" out there in science but how do you know who you can trust and who should be taken with a pinch of salt?

This session will look at how to critically evaluate different sources, alternative sources for good research, the challenges around the democratisation of knowledge, as well as the "fake news" crisis and how researchers can even be part of the solution when it comes to communicating research well.

A drop-in session where members of the e-journals and e-books teams will be on hand to help with any questions you may have about these resources.

One session - four medicine and life science databases - widest coverage for your literature search. PubMed is great, but it doesn't cover all the journals relevant to life sciences and medicine. Embase, Web of Science and Scopus can also be relevant and each covers unique material. Come to this hands-on session to learn how to get the best from each of these "4 tops".

This session will introduce participants to the ideas of working openly and reproducibly through presenting case studies and tools to help facilitate this kind of work. From GitHub to good file naming conventions, participants will be given the opportunity to learn from other people’s failures and to be better at future-proofing their research.

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

Session structure:

12pm-1pm: Presentation about Research Data Management

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.

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

Finding secondary literature to inform and support your research is paramount to any higher-level research. This session focuses on the concepts as well as practical issues, to give participants a more comprehensive understanding of the issues and features of literature searching.

If you have a portable device to access the wifi and bibliographic database, please bring this to the session.

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.

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.