Research skills and critical thinking workshops @IC

Workshops calendar 

 Please note, further sessions are added throughout the year.

View all workshops and events at the Information Commons

Research skills refreshers for returning students  

Research skills refreshers for returning students

Getting ready to return to your studies after the summer? Returning students can get ahead with our programme of one-hour webinars to refresh your research skills in referencing and avoiding plagiarism, searching for information using StarPlus and academic databases, and thinking critically.

Research skills for dissertations: the essentials 

Research skills for dissertations: the essentials

Are you working on your dissertation or final year project?  Sign up to Research skills for dissertations: the essentials. This extended webinar combines a range of short sessions covering the following topics:

• Planning your dissertation
• Information searching and critical thinking
• Referencing tips and tricks
• Finding and using images and infographics

Library Guide to support dissertations

Research skills and critical thinking workshops

Discovering

Getting the most out of StarPlus: search, save, and organise

This session will focus on how to use StarPlus in the most effective way to discover your recommended reading, search for further reading, filter your results, generate citations and make full use of your library account to start organising your references.

Using academic databases and developing your search strategy

In this session you will learn how to use databases to find the best sources for your assignment or independent research project in order to achieve the highest marks.

You will consider your information needs and have the opportunity to create an effective search strategy to produce a manageable set of relevant results.

Using AI and GenAI critically: finding sources for your assignments

In this session you will critically evaluate the capabilities and limitations of a variety of AI and GenAI assisted scholarly search tools for finding sources for your assignments, whilst recognising the value of established approaches to finding academic information.

You will gain practical experience using Google Gemini to generate your own search strategy.

Using images and figures: finding, copyright, and attribution

In this session you will discover where to find images and figures that can be safely reused for your work, and learn how to attribute creators correctly.

We will cover how copyright applies to visual media, break down Creative Commons licences, and briefly explore copyright exceptions and AI-generated images.

What employers want and how to show it: commercial awareness

Commercial awareness is one of the most sought after attributes employers look for, but do you know what it means?

This workshop, delivered by staff from the Careers Service and the Library will explain what it really means to have commercial awareness, how it can help you in your next steps after University, and how you can prove you have it.

This session will include some interactivity, introducing you to tools and resources you can use to think commercially and improve your skills in this broad area.

Understanding

Using ebooks effectively

Want to get the best out of ebooks? This session provides an overview of their benefits, functionality and applications. You leave the session able to make efficient and effective use of our collection of online titles.

There are no sessions currently scheduled, but you can express your interest in future sessions. 

ebooks FAQs

Questioning

Critical thinking: questioning and evaluating sources for your assignments

In this session you will consider how to critically evaluate information when undertaking independent research.

You will question different types of information and develop a critical approach, considering a range of questions and using the tools and data available to apply this to relevant sources.

Liberating your information searching: finding alternative sources

In this reflective and practical session, you will explore issues around how certain types of knowledge and information sources have been valued over others, leading to omissions of marginalised perspectives in research.

With your peers, you will have the opportunity to identify and discuss strategies to address these imbalances. You will then have the opportunity to practise applying these strategies to your own information searching.

Critical GenAI literacy

This session explores "Critical GenAI Literacy". In addition to understanding what GenAI is and how to use it, Critical GenAI Literacy involves looking more deeply at the limitations of GenAI and some of the problems it presents us with. This includes ethical and environmental implications, copyright, and some of the wider impacts on society.

This session will help you to understand the limitations of GenAI and help you think critically about its usefulness to your studies.

Reading For Diversity

The Library has teamed up with BookSoc, Sheffield University’s book society, to create a programme of Reading for Diversity reading groups.

These will take place throughout the year and are often timed to celebrate awareness months and/ or compliment exhibitions in the Digital Exhibition Space on Level One of the Information Commons. 

This programme provides an opportunity for students to come together to critically engage with, reflect on, and discuss books from diverse and often underrepresented voices and perspectives.

Books are chosen by University of Sheffield students, and all shortlisted and discussed books are added to the Reading for Diversity Leganto Reading list, available as both print and copies via StarPlus, the Library catalogue, where possible. 

Referencing

Referencing correctly and avoiding plagiarism

This session introduces the essentials of referencing, the concept of plagiarism and how it can be avoided, and gives you an opportunity to practice referencing in the style required by your programme. The session will also provide an overview of useful citation tools for this process.

Using reference management software: an introduction to organising citations and avoiding plagiarism

This session looks at avoiding plagiarism, and referencing correctly using reference management software. You will gain an overview of the software and how to use it to manage your references, including editing the output where necessary.

Creating

Producing presentations: an introduction

This session looks at how you can create accessible, effective slides for your presentation and gives you the opportunity to explore different presentation software.

There are no sessions currently scheduled, but you can express your interest in future sessions. 

Google Sites for beginners: creating websites for academic or personal use

This session will provide you with some top tips for getting started using Google Sites and give you the opportunity to work through guided activities to start creating a simple website of your own.

You will learn the basics of setting up and structuring a Google Site, adding content, and publishing your site.

Disseminating 

Blogging: from concept to communication

This session will introduce an awareness of the benefits and purposes of blogging and provide experience of identifying and practising a succinct writing style that is appropriate for blogging.

You will also receive all the information you need to help you choose the blogging platform that is right for you. During the session you’ll also take the first steps in creating a blog; developing your ideas and starting to draft your first blog post.

There are no sessions currently scheduled, but you can express your interest in future sessions.

An introduction to infographics: sharing your research visually

This session introduces how infographics can help you visually communicate your research and summarise key results.

You will also have the opportunity to create an infographic using one of the digital tools available.

All online webinars are delivered using Class. Please see the Class accessibility statement statement and the Library accessibility statement.

If you are a postgraduate research student please see the Doctoral Development Programme workshops.

Remember to review and record your skills development in your mySkills portfolio.