Researcher Development Programme - Spring Term 2020/21

Times, dates and locations of sessions can be found in the table below. Descriptions of the sessions can be found towards the bottom of the page, or by clicking on the booking link where relevant. All times are UK, London time zone.

Where applicable, book your place using the RDP booking form, so that we can send you updates and reminders prior to the sessions.

Please note that this page is constantly updated with new sessions. Ensure you check regularly.

Online training available

Please ensure you are logged in to your myUniHub record in order to access the following training courses via LinkedIn Learning

Overcoming Procrastination

Why do you procrastinate? What are you REALLY trying to avoid when you do it? What makes the habit worse – and how can you break it?  Find the answers and create an individual action plan for yourself with the help of this webinar session, open to all Middlesex University postgraduate students.

Issues in Research Design

This workshop will consider how to manage and plan your research methodology and to anticipate the likely issues you will encounter. Being clear about what you want to research will determine the questions you pose and the most appropriate methods needed to address them. This session will consider the important connection between theory and method.

RefWorks: your personal library, integrated writing and citing with word

Refworks is a personal database system which enables you to:

• Collect, manage and organize references
• Read, annotate, organize and cite research
• Format papers with different citation styles automatically

This session covers the following topics, but will do so flexibly depending on the needs of those attending:

• Set up an account
• Exporting references from Library Search
• Exporting references from Google Scholar
• Adding PDFs
• Sharing folders with colleagues
• Citing in Word automatically

The session assumes you have already attended or completed by self-study the library welcome session which covers:

- Basic searching and referencing using Library Search

- Setting up a RefWorks account

- Cite them Right: This is Middlesex University’s standard source of referencing information.

- Your librarian.

The session also assumes you have had a 121 with your Liaison Librarian so you are familiar with the resources in your subject.  http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/liaisonlibrarians

Managing your Research Project

This workshop provides advice and guidance on various aspects of the planning and execution of your research project, and how to avoid some of the common pitfalls. The relationship with your supervisor is central to this process and how this may be developed will be highlighted. The workshop also introduces some current national issues such which will affect all researchers in the UK. An introduction to what the Registration Panel consists of will also be provided.

- Research planning and time management

- Making the most of the relationship with your supervisor

- Tackling a doctoral literature review

- How to avoid plagiarism and academic misconduct

- How to store and back-up your data securely

- Registration Panel process

Research Integrity and Ethics

Research integrity & ethics questions & answers: bring your questions about your ethics application. Depending on student questions, this session will essentially take a problem solving approach where the lecturer responds to students' questions about their individual ethics applications. It is expected that these may arise from consideration of:

- Research ethics and governance
- The Data Protection Act
- Health and Safety considerations
- Risk Assessment considerations

Developing Research Questions

It is important that research questions are appropriate and clear. Crafting a set of research questions is a skill that develops over the life of a research study. An initial set of questions will help to orientate your research but they will need further refinement as your research unfolds. This workshop will offer guidance on how to craft and refine research questions that are shaped by your theoretical orientation and will in turn determine the most appropriate methods for your study.

Advanced literature searching using Web of Science, Journal Citation Reports and Google Scholar

This session covers the following topics, but will do so flexibly depending on the needs of those attending:

- Synching Google Scholar with Middlesex University Library and setting up alerts

- Citation searching: Using Web of Science to find papers which cite key articles in your field.

- Using Journal Citation Reports to find the top journals in your subject

- We will also explore other issues raised by attendees during the warm up activities.

The session assumes you have already attended or completed by self-study the library welcome session which covers:

- Basic searching and referencing using Library Search

- Setting up a RefWorks account

- Cite them Right: This is Middlesex University’s standard source of referencing information.

- Your librarian.

The session also assumes you have had a 121 with your Liaison Librarian so you are familiar with the resources in your subject.  http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/liaisonlibrarians

Academic Integrity for Research Degrees

This session will cover the following topics, but will do so flexibly depending on the needs of those attending:

• Explore the relationship between integrity, academia and disciplinary study.
• Consider the issues and challenges of maintaining Academic Integrity through doctoral study.
• Identify useful strategies to manage academic integrity issues in research and writing.

Issues around the mechanics of citing and referencing are covered in RefWorks: your personal library, integrated writing and citing in Word.

Presentation and Performance Anxiety

Anxious about presenting in public? You’re not alone! But you can’t escape it either! As well as needing to present papers and pass your Viva, you’re very likely to need to give presentations in your life after University.  So sign up and learn how to work with your anxieties and present with confidence. This webinar is open to all Middlesex University postgraduate students

Isolation and Alienation

This webinar has as its theme “alienation, isolation and loneliness – how to better connect”.
All research students are invited to join us to reflect on how to manage and combat the common feeling and behaviour that result from a sense of alienation, isolation and loneliness as a research student.

Writing and Editing a Doctoral Thesis

Writing and Editing a thesis is always a more challenging task than first imagined. Bringing together years of research and reading in to a coherent form requires tenacity, stamina and lots of redrafting. In this session you will be introduced to some useful writing habits, strategies and approaches that can assist you in the task. Successful PhD students will offer insights from their experiences of 'writing up' their doctorates.

Intellectual Property

The workshop will cover:
- Multiple types of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)
- Protecting your ideas: different types and standards of protection
- Protecting your ideas: sharing information
- Protecting your ideas: commercialisation
- Accessing third-party IPRs

Planning and Preparing your Ethics Application

This session is aimed at postgraduate and research degree students, supervisors and academic staff who are preparing to apply for ethics approval.

The session will include an overview of the process, structure and principles of applying for ethics approval. Specifically, the MORE application form will be addressed along with points to consider in each aspect of the application process and documentation that will be required. There will be discussion and opportunity for questions on applications both internally via Middlesex University ethics committees and also external ethics application, for example via the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) for NHS/HRA ethics applications.

Preparing for your Transfer/Viva Panel(s)

This workshop will be most beneficial for students who are ready to start preparing for the next stage in their student journey: Transfer and Viva.

The workshop will cover:

Transfer: Planning and writing your transfer report; completing your transfer report; preparing for your transfer viva; possible outcomes

Viva: Planning and writing your thesis; completing your thesis; the viva process; possible outcomes

This workshop reviews the overall process and the main University Regulation requirements, highlighting ways in which you can prepare for these important assessments.

An Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

TBC

An Overview of Scientific Publication

Why publishing is important in academia

- Where to publish?

- Conference & Workshop papers

- Edited & Authored books

- Publishing your research in journals

- The publication journey

- Citations and Impact Factors

Interview Recording and Transcription

The practicalities of gathering qualitative data and transcribing that data into a form that can be subjected to analysis is an important stage of any research study. The session will address the practical as well as ethical issues involved in recording qualitative interviews. Transcription is also a crucial part of any small scale study, whilst incredibly time consuming the opportunities to re-engage with your data when typing up interviews represents the first stage of the analytic process and should be recognised as such.

Writing (LET)

TBC

Presentation Skills and Conferences

- Using posters to communicate your research

- Making the most of conferences

- Skills for oral presentations

- Preparing for poster presentations and oral presentations

In preparation for this workshop, students need to prepare a 3 minute presentation of their proposed research project - the workshop is very interactive, with each students being invited to make a presentation to the class.

Writing a Literature Review

The review of literature and relevant sources for doctoral research is central to how you engage in writing your research proposal but also how you might later approach your critical analysis. The classic advice is to go away and ‘read’ but what is the best advice for how to start that reading or how to write up what you have found? The review of literature underpins your understanding of the ideas from your specialist field and discipline and represents your professional and academic integrity. These ‘conceptual frameworks’ create the basis for how you can approach your contribution to knowledge, they allow you to identify gaps in knowledge and engage in the on-going debates in your field that require new research. This session will discuss the meaning and structure of the review, and explore ways for you to develop your own review of literature.

Mindfulness

A session to better understand Mindfulness