On this page
- Digital Humanities workshops
- English as an Additional Language (EAL) workshops
- Knowledge Mobilization workshops
- Learning workshops
- Research Data Management workshops
- Research Programming workshops
- Research Software workshops
- Citation Management
- GIS
- Python
- Qualitative Data Analysis
- R (Software)
- Visual Analytics
- Scholarly Communication workshops
- Thesis workshops
- Writing workshops
The Research Commons is pleased to offer you a range of workshops, developed in the context of SFU Library's Instruction Strategy. You can register for upcoming workshops and search by workshop date in our workshops calendar.
If you do not see the topic(s) you are interested in and/or would like a specialized workshop for yourself and a group of colleagues, please send a request to research-commons@sfu.ca.
SFU values diversity and is committed to inclusion. If you require any disability-related accommodations in order to fully access and participate in our workshops and/or events, please contact us directly at library-workshops@sfu.ca. All communication will be kept confidential. Please contact us as early as possible as some accommodations will require lead time to arrange (i.e. CART, ASL)
Unaffiliated with SFU but interested in attending a workshop? See Who can register for SFU Library Research Commons workshops.
View all sectionsDigital Humanities workshops
View/hide details
English as an Additional Language (EAL) workshops
View/hide details
Knowledge Mobilization workshops
View/hide details
Learning workshops
View/hide details
Indigenous Research Methods in Action: Haida Methodology in Action [Online]
About the workshop
Sdahl Ḵ'awaas, Lucy Bell is a Haida Nation-based scholar who upholds traditional knowledge in her graduate studies. Lucy's PhD research on Haida museology is participatory action-based and auto-ethnographic, which are Indigenous ways of doing research. Her research methodology includes honouring Haida values of respect, truth, making it right, humour and joy. Lucy will share her Haida methodology approach.
About the speaker
Land acknowledgement
Elder Marie Hooper, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem First Nation)
Marie Hooper is an elder from Kwikwetlem First Nation. Recently she has moved onto the nations reserve, so she can connect better with her Indigenous culture. This has, and will keep her connected with her culture. She keeps her knowledge of the history of the nation and its families. This is passed down from her ancestors, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins and mother who is 96 years old and all of whom have lived on the reserve lands and territories.
Marie who was born in the UK, immigrated to Vancouver, B.C. in 1967. Her background is Coast Salish, English, Scottish and Portuguese.
Marie has studied at B.C. Institute of Technology and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Her qualifications include Indigenous Environmental Archeology, Ecologic Engineering, and Guardian of the Indigenous lands and territories.
Marie is a mother of four and grandmother of nine. Her passion is to bring residential awareness into the school system, or wherever she can bring up the subject asking individuals, "What do you know about residential schools?" Only learning about residential schools five years ago, and bringing awareness, help Marie process the trauma her family and others have endured.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 10:30am to 12:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Research Data Management workshops
View/hide details
For assistance with research data management, please contact data-services@sfu.ca.
Check out our recorded workshops on topics in research data management.
Research Programming workshops
View/hide details
Data Wrangling and Preprocessing With R
About the workshop
- Import data from a CSV or text file
- Extract and create columns in a data frame, and filter rows according to different conditions
- Write an R script that can run on its own without manual user intervention.
By the end of the workshop you will be able to:
- Use the primary dplyr functions for selecting, mutating, filtering, summarizing, and re-ordering data
- Recognize existing complicated base R code blocks and simplify them down using dplyr
- Use tidyr (a tidyverse package) to easily reshape data both to and from long and wide formats.
Requirements
Bring your own laptop with R and R studio installed.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Monday, June 19, 2023 - 10:30am to 1:00pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7010, Research Commons
|
Introduction to R (2-day workshop)
About the workshop
This two-day workshop introduces the programming language R. R is an open-source, widely used, and increasingly popular tool for statistical and data analyses, text mining, geospatial analysis, modelling, and a growing number of other applications. No prior knowledge is required. Students will learn the skills needed to start analyzing their own data.
The topics covered include:
- the R environment (directories, workspace, scripts, and packages),
- simple commands to get you started,
- data structures (vector, matrix, data frames, lists),
- basic data analysis tools (built-in statistical packages, plotting, etc.)
As time permits, an introduction to functions may also be covered.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Saturday, July 8, 2023 - 10:30am to 5:30pm
Saturday, July 15, 2023 - 10:30am to 5:30pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7010, Research Commons
|
Research Software workshops
Citation Management
View/hide details
Citations Made Easy: Introduction to Zotero [Online]
About the workshop
Want to make your research and writing more efficient? Hate the last minute rush of trying to create a correctly formatted bibliography? This introductory workshop is for you! We will introduce Zotero, a citation management tool that can help you import, organize, share, and manage your citations and documents, as well as create correctly formatted in-text citations and bibliographies in almost any style—in seconds.
Requirements
In advance of the workshop, please: register for a Zotero account and download and install Zotero 6 and the Zotero Connector. If you have any difficulties doing this, please send an email to citation-managers@sfu.ca.
Resources
Workshop materials are available here.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Thursday, June 8, 2023 - 10:00am to 11:00am
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Monday, July 10, 2023 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
GIS
View/hide details
A friendly introduction to map-making with QGIS
About the workshop
- Do you know that a very large amount of data from many resources (the web, government, research, etc.) contains coordinates or other geographic information that can be mapped? If you are not taking advantage of the spatial characteristics of your data, you are missing key insights spatial analysis and maps can offer.
- Do you hope to make a decent map for your publications?
- Do you want to tell which maps are telling blatant lies (believe us, there are plenty of such examples floating on the web) or avoid making misleading maps yourself?
Come to this in-person workshop to learn some fundamental concepts of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and how to use QGIS- a free, open-source GIS platform with powerful tools and a wide variety of plugins- to import, analyze, and visualize your data spatially. We will also introduce some basic concepts of cartography (this is a fancy word, but basically, it means how to make meaningful, trustworthy, and aesthetic maps!).
You are welcome to talk about your project ideas or how you would like to visualize or analyze your data.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
- Understand a few basic GIS concepts
- Import data to QGIS
- Edit data within QGIS
- Understand a few basic types of thematic maps and the connections between thematic maps and data
- Manipulate map symbology
- Understand a few basic cartographic concepts
- Create and export a map using the layout manager
Target audience
This workshop has been designed for those with little or no prior experience with GIS. It may also be of interest to those already familiar with GIS, but would like to have some hands-on experience using QGIS.
Requirements
- Please bring your own laptop.
- You need to install QGIS on your device prior to attending the workshop. QGIS runs on Linux, Windows and Mac operating systems.
- To download QGIS, please visit https://qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Friday, June 30, 2023 - 1:00pm to 4:00pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7010, Research Commons
|
Web GIS Workshop Series
In the past decade, revolutionary internet technologies have driven Geographic Information System (GIS) to expand far beyond the professional GIS community. Many individuals who lack traditional GIS trainings- engineers, entrepreneurs, journalists, researchers- have been involved in web cartography work. The empowerment is fueled by geospatially enabled technologies such as Global Positional Systems (GPS), the Internet, and user-friendly cartography tools. This workshop series will give you a taste of this new ecosystem, introducing you to a range of concepts, tools, and skills which include how web map is structured, how to create one, how to collaboratively collect field data and populate to a shared web map, and how to combine maps and digital storytelling to communicate your research.
All workshops in this series are designed for beginners- no previous GIS knowledge is required. Attend as many or as few sessions as you like.
Python
View/hide details
Qualitative Data Analysis
View/hide details
Please email nvivo-rc@sfu.ca for NVivo support or visit the NVivo: Software for Research Analysis webpage.
NVivo Office Hours [Online]
About help sessions
Questions about working with NVivo? Get answers.
Join us for online office hours hosted by Graduate NVivo Peers on Zoom. Drop in with your questions. No experience with NVivo is necessary.
Register for upcoming workshops
Introduction to NVivo for Mac [Online]
About the workshop
NVivo is a qualitative data analysis software program, but what does that mean -- and what does it mean for your research? Find out what NVivo is, when to use it, and how to get started.
In this hands-on introductory workshop, you'll take a tour of the NVivo software environment, using sample data. You’ll be introduced to NVivo’s functions and you’ll leave equipped with the basic info you need to begin working with NVivo. Topics introduced may include importing files and beginning coding.
This workshop is suitable for those with little or no experience using NVivo or other qualitative data analysis software.
Requirements
Note: Before the workshop, please download and install NVivo 12 (for Mac). You can download NVivo 12 (for Mac) and the license key with your SFU computing ID by using the self-serve download link here. If you have any difficulties, please email us at nvivo-rc@sfu.ca.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Thursday, June 8, 2023 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Introduction to NVivo for Windows [Online]
About the workshop
NVivo is a qualitative data analysis software program, but what does that mean—and what does it mean for your research? Find out what NVivo is, when to use it, and how to get started.
In this hands-on introductory workshop, you'll take a tour of the NVivo software environment, using sample data. You’ll be introduced to NVivo’s functions and you’ll leave equipped with the basic info you need to begin working with NVivo. Topics introduced may include importing files and beginning coding.
This workshop is suitable for those with little or no experience using NVivo or other qualitative data analysis software.
Requirements
Before the workshop, please download and install NVivo 14. You can download NVivo 14 and access the license key with your SFU computing ID by using the self-serve download link here. If you have any questions, please email us at nvivo-rc@sfu.ca.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Monday, June 12, 2023 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Doing More with NVivo for Mac [Online]
About the workshop
Need help taking the next step with NVivo? If you’re already comfortable with bringing in documents and coding them, you’re ready to move on to analyzing your material. In this hands-on workshop, Graduate Peer NVivo Facilitators will walk you through visualizations and queries using sample data.
classifying and categorizing data
- grouping your data: collections and links
- exploring your data (coding based queries)
- models and relationships
- visualizing your data
- reporting and presenting your findings
Requirements
- This workshop assumes that you already have some familiarity with NVivo and/or will have taken the "Introduction to NVivo" workshop.
- Before the workshop, participants should download and install NVivo 12 (for Mac). You can download NVivo 12 and the license key with your SFU computing ID by using the self-serve download link here. If you have any trouble, please email nvivo-rc@sfu.ca.
- We will be using the Mac operating system and the interface is different from the Windows (PC) operating system
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Doing More with NVivo for Windows [Online]
About the workshop
Need help taking the next step with NVivo? If you’re already comfortable with bringing in documents and coding them, you’re ready to move on to analyzing your material. In this hands-on workshop, Graduate Peer NVivo Facilitators will walk you through visualizations and queries using sample data.
classifying and categorizing data
- grouping your data: collections and links
- exploring your data (coding based queries)
- models and relationships
- visualizing your data
- reporting and presenting your findings
Requirements
- This workshop assumes that you already have some familiarity with NVivo and/or will have taken the "Introduction to NVivo" workshop.
- Before the workshop, participants should download and install NVivo 12. You can download NVivo 12 and the license key with your SFU computing ID by using the self-serve download link here. If you have any trouble, please email nvivo-rc@sfu.ca.
- We will be using the Windows (PC) operating system and the interface is different from the Mac operating system.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 - 10:00am to 12:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
R (Software)
View/hide details
Consultation appointments in R are available, please email us at data-services@sfu.ca with some details on your specific question about using R. Data anonymization: note that any data needs to be suitably anonymized if working with sensitive subjects before meeting with the Research Programming Peer.
Data Wrangling and Preprocessing With R
About the workshop
- Import data from a CSV or text file
- Extract and create columns in a data frame, and filter rows according to different conditions
- Write an R script that can run on its own without manual user intervention.
By the end of the workshop you will be able to:
- Use the primary dplyr functions for selecting, mutating, filtering, summarizing, and re-ordering data
- Recognize existing complicated base R code blocks and simplify them down using dplyr
- Use tidyr (a tidyverse package) to easily reshape data both to and from long and wide formats.
Requirements
Bring your own laptop with R and R studio installed.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Monday, June 19, 2023 - 10:30am to 1:00pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7010, Research Commons
|
Introduction to R (2-day workshop)
About the workshop
This two-day workshop introduces the programming language R. R is an open-source, widely used, and increasingly popular tool for statistical and data analyses, text mining, geospatial analysis, modelling, and a growing number of other applications. No prior knowledge is required. Students will learn the skills needed to start analyzing their own data.
The topics covered include:
- the R environment (directories, workspace, scripts, and packages),
- simple commands to get you started,
- data structures (vector, matrix, data frames, lists),
- basic data analysis tools (built-in statistical packages, plotting, etc.)
As time permits, an introduction to functions may also be covered.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Saturday, July 8, 2023 - 10:30am to 5:30pm
Saturday, July 15, 2023 - 10:30am to 5:30pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7010, Research Commons
|
Visual Analytics
View/hide details
Scholarly Communication workshops
View/hide details
Thesis workshops
View/hide details
If you are unable to attend one of our thesis template workshops, check out our online tutorials on using the Thesis Word Template.
For more information, please email the Thesis Office or book an appointment using the online booking system for a one-on-one consultation.
Thesis Writing Group [Online]
About Thesis Writing Group
Join Thesis Writing Group to make some serious progress on your thesis (or other academic writing projects) and to develop a sustainable writing practice. Thesis Writing Group is modelled after other successful online writing groups that use scheduled time to work on writing with the (quiet) presence and support of other writers.
What you can expect
Thesis Writing Group is held via Zoom. It is facilitated by members of the Graduate Writing Services team and the Research Commons Librarian, who are available for writing and research support during the weekly sessions. An Assistant for Theses will also be available for some of the sessions for any questions about using the thesis template, formatting, and the thesis submission process. Optional mini workshops on topics such as library research techniques, copyright, and academic publishing will be offered some weeks. For Summer 2023, sessions will be held on Fridays, 9:00 am – 12 noon for 10 weeks, starting Friday, May 19, 2023 and concluding Friday, July 21, 2023.
The online writing group format
Some of you may already be familiar with or have participated in online writing groups. For both those with and without experience, we encourage you to join us for this unique experience! The group will begin each session by briefly checking in and setting goals before turning to dedicated writing time. Participants can request support from our team through the chat feature, and consultations/discussions will take place in breakout rooms. The 3-hour sessions conclude with the group coming together and discussing any reflections or areas of interest/concern.
Writers will be asked to keep their microphones muted while writing, and the use of webcams is welcome but entirely optional for each participant.
Registration is for ten weeks
Registration is available for all 10 weeks of sessions combined. We ask that registered participants commit to attending each session to the extent that their schedules allow.
Please register by Wednesday, May 17 at 4:00pm, after which registrants will be contacted with a confirmation and further instructions.
If you have any questions about Thesis Writing Group, please contact Robyn Long, Graduate Writing Services Coordinator, at robyn_long@sfu.ca, or Julie Jones, Research Commons Librarian, at jsj7@sfu.ca.
Register for upcoming workshops
Thesis Writing Retreat
About the workshop
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7000, Research Commons
|
Thesis Word Template: The Basics
About the workshop
The SFU Library thesis template is a Microsoft Word file designed to assist students in preparing theses, projects, and extended essay(s) in accordance with formatting standards and requirements for submission to the Library.
There are 3 parts to this workshop:
1. SFU Library's research data specialists will give instruction on how to store, preserve (archive) and, if appropriate, share research data for future uses. (15 to 20 minutes)
2. SFU Copyright Office will briefly explain copyright law as it relates to reproducing copyright protected material in your thesis and other published works, and explain how to request permission from copyright holders when required. (20 to 30 minutes)
3. For the remainder of the time, the Theses Office will walk through the overall structure of your thesis and demonstrate the functionality of the thesis template. You will learn how to:
- download the thesis template (a Microsoft Word file) and set up some defaults
- format your text using styles (ie. block quotes, lists, references, etc.)
- update the Table of Contents, List of Tables and List of Figures
- bring in text from other documents
If we have time, we will show you how to:
- insert figures/images and tables and generate auto-numbered captions
- update the List of Figures and Tables
- other tips and tricks
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Thursday, July 13, 2023 - 1:00pm to 3:30pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7010, Research Commons
|
The Thesis Submission Process [Online]
About the workshop
After you have defended, the final step for graduation eligibility is submitting your thesis, project, or extended essay(s) to the Library. This workshop will walk you through the thesis submission process.
You will learn:
- How to log into the Thesis Registration System (TRS)
- What required documents you need to upload to the TRS
- What “if applicable” documents you need to upload to the TRS
- What happens after you have submitted
Note: A good time to take this workshop is sometime during the semester that you’ll be defending or sometime after you know when your defence date is.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Thursday, July 27, 2023 - 10:00am to 11:30am
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|
Writing workshops
View/hide details
Thesis Writing Group [Online]
About Thesis Writing Group
Join Thesis Writing Group to make some serious progress on your thesis (or other academic writing projects) and to develop a sustainable writing practice. Thesis Writing Group is modelled after other successful online writing groups that use scheduled time to work on writing with the (quiet) presence and support of other writers.
What you can expect
Thesis Writing Group is held via Zoom. It is facilitated by members of the Graduate Writing Services team and the Research Commons Librarian, who are available for writing and research support during the weekly sessions. An Assistant for Theses will also be available for some of the sessions for any questions about using the thesis template, formatting, and the thesis submission process. Optional mini workshops on topics such as library research techniques, copyright, and academic publishing will be offered some weeks. For Summer 2023, sessions will be held on Fridays, 9:00 am – 12 noon for 10 weeks, starting Friday, May 19, 2023 and concluding Friday, July 21, 2023.
The online writing group format
Some of you may already be familiar with or have participated in online writing groups. For both those with and without experience, we encourage you to join us for this unique experience! The group will begin each session by briefly checking in and setting goals before turning to dedicated writing time. Participants can request support from our team through the chat feature, and consultations/discussions will take place in breakout rooms. The 3-hour sessions conclude with the group coming together and discussing any reflections or areas of interest/concern.
Writers will be asked to keep their microphones muted while writing, and the use of webcams is welcome but entirely optional for each participant.
Registration is for ten weeks
Registration is available for all 10 weeks of sessions combined. We ask that registered participants commit to attending each session to the extent that their schedules allow.
Please register by Wednesday, May 17 at 4:00pm, after which registrants will be contacted with a confirmation and further instructions.
If you have any questions about Thesis Writing Group, please contact Robyn Long, Graduate Writing Services Coordinator, at robyn_long@sfu.ca, or Julie Jones, Research Commons Librarian, at jsj7@sfu.ca.
Register for upcoming workshops
Thesis Writing Retreat
About the workshop
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
|
Burnaby, Bennett Library, Rm 7000, Research Commons
|
Interdisciplinary Research: You Are Not Alone [Online]
About the workshop
Undertaking interdisciplinary research can feel overwhelming and sometimes lead to students feeling disconnected. These sessions are intended to offer some structure and guidance, along with creating a sense of community among students who may otherwise be doing this work alone.
Each session will offer a brief lecture and/or demo focused on interdisciplinary research skills from a librarian, as well as exercises and facilitated discussion before and after.
The sessions will also include time to hear from and to give feedback to students who are actively researching across disciplines. Students will be invited to briefly talk through their working research question and current reading strategies and findings, and the facilitators and fellow students can provide feedback and suggestions.
These sessions are open to any graduate student who would like to be in conversation with others as they develop their interdisciplinary research.
Registration is required for the series, but we welcome new participants throughout the month as well as those who may not be able to attend all sessions.
Register for upcoming workshops
Dates | Location |
---|---|
Thursday, July 6, 2023 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Thursday, July 13, 2023 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Thursday, July 20, 2023 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Thursday, July 27, 2023 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
|
via Zoom (link will be sent to participants 24 hours before the workshop/event begins)
|