All in a Day: Research and Writing for Graduate Students is a full day of the Research Commons’ most popular workshops, specifically designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

Whether you're new to SFU or returning, you can join us at this conference-style day of learning, complete with catered breaks and lunch! With a focus on well-being, interdisciplinary connections, and exploring the best of the Vancouver Campus, this event is your opportunity to enhance your academic experience—all in a day.

Date | time: 2024 September 21 | 8:45am to 4:30pm

Location: SFU Vancouver | SFU Vancouver: 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC | Rooms 2270, 7050.2 and 1530

Registration: Click here to register.

Schedule for the day (subject to minor adjustments)

Time	Room 2270	Room 7050.2 (Vancouver Research Commons seminar room)	Room 1530
8:45am-9:15am	Check-in and refreshments (Room 2270)
9:15am-9:45am	Opening activities (Room 2270)
9:50am-10:50am	Research Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research	Citations made easy: Introduction to Zotero	Digital Humanities tools and approaches
10:50am-11:00am	Travel time
11:00am-12:30pm	Introduction to Research Data Management	Intro to ArcGIS Online	Making literature reviews easier with NVivo
12:30pm-1:10pm	Catered lunch
1:15pm-2:45pm	Academic Publishing 101: What You Need to Know	Get Started with Tableau Public for Data Visualization	Level up! Search strategies and research alerts
2:45pm-2:55pm	Travel time
3:00pm-4:00pm	The Graduate Student's Guide to AI: Fundamentals, Tools, and Ethical Considerations	Tour of Harbour Centre and Library services overview: Learn more about the spaces and supports available to you	Top ten tips for building a sustainable academic writing practice
4:05pm-4:30pm	Closing activities with refreshments (Room 2270)

Workshop descriptions

9:50am-10:50am

Research Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research
Kristie Westerlaken, Director, Research Ethics and Security, SFU
Attend this workshop and gain an understanding of the SFU research ethics review process, as well as principles and regulatory frameworks of Research Ethics, including Responsible Conduct of Research.

Citations made easy: Introduction to Zotero
Emma Brookman, Library Assistant, Learning & Engagement, SFU Library
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. Please bring a laptop with Zotero and the Zotero Connector installed. In advance of the workshop, please register for a Zotero account at Zotero.org.

Digital Humanities tools and approaches

Rebecca Dowson, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Research Commons, SFU Library

Digital humanities seek to bring new technological tools and methods to the teaching, research, and creative work of traditional humanities disciplines. This workshop will explore digital humanities tools, approaches, and projects and their place in your research. Bring your questions whether you’re completely new to this topic or enthusiastically entrenched in it!

11:00am-12:30pm

Introduction to Research Data Management
Carla Graebner, Librarian for Research Data Services and Government Information, SFU Library

Research data is the underlying information that you collect or generate to support your research findings. This data is increasingly valued by the research community and funding agencies as an important research output that could be shared or published, making it accessible for validation of results and for reproducibility. Proper management of research data includes responsible handling and organization of the data and is of crucial importance to the success of a research project. Data management planning from the start of your project can also save you time and ensure that you satisfy ethical and funding requirements. In this workshop you will learn tips on managing research data throughout the research process, including organizing and documenting data, storage and security, and publishing, sharing, and preserving data. The session includes hands-on interactive portions, and we will focus on creating robust data management plans.

Intro to ArcGIS Online

Sarah Zhang, Librarian for Geography, GIS, & Maps, Research Commons, SFU Library

AGOL is a web-based mapping platform that allows you to build maps and apps, conduct spatial analysis, and explore spatial data online. In this workshop, you will learn how to construct a simple web map, explore spatial data (Living Atlas), perform basic spatial analysis and queries, and publish the map to the web. You will also be introduced to the core concepts of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial data. The workshop is ideal for those who are: Curious about GIS and its applications; Interested in visualizing data with a spatial dimension; Interested in creating interactive web maps or apps for their audience; Looking to explore the diverse features and resources offered by ArcGIS Online. Note: SFU students, staff and faculty are eligible for ArcGIS Online accounts for free of charge. If you don’t already have an existing ArcGIS Online account, you can log into ArcGIS Online with your SFU computing ID. For instructions on how to get access to it, refer to this page: https://www.lib.sfu.ca/find/other-materials/data-gis/gis/software-arc-gis

Making Literature Reviews Easier with NVivo
Erik Mohns and Foroozan Daneshzand, NVivo Grad Peers, Research Commons, SFU Library

This workshop introduces importing and coding of literature review materials and key tools that can be helpful when reviewing literature in your area of research. This session is hands-on: you will acquire the ability to set up a literature review in NVivo and begin to work with your information right away. Please bring a fully charged laptop with NVivo 14 installed and make sure you have access to your citation management program (Zotero, Mendeley, etc.). You can access the the SFU download for NVivo 14 here. If you have any questions, please email nvivo-rc@sfu.ca.

1:15pm-2:45pm

Academic Publishing 101: What You Need Know
Ioana Liuta, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Research Commons, SFU Library
Jennifer Zerkee, Copyright Specialist, Copyright Office, SFU Library

Attend this workshop and learn about publication choices, Open Access, and copyright. You’ll also learn about important funding supports and other resources available to you for academic publishing as a graduate student at SFU.

Get Started with Tableau Public for Data Visualization
Rebecca Dowson, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Research Commons, SFU Library
Ali Moore, Acting Head, Learning & Engagement, SFU Library

Tableau is a data visualization tool that is being used to help analyze data and illustrate the patterns and insights behind them. This in-person workshop will introduce you to Tableau Public, a free access version of Tableau. You will leave this workshop with an understanding of how to: connect datasets to your Tableau workbook; create a variety of basic chart types (including bar charts, line graphs, and maps); publish and share interactive charts and graphs. Before the workshop, please: download and install the latest version of Tableau Public to your laptop and download the workshop materials.

Level up! Search Strategies and Research Alerts

Julie Jones, Research Commons Librarian, Research Commons, SFU Library

Learn how to search for information effectively and keep up with research! In this workshop, you’ll learn how to search key interdisciplinary databases and grey literature sources. You’ll also learn how to enhance your current awareness as a researcher by setting up search, citation, and new content alerts.

3:00pm-4:00pm

The Graduate Student's Guide to AI: Fundamentals, Tools, and Ethical Considerations
Laila Shaheen, SFU Graduate Studies

This session will provide an introduction to key AI concepts, their applications, and tools for research and learning. We will also cover important considerations for privacy, ethical use, and responsible AI practices. Perfect for those new to AI, this session will help you explore how AI can be applied in your academic and research endeavors.

Tour of Harbour Centre and Library Services Overview: Learn More About the Spaces and Supports Available to You
Nia Pazoki, Writing Services Coordinator, SFU Library and Julie Jones, Research Commons Librarian

Harbour Centre is a great place to study, write, and research. This tour will introduce you to the spaces, services, and amenities for graduate students in the Harbour Centre building. We will share tips and tricks to support you to have the best experience possible at the Vancouver Research Commons and Belzberg Library—and when accessing SFU Library services in general.

Top Ten Tips for Building a Sustainable Academic Writing Practice

Julia Lane, Writing Services Coordinator, SFU Library

This power-charged workshop will introduce ten concrete actions to build a sustainable and productive academic writing practice. Taking these actions will provide a structured path through the sometimes abstract and map-less journey of graduate-level writing.

Date(s)

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Time

8:45am to 4:30pm

Location

SFU Vancouver, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC (Rooms 2270, 7050.2 and 1530)

Registration information

Click here to register.

Contact for further information

research-commons@sfu.ca