Health Sciences Webinars

Description

VCU Libraries offers many webinars to help researchers at all levels in the health sciences master online tools and other resources and strategies that benefit research projects. Topics include making the most of PubMed, finding scientific and medical images, using Creative Commons, mining databases and searching for reliable consumer health information.

The series is free and open to all, but registration is required. After registering participants will receive the class URL via email.

2023-2024 Sessions:

Getting Started With Zotero
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024
11 a.m.-noon
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Zotero is a tool that helps users manage their citation collections. In this workshop, participants will learn how to create a Zotero account, import citations and PDFs from various platforms, organize citation collections, generate in-text citations and bibliographies using Zotero’s Microsoft Word Plugin and much more.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Create a Zotero account
Import citations and PDFs from websites and library databases
Organize citation collections
Generate in-text citations and bibliographies using Zotero’s Microsoft Word Plugin and the Google Docs Plug-in

Supercharge Your Research Impact for the Health Sciences
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description: After you go to the effort of researching and writing a scholarly article, how do you ensure it gets the recognition it deserves? This webinar introduces simple steps to efficiently increase attention to individual works and document the impact of your work throughout your health science career so that you create an impressive profile to share with admissions, hiring, tenure/promotion, and grant-funding committees.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Identify resources to help you decide where to submit manuscripts for peer review
Explain strategies for increasing availability of and attention to your individual works
Create robust bibliographies that showcase research
Find tools to measure the impact of your individual works and your cumulative body of work

Finding Science and Medical Images
Wednesday, March 14, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Need to find images for a paper, poster, class or presentation? This workshop will help you navigate image options and resources. Participants will learn how to access licensed resources including ARTstor, AP Images and Anatomy.TV through VCU Libraries as well as free resources. Attendees will also learn about copyright considerations for the use of images in the classroom, for publication and in presentations.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Become aware of the various image databases/resources that are available through VCU Libraries.
Have an awareness of various free image resources.
Better understand the rules of copyright that must be considered when it comes to the use of images in presentations, publications and in the classroom.

Searching OVID: MEDLINE & Embase
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Become a pro at searching Ovid MEDLINE and Embase. In this webinar you will learn advanced database features that will help you navigate the literature more thoroughly and precisely. This webinar will provide attendees with an overview of features used by medical librarians including the use of Medical Subject Heading (MeSH), Emtree (Embase subject headings), adjacency searching, Search Alerts and efficient organizing and collecting options.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Understand the features of Advanced Search in OVID: MEDLINE and Embase
Use Medical Subject Headings to search MEDLINE and Emtree Headings in Embase
Create saved search alerts using an Ovid personal account.

Getting Started With Zotero
Friday, March 22, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Create a Zotero account
Import citations and PDFs from websites and library databases
Organize citation collections
Generate in-text citations and bibliographies using Zotero’s Microsoft Word Plugin and the Google Docs Plug-in

Researching Social Identity and Health: Racism & Health and LGBTQ+ Health Guides
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description: From discrimination to lack of access, many populations face unique challenges in achieving optimal health and accessing quality health care. More research that is inclusive of underrepresented populations is needed to meaningfully address these health disparities.

Perhaps you are conducting original research and would like to be mindful that your research question, data collection and conclusions are inclusive. Or you are interested in doing research on a health condition and want to find studies that present findings by race, gender identity or sexual orientation. Or you are researching the best ways to provide care for a person with diabetes (or any other condition) and want to find research about facilitators and barriers to good health outcomes that addresses intersectional identities and social determinants of health.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Develop strategies to conduct health-related research inclusive of minoritized groups.
Find and use the VCU Libraries resource guides to support evidence-based delivery of health care sensitive to the needs and historical experiences of various social identity groups.

Covidence
Thursday, April 11, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Considering taking on an evidence synthesis project like a systematic review? Learn more about Covidence, a new resource offered through VCU Libraries. Covidence is a web-based tool that streamlines the process of conducting a systematic review or other type of evidence synthesis project. This session will walk you through how to register with the VCU institutional account and provide an overview of how Covidence can facilitate the screening and data extraction phases of your review.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Register for Covidence through the VCU institutional account
Set up a new review and invite collaborators
Understand the basic features of Covidence including, uploading citations, defining eligibility criteria, making screening decisions, and utilizing data extraction forms.

PubMed: Searching the Biomedical Literature
Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Learn to search the biomedical literature with PubMed, a free online scientific database from the National Libraries of Medicine and the NIH. This webinar will discuss basic search techniques and features of the database that allow you to filter and enhance your search. In addition, you will learn how to access full-text of articles, save searches and get alerts for topics that interest you.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop attendees will be able to:

Perform a search in PubMed and identify options for displaying and filtering search results
Investigate a citation record to obtain full-text of articles and view citations of similar articles
Identify options for saving or sharing articles and searches

PubMed & CINAHL: Basics of Doing a Good Search
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Learn the basics of doing a good search to search and how those apply in PubMed/Medline and CINAHL. In the course of the workshop, participants will learn about the basic features of each database and search techniques such as limits and the use of Boolean Operators. Methods to identify locally available journals or full-text online articles will also be discussed.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe what topics and/or disciplines are covered by each database.
Understand why and how to access PubMed & CINAHL through VCU libraries
Perform a simple search in PubMed and CINAHL and view search history in each
Identify options for displaying search results
Discuss options for limiting or filtering results of search
Connect to VCU Libraries holding to obtain full text of articles

Covidence
Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024
noon-1 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
Register Now

Description:

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Register for Covidence through the VCU institutional account
Set up a new review and invite collaborators
Understand the basic features of Covidence including, uploading citations, defining eligibility criteria, making screening decisions, and utilizing data extraction forms.

Finding Health Statistics Online
Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024
11 a.m.-noon
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

Public health institutions provide a wealth of statistical information through the Internet. But finding the correct statistic can be tricky, especially with so many resources to sift through. That's why VCU Libraries has created a Health Statistics Online research guide to help make sense of the various resources out there. This webinar will show you how you can use this guide to explore local, national and international statistical resources as well as resources on racial health disparities statistics.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Be acquainted with VCU Libraries’ Health Statistics Online research guide;
Be able to use the guide to find local, national, and international statistics;
Explore resources on racial health disparities statistics.

How to Find and Appraise Secondary Datasets
Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024
11 a.m.-noon
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
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Description:

If you’re a beginning researcher looking to become familiar with data resources, you might consider looking for secondary data. Secondary data is data that has been collected by one researcher for one purpose, but can be used by other researchers to answer other questions. Some secondary datasets are publicly available and can save time and money by allowing a researcher to use relevant data that has already been collected, rather than collecting data from scratch. VCU Libraries provides access to several resources that curate secondary datasets for research and teaching purposes. This webinar is designed to introduce participants to these resources, demonstrate where to find these resources using VCU Libraries guides and to explore how some secondary dataset records are organized.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Be able to define “secondary data”;
Use VCU Libraries research guides to find secondary data resources;
Choose a dataset based on a topic;
Identify the components of a secondary dataset record;
Review implications for using secondary datasets to inform your research.

PubMed & CINAHL: Basics of Doing a Good Search
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024
7:30-8:30 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
Register Now

Description:

Learn the basics of doing a good search to search and how those apply in PubMed/Medline and CINAHL. In the course of the workshop, participants will learn about the basic features of each database and search techniques such as limits, the use of Boolean Operators. Methods to identify locally available journals or full-text online articles will also be discussed.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe what topics and/or disciplines are covered by each database.
Understand why and how to access PubMed & CINAHL through VCU libraries
Perform a simple search in PubMed and CINAHL and view search history in each
Identify options for displaying search results
Discuss options for limiting or filtering results of search
Connect to VCU Libraries holding to obtain full text of articles

Getting Started With Zotero
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024
7:30-8:30 p.m.
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
Register Now

Description:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Create a Zotero account
Import citations and PDFs from websites and library databases
Organize citation collections
Generate in-text citations and bibliographies using Zotero’s Microsoft Word Plugin and the Google Docs Plug-in

Getting Started With Mendeley
Monday, Feb. 26, 2024
11 a.m.-noon
Online via zoom. Registration is required.
Register Now

Description:

Mendeley is a tool that helps users manage, share, annotate, and cite citations to research. Citation collections are stored in the cloud and can be used across various devices or platforms. In this workshop participants will learn how to install Mendeley, import citations and PDFs from various databases, organize a library of citations and insert citations into a document.

Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Install Mendeley Reference Manager
Import citations from PubMed and PDFs from various sources using the Mendeley web browser plug in
Organize citations into collections
Annotate PDFs and make notes that can be shared.
Use Mendeley plugin to place in-text citations and a bibliography into a document

For special accommodations, or to register offline, please contact Ryan Pander, event manager, rbpander@vcu.edu or 804-828-0593.