VCU Libraries will present Advance Your Research on Tuesday, Oct. 15, a full day of walk-in workshops for graduate students and faculty designed to help make their research process better, faster and smarter. Sessions are free and open to all. First come, first seated. 

Topics include:

• Academic publishing
• Copyright
• Google for scholars
• Grey Literature
• Online scholarly materials
• Refworks
• Zotero
• Liaisons
• Literature reviews
• Elevator pitches
• Impact factors

"We know from the conversations we have with graduate students and faculty that VCU researchers need these kinds of sessions," said Bettina Peacemaker, assistant head for academic outreach. "They want to streamline their research process, and we have resources that will make their work easier. So, we designed a day filled with the kind of information we've been providing in one-on-one consultations or in classroom settings."

Schedule of Workshops

8:15 a.m. Check-in opens.

8:30 a.m. Resources for Your Research: Enjoy a light breakfast, network and discover research resources around campus.

9:30 a.m. Make an Impact: Finding the Right Journal for Your Research: Understand what a journal impact factor is, what it is not and how to use it. You'll discover other techniques and resources to find just the right journal for your research.

10:30 a.m. Three-Second Thesis: Practice Your Elevator Pitch: Think about how to explain your ideas to others. Learn to reel off your research plans and proposals to grant administrators, potential collaborators, bigwigs and your grandma.

11:30 a.m. Better Reference Management through Technology: Save time, toil and trouble by organizing your sources and references using RefWorks, Zotero and other online resources.

12:30 p.m. Lunch with Your Librarian: Join us for lunch and informal conversations about your work with library colleagues. Please email or register if you plan to stay for lunch so we can prepare for everyone.

2 p.m.: Learn to Love Your Lit Review: Learn how to locate the important literature on your topic, track down citations and organize them effectively.

3 p.m. Let Me Google That for You: How to Make the Web Work for Your Research:  Leverage common web tools to find so-called "grey literature" and online scholarly material, understand key players, stay up to date and put yourself out there.

4 p.m. Can I Publish That? Working with Images and Media: Become more familiar with the parameters of copyright for images and media and the procedures for using these materials in academic publishing.

More about Academic Outreach at VCU Libraries 

Have questions? Want to schedule a one-on-one consultation? VCU librarians specialize in your fields. Please call or email us. We're here to help you succeed in your academic pursuits:

• go.vcu.edu/mylibrarian
• library.vcu.edu/askus
• 804-828-8960