Workshop Descriptions
Improve Your Research Process
Join us for a library workshop and leave with a better understanding of how our services, resources and search tools can improve your research process. Workshops are free and offered throughout the year at Blaisdell Medical Library and Shields Library.
Check our Events and Workshop calendar for current offerings. All sessions are one hour unless noted.
Please note, some workshops require advanced registration; others are drop-in events. Please check the individual event listing for registration details.
Workshops for graduate students and faculty are available by request and can be tailored for specific groups, including for faculty or graduate group meetings, or remotely via zoom. For questions or to learn more, please contact researcherservices@ucdavis.edu.
Workshops Offered at Blaisdell Medical Library
These workshops have a maximum capacity of six attendees per session and are offered four times per year.
Painless PubMed
Designed to quickly introduce or update you about searching in the PubMed database, this workshop includes building an effective search strategy, efficiently locating full-text articles, focusing your results using PubMed filters and Clinical Queries tool, and managing results using your MyNCBI account. Need information for a homework assignment, grant application, or clinical question? This beginning level class will get you started.
Finding Quality Health Information: An Intro to the Triple Pearl Method
Advance your search skills with the Triple Pearl Method, a highly effective and efficient way to discover relevant literature for a variety of projects, including dissertations, theses, quality improvement projects, narrative review articles, and clinical study reports. This research method combines the unique features (e.g., journal coverage, retrieval algorithms, indexing, and tools) of three important literature databases in the health sciences — Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus. Basic PubMed skills are required.
Workshops Offered at Shields Library
Citations
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due (Avoid Plagiarism)
This workshop is 1 hour and 20 minutes. Learn principles of citing sources in MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) styles. Expand your understanding of paraphrases, summaries and quotations, and discover tools to help you create citations.
Co-presented with the Academic Assistance and Tutoring Center (AATC). Questions for AATC? Please contact Kevin Sitz, kwsitz@ucdavis.edu.
Research
Library 101: Catalogs, Databases and Services
A hands-on introduction to finding books, research articles and other items at the UC Davis Library. Suitable for any discipline, this workshop will include an orientation to library privileges, services and where to get help. Catalog searching and an introduction to research databases will be covered.
Choosing the Best Data Repository for You
This workshop will cover why researchers should consider using a data repository and how to identify the most appropriate data repository based on your research outputs. We will cover the detailed process of selecting a repository, including how to compare the different types of repositories available (general vs. subject-specific), how to consider the different types of preservation that repositories offer, and how to search the registry of repositories.
Data Management Survival Skills
Working with and managing data is an essential skill for modern researchers to conduct meaningful and impactful research. This workshop will introduce you to better practices for file organization, README’s, flatfiles, and data backups. No prior experience or expertise is required or expected.
Finding and Locating “Foreign-Language” Resources
Researchers will learn how to identify, locate, and acquire non-English documents from around the world. Session content will include an overview of non-English (primarily European-language) catalogues, indexes, digital archives, and more.
How Research Gets Made
Learn how to reverse-engineer scholarly articles in any discipline and use library search engines (catalogs, indexes, databases) as tools and research instruments.
Introduction to the Systematic Review Process
Conducting a systematic review can be time consuming and challenging. This class provides an overview of the different steps in the comprehensive process of conducting a systematic review. At the completion of this introductory class, participants will be able to identify each step of the systematic review process. The class will also include systematic review resources and an overview of UC Davis Library research support services.
Publishing My Research: Where do I start?
Are you starting to think about publishing your research? This workshop will cover the many factors beyond just your field/topic that you should consider when you are choosing a journal and preparing for the submission process. We will discuss the differences among journals such as type of peer review, speed, cost, openness, and more. You will also receive tips on spotting predatory publishers, copyright, preparing your manuscript for submission, while learning about the benefits of tools such as ORCID iD and Scopus Author ID.
What Makes it into the Historical Record?: Understanding Primary Sources in Libraries
Primary historical sources, including images, newspapers, letters, and government records, are valued by historians for the picture they paint of the past. It is important to remember that the availability of primary sources also reflects the structure of our present distribution of power and equity. In this workshop we will examine the factors that contribute to the accessibility of historical information, and discuss strategies and efforts to bring to light the daily lives of diverse communities that may be under-represented in the historical record.
For Staff
Using the Library: UC Davis Staff
UC Davis staff have great access to books, academic journals, research databases and other electronic items, available through the UC Davis Library! Discover how to use our print materials and online resources, and get access from your office or home. Learn how to search our catalog and databases (a sample database will be demonstrated).
Cool Library Tools For BioAg Lab Staff
Learn about key library tools and search tactics for lab staff, including resources for major life science methods/protocols, email notification of updates in specialized research topics, journal assessment, citation analysis, management and reporting tools, e-books preview, lab website resources and more.
Tours
Tours of Shields Library
Take a short tour of Shields Library to be at the top of your academic game. Find the best places to study and where to go for research help. Learn about all the resources and services the UC Davis Library has for you! Meet by the main staircase.
Other Recurring Events
Morning Tea Mindfulness Meditation (online, or in person outside Med Sci 1B)
Welcome to a 15-minute session to enjoy a mindful moment and destress with tea. This will be a hybrid event; if you want to attend via Zoom please register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
If you are joining in person, we will meet outside Med Sci 1B, weather permitting. Feel free to bring a pillow; hot water, tea and bowl can be provided.