Welcome back researchers! We hope you had a refreshing break and enjoyed the (partial) sunshine over the summer.
If you are new to PG research at AUT: welcome! This blog is your guide to life as an AUT research student, where we’ll post weekly articles, tips, and round-ups of AUT events and resources.
If you are returning for another year of research: welcome back!
Let’s get to it. What’s on this coming month to help you grow your research skills and succeed in your programme? We’re kicking off the year with a huge 25 postgraduate workshops (details in the table below) on everything from thesis writing to open access publication, research impact, and qualitative data analysis. Plus, if you’re new to PG research, you might like to attend the PG orientation session on Monday Feb 19, from 11am-12pm in WG404. This is a drop-in session where you can learn all about the academic support available to you during your study.
Have a great start to the year everyone!
Postgraduate Research Workshops in February 2024
| What? | Where? | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Bringing in literature Discusses writing strategies and reasons for bringing in past research to support your own arguments. Participants will practice precise language that changes the extent to which you may agree or disagree with the views of others. | Online | Thu 1 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| NVivo quick start Fully booked; waitlist available This course is targeted at researchers wanting an efficient means of handling and analysing their qualitative data. No prior knowledge of the software is assumed; however a basic understanding of qualitative analysis procedures would be helpful. | City campus | Fri 2 Feb, 9:30am – 4:00pm |
| Thesis writing: Highlighting research significance Explores where and how you can make your research findings stand out. Participants will consider ‘what matters’ and ‘who cares’ and where this information goes. Bring an article you have read recently and a sample of your own writing. Suited to PG research students who already have their research findings. | Online | Wed 7 Feb, 2:00pm – 4:00pm |
| Tools for editing your writing Introduces ProWritingAid as a tool for editing. Focuses on using statistics to examine draft writing. These statistics are related to choices about paragraph structure, and where to condense your writing or elaborate. Participants will have time to use the tool to edit their own work. | Online | Wed 7 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Library essentials for postgraduates Learn about the wide range of resources, spaces and support available at Te Mātāpuna Library & Learning Services for postgraduate students. Includes guidance on finding academic literature, accessing online guides and workshops, and using interloans and distance services. | Online | Thu 8 Feb, 5:30pm – 6:30pm and Tue 27 Feb, 5:30pm – 6:30pm |
| Communicating your research identity Focuses on thinking through who you are as a researcher for the purpose of generating and refining content for research profiles and considering where to publish. Suited to doctoral and non-doctoral students (masters, honours) who want to develop and communicate their research identity. | Online | Mon 12 Feb, 2:00pm – 4:00pm |
| Publishing for postgraduates and early career researchers This Library workshop will help you find relevant publications for your research. You will learn about the elements of a publishing strategy and how to find and evaluate journals to publish in. | Online | Tue 13 Feb, 11:00am – 12:30pm |
| Finding scholarship funding for postgraduate studies This workshop will show you how to search for and find various scholarship and research funding avenues and receive tips on how to draft up an application for external funding. There are different sources of funding for every postgraduate course and for every type of candidate. | Online | Tue 13 Feb, 1:00pm – 2:00pm |
| Thesis writing: Fine-tuning your literature review Introduces a process to cross-check how a literature review connects to other sections, such as findings and discussion chapters or parts of a journal article. Participants will use their own work to visually track where concepts are first introduced and then continue to be used. Suited to research students who have already drafted both their research findings and literature review. | Online | Tue 13 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Getting started with library research A Library workshop for new AUT postgrads or those returning to study. We aim to give you a good understanding of the types of resources available from the Library and databases and/or search engines you may use in your literature research. | Online | Tue 13 Feb, 5:30pm – 6:30pm and Wed 28 Feb, 5:30pm – 6:30pm |
| Qualitative analysis for beginners This workshop provides a focused introduction to qualitative data analysis, and will cover the key stages in the process such as data preparation, coding, and identifying patterns in your data. It is interspersed with practical tips and aims to leave attendees feeling more confident in approaching this vital—but inevitably messy—stage of the research cycle. | City campus | Thu 15 Feb, 9:30am – 12:30pm |
| Thesis writing: Discussions Provides an overview of the structure of discussion sections within a thesis. Identifies typical functions and distinctive features of this section in relation to the whole research project. You will analyse and discuss text examples and relate these to your own writing. | Online | Thu 15 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Qualitative writing for beginners This training course covers tips and tricks for writing up qualitative research, as well as techniques for getting started and keeping going. A demonstration of the writing process is also provided. There will be guidance on representation of the researcher’s voice, which can be a challenge for those new to qualitative approaches. Practical ideas for working with NVivo outputs, and effective use of verbatim extracts will also be covered. | City campus | Fri 16 Feb, 9:30am – 12:30pm |
| Open Access without APC: Read and publish options at AUT Te Mātāpuna Library & Learning Services has agreements with some publishers that enables AUT authors to publish open access in some journals without paying the Article Processing Charge. Find out the what, where and how of our Read & Publish options. | Online | Fri 16 Feb, 12:00pm – 1:00pm |
| Thesis writing: Connecting sections and chapters This workshop explores how we can organise research writing so that our readers clearly see how sections within a chapter and different chapters connect. Bring a research article that you think has a nice flow (one you think it is well written and easy to follow). Suited to research students who have fully drafted at least one chapter or article. | Online | Tue 20 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Thesis writing: Literature reviews An overview of the structure of literature reviews within a thesis. Identifies typical functions and distinctive features of this section in relation to the whole research project. Participants analyse, discuss and relate text examples to their own writing. Systematic reviews are not covered. | City campus | Wed 21 Feb, 12:00pm – 2:00pm |
| Growing your research impact Research impact defines the way in which your research influences and creates benefits to society, the environment, culture and innovation. This Library workshop provides practical tips for growing your research impact. Learn how to plan for research impact; make your research accessible and easy to find; and communicate your research findings effectively. | Online | Thu 22 Feb, 1:00pm – 2:00pm |
| Getting started with writing Focuses on strategies to help researchers digest reading in preparation for writing about what you’ve read. Participants try freewriting and mapping concepts as strategies to get words on the page and then create more structured writing. Bring an article you have read recently and a sample of your own writing. | Online | Thu 22 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Thesis writing: Introductions An overview of the structure of an Introduction section of a thesis. Identifies typical functions and distinctive features of this section in relation to the whole research project. Participants analyse and discuss text examples and relate these to their own writing. | Online | Tue 27 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Thesis writing: Using literature to support your view Discusses writing strategies and reasons for bringing in past research to support your own arguments. Participants will practice precise language that changes the extent to which you may agree or disagree with the views of others. Bring an article you have read recently and a sample of your own writing. Suited to PG research students. | City campus | Wed 28 Feb, 12:00pm – 2:00pm |
| Systematically searching for health literature This Library workshop will guide you through the literature searching process: developing a search strategy, searching health databases systematically, using key search techniques, and evaluating, recording and organising results. Please have your research question handy so you can use it to develop and practice your search. | Online | Wed 28 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:00pm |
| Think about the data! Starting a data management plan at AUT Writing a Research Data Management Plan (DMP) enables you to be able to describe your data and detail the appropriate storage, access, publication and sharing of it, along with any legal, ethical and funder requirements. This workshop walks you through AUT’s DMP tool, introducing you to the world of data management and helping you embark upon a more organised research data journey. | Online | Thu 29 Feb, 12:00pm – 1:30pm |
| Thesis writing: Connecting parts to the whole Discusses how the different parts of a thesis connect to each other. Participants will analyse examples relevant to them and practice using language to clearly show how existing knowledge connects to their new research, to what others may do with it in the future, and where that information gets organised across a thesis. Bring an article you have read recently and a sample of your own writing. Suited to PG research students. | Online | Thu 29 Feb, 5:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Literature searching for postgraduate research This Library workshop will guide you through the literature searching process: developing a search strategy, searching databases systematically, using key search techniques, and evaluating, recording and organising results. Please have your research question handy so you can use it to develop and practice your search. | Online | Thu 29 Feb, 4:00pm – 5:30pm |
