If you are doing postgraduate research by distance – whether you are separated from AUT by oceans or just a few kilometres – you should know of all the options for joining in with PG life and accessing services remotely. Today on Thesislink, we’ve got a round-up of all the best ways to make the most of your distance study at AUT, including:
- Getting connected
- Online PG workshops
- Online learning resources
- Accessing Library materials
- Advisory services
- Connecting with PG colleagues
- Showcasing your research
- Research guides & manuals
Getting connected
First things first: you’ll need a strong internet connection and a way to meet with your supervisors. If you don’t currently have a sufficient internet connection, contact the Student Hub for support.
Once that’s sorted, make sure you have Office365 suite, including MS Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, and much more. You can download this for free as an AUT student. MS Teams is typically the tool of choice for online meetings with supervisors, and it also allows for file sharing – meaning you can upload a draft chapter, and your supervisor can add comments, without multiple email attachments back and forth.
For all things IT, check out the IT Services page. This also has details on how you can ‘log a job’ for IT support.
Online PG workshops
The vast majority of AUT’s postgraduate workshops are delivered online via Teams or Zoom. You are welcome to join from anywhere in the world! There are workshops for learning just about everything you’ll need to know as a research student – how to conduct literature reviews, collect, manage, and analyse data, work with participants, use AI responsibly, write each section of your thesis, handle the formatting, and so on. Check out the workshop catalogue for more details.
There is also a special series on Tiriti-Led Research – this is for both staff and students, and you may even like to attend with your supervisor/s.
Online learning resources
Want to learn at your own pace? AUT’s online resources allow you to access hundreds of quick educational videos, websites, and guides so you can access the info you need, when you need it. Check out PG_Me, the postgrad Canvas site, and navigate to ‘Academic resources’ for the full selection.
For more in-depth training, particularly around data analysis, you can apply for a Research Accelerator toolkit. These give you curated packages (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods) with videos, support communities, and live online sessions to support you as you collect and analyse your data. These packages are provided by a third party (Academic Consulting Ltd), but AUT pays on your behalf. Contact red@aut.ac.nz to request access.
For more specialised research methods training, you can access resources via CARMA: the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis. CARMA is especially useful for quantitative researchers, with many videos giving detailed deep-dives into regression, correlation, structural equation modelling, multilevel analysis, using big data, and much more.
Also: don’t overlook the AUT Postgraduate Handbook. While it’s not something you’d typically read start-to-finish, it’s a great reference manual when you have questions about how PG research works at AUT.
Accessing Library materials
Most library services that PG students need (journal access, database searching, workshops) are online by default. This includes the wonderful Tuwhera research repository, where you can access theses and dissertations to give you an idea of how other AUT students have written up their research.
However, where you need physical materials, the team at Te Mātāpuna Library & Learning Services can often help you out. Click here to learn about their distance services, and find out how to register.
Advisory services
Sometimes, when embarking on a complex research project, you need to talk to a specialist.
Te Mātāpuna Library & Learning Services has a fantastic team of advisors, including research librarians who can meet online with you about:
- Specialised databases
- Advanced and systematic searching
- Research about or by Māori
- Research about or by Pacific peoples
- Systematic literature reviews
- Research data management
- Open access and publishing
- Research impact and profiles
- Copyright issues
There are also advisors available when it comes time to consider your ethics application. While your supervisors would typically be your first source of advice here, you can also go to your faculty ethics representatives, or one of the Research Ethics Senior Advisors, for more specialised advice. Find the contact details here.
Last but not least, AUT has a friendly pair of PG student advisors who can help you with the life-postgrad juggle. David Lavulo and Dr Sophia Zhang specialise in navigating advanced study in the context of your life and your wellbeing. To arrange an online meeting, email postgrad.support@aut.ac.nz; or book a time to meet via MyAUT (select ‘Make a booking’ –> ‘Student Hub appointment’ and follow the prompts from there).
Connecting with PG colleagues
AUT’s International and Distance Students’ Group is a friendly, peer-led social space for international and/or distance postgraduate research students at AUT. If you’re studying by distance and want to find your people, join up to connect and swap practical tips on milestones, writing, methods, funding and data collection. There are options to participate via WhatsApp, Facebook, and/or Teams.
There are also lots of other Research Students’ Peer Groups, many of which meet online. You can find one that suits your interests; or email red@aut.ac.nz for support setting up your own group!
Showcasing your research
You can present your research remotely (by pre-recorded video) at AUT’s Postgraduate Research Symposium. While the event is not livestreamed, a video presentation allows you to share your research; and a well-placed slide with your socials can encourage audience members with overlapping research interests to connect with you. The application process for this symposium mirrors that of academic conferences (with abstract submissions & reviews), so this is a great way to ‘rehearse’ if you would like to give a conference presentation in the future.
Prefer to write than present? Rangahau Aranga: AUT Graduate Review welcomes a wide variety of submissions from AUT postgraduate research students. This journal, supported by Te Mātāpuna AUT Library, accepts not only academic papers but also editorials, reviews, commentary, creative writing, artwork, and more. You can also join the editorial board for an inside look at how journals are put together.
If you’re a doctoral student, the 3 Minute Thesis competition is another great option for sharing your work with the world. You’ll submit a 3-minute video articulating your research to an audience of educated laypeople, and this will be judged by an academic panel. The finals event is livestreamed, so you and your friends & family can watch from anywhere in the world.
For doctoral students who have passed the confirmation of candidature milestone, you may also like to set up a Research Elements profile to showcase yourself and your work as an AUT doctoral candidate. Check out the ‘how to’ guide for more details.
Research guides & manuals
There are lots of guides and resources that can help you figure out how to manage your research. Check out the selection below, and click the links to access the eBooks / digital downloads via the AUT Library. This is just a sample; you may like to explore the Library website for guides that are specific to your needs.
 | Doing Doctoral Research at a Distance This guide, written by researchers who specialise in distance doctorates, is probably the handbook for those doing research remotely. It walks you through practical strategies for getting organised, staying connected, and coping with challenges during your doctoral degree. It also covers tactics for juggling jobs, family, and other responsibilities. This book is co-authored by a New Zealander who did her own doctorate by distance without stepping foot on campus! |
 | Successful Research Projects: A Guide for Postgraduates This book, suited to all disciplines, follows the arc of a research project – allowing you to read each chapter as you approach the relevant stage in your research. It is particularly helpful for understanding how the level and complexity of PG research differs from undergraduate research papers. There is also a practical chapter addressing what to do if/when you disagree with your supervisors, and how to build a wider support network. |
 | Surviving and Thriving in Postgraduate Research This book gives a great mix of academic and personal guidance on managing the PG research process. It is incredibly comprehensive, with sections on supervisory relationships, time management, staying on track, and project scoping, to name a few. Particularly well-suited to those in the social and behavioural sciences. |
 | Are You Making a Meal Out of Research? This visual workbook was compiled by AUT’s Good Health Design team. It uses cooking metaphors to illustrate how you can approach your research as a baker (positivist), chef (interpretivist), kaimahi (kaupapa Māori researcher), or forager (post/critical researcher), working in the ‘kitchen’ of your research paradigm. If you’re a visual or metaphorical thinker in the early stages of research planning, this is the book for you! |
