Want to know more about managing your references, saving time and avoiding plagiarism? EndNote is software which helps you to organise your references and automatically format citations, reference lists and bibliographies in Word.

• Create an Endnote Library and consider back-up options
• Import references from database searches, including Google Scholar
• Add other types of references manually (reports, web pages)
• Edit references
• Create groups to manage your references
• Attach full text articles
• Use the Cite While You Write (CWYW) tool in Microsoft Word to generate citations and bibliographies in your preferred referencing style

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• Microsoft Windows (online - various dates)
• Apple Mac (online - various dates)
• OSCOLA (online - various dates)

An opportunity to develop your literature searching techniques and learn some new tips and tricks.

• Identify your Research and Academic Support Librarian – please contact us directly for further help and advice
• Discover our LibGuides to get advice about different subject areas and topics
• Adopt a more systematic approach to searching
• Take a deeper look at the Web of Science/Scopus databases
• Understand key searching techniques
• Learn how to save searches and create alerts
• Think about how you will record and report your search results

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 07 Nov 2024 - 11:00-12:00 (in person)
• 02 Dec 2024 - 12:00-13:00 (online)

An introduction to research metrics, including citations, journal impact factors and altmetrics, and an opportunity to explore research metrics using library databases

• Understand key research metrics for measuring articles, journals and authors
• Find article citations using the Scopus and Web of Science databases
• Monitor the impact of articles by setting new citation alerts
• Find journal impact factors using the Scopus and Web of Science databases
• Compare journal ranking lists in Scopus and Web of Science databases
• Find author profiles using the Scopus and Web of Science databases
• Discuss limitations of research metrics and introduce responsible research metrics
• Understand alternative metrics and introduce Altmetrics and PlumX
• Find article altmetrics using the Dimensions databases

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 28 Nov 2024 - 11:00-12:00 (in person)
• 09 Dec 2024 - 12:00-13:00 (online)

Open Research refers to a set of practices that aims to make the constituent parts of the research process as ‘open’ (accessible, sharable, reproducible) as possible to demonstrate the research's quality, integrity and reproducibility. Sometimes referred to as ‘Open Science’ or ‘Open Scholarship’, open research can touch every part of your projects, everything from the decisions you make while planning projects to how to collect and manage your research data and software to peer review, publication and promotion.

However, it is not always easy for researchers to know how and to what extent they can engage with these ‘open’ practices in their research. In this workshop, we explore the research cycle through the lens of Open Research culture to establish what it means to be ‘open’.

By the end of the workshop, you will have:

• Understood the principles of Open Research and their relevance to your own research area and practices;
• Gained an understanding of the background and development of the main elements of Open Research, including Open Access, FAIR Data and Open Peer Review;
• Been introduced to some tools, university services, and initiatives that can help you start practising Open Research principles.

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 13 Nov 2024 - 10:00-11:30 (hybrid)

Research Data Management (RDM) is vitally important for the success of a research project and is becoming increasingly important with major funding bodies, such as UKRI, the Wellcome Trust and Horizon Europe. This session will introduce some of the key concepts of research data management best practice and will focus on Data Management Planning. This will include what a plan needs to contain, a look at some sample DMPs from the UKRI Research Councils and a demonstration of the Digital Curation Centre’s DMP Online service.

Attendees will gain a greater understanding of RDM and the generic practices that go with this as well as work collaboratively and individually on a Data Management Plan for an example research project and where to find help if needed.

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 28 Nov 2024 - 14:00-15:30 (hybrid)

This session forms the basis of the series and attendees can expect to examine publication practices across the disciplines; reflect on your motivation for publication; consider alternatives to traditional publication to encourage impact and public awareness of your work.In addition the session will cover the implications of open access and various funders’ requirements for open access when deciding on a venue for publication (including the new open access policy for REF2029).

By the end of the workshop you will have:

• Considered advantages and disadvantages of different routes to publication
• Considered copyright agreements and ways to publicise your work
• Heard about the new requirements for open access and how they might affect your choice of publication venue
• Started to develop a plan for your next publication and any promotion of your publication you will need to do afterwards

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 28 Jan 2025 - 10:00-11:00 (hybrid)

The session will focus particularly on choosing a publication venue for your journal article, we will look at a range of tools to allow you to evaluate journals, what this means for your work as well as start to develop a personal ranked list of possible journals. We will also look at how the evaluation of journals is changing and consider the benefits and drawbacks of various journal and article metrics. Finally, we will touch on the various publication models and methods of peer review used by modern journals.

This session will cover all disciplines and subject areas but will be of particular interest to STEM researchers.

By the end of the workshop you will have:

• Investigated a range of tools to evaluate different scholarly journal titles and other trade publications in a range of subject areas
• Had an introduction to open access and what it means for journal publication
• Have a solid understanding of what journal metrics are, how to find them and why they might be useful

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 20 Feb 2025 - 14:00-15:00 (hybrid)

This session will focus on the ways in which publishing your work as a long form scholarly work may differ to journal publication. We will look at the book publishing process and what a book proposal form looks like as well as how to approach editors with your work in the first place. The session also touches of literary agents and how they may be useful to you.

This session will cover all disciplines and subject areas but will be of particular interest to Arts and Social Sciences researchers.

By the end of the workshop you will have:

• Considered a range of different types of scholarly books that might be options for publication. Including, monographs, trade press, textbooks, edited collections and more
• Seen examples of book proposal forms and considered how you might start completing one for your project
• Been introduced to the idea of a literary agent and discussed where one might be useful to you

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 30 Apr 2025 - 10:00-11:00 (hybrid)

2025 represents the 360th anniversary of the academic journal – for over three and a half centuries the peer-reviewed journal article has been a key method of disseminating research. However, in practical terms, very little has changed in those 360 years. We have seen significant shifts in how scholarship is practiced, as scholars and citizens participate in an increasingly digital world. Is the scholarly article conceived in 1665 by the Royal Society, still fit for its purpose in this data-driven world, with new interdisciplinary methodologies and increasing automation?

This experimental workshop offers researchers the space to consider what they need from the dissemination of their research and discuss ideas to fully exploit the digital environment to their advantage when publishing and promoting their work. We will consider new types of publication, the ethics and social justice of publishing as well as practical tips on how to incorporate these into your publishing strategy.

SkillsForge Booking Links:

• 15 May 2025 - 11:00-12:00 (hybrid)