As a Master's student you will have arrived at Cambridge equipped with knowledge and skills that will be invaluable for your research.
These may have been gained from previous educational qualifications, employment, or both!
As part of your session, you were asked to contemplate which skills you thought would be most relevant to perform your research and inform your dissertation project.
Please see the padlet below which captured your thoughts and sparked our discussion.
Feel free to continue to add to this on your research journey!
Some great advice via Wolfson College Academic Skills LibGuide, as well as some apps/software for note-taking:
Online Resources
Keeping track of online resources can be hard... Get in to the habit of organising your data and files with a robust system. Using a Reference Management Software system is invaluable! The most supported packages are:
A very thorough guide to dissertation planning and writing.
Chapter 2 "Developing your i-Skills" examines the information skills needed to complete your dissertation, and addresses
the many areas that we have discussed, including:
This well-structured title takes you through the process of dissertation writing (and report writing). Chapters are grouped by the various stages:
A great guide walking you through the dissertation process. Chapters discuss topics that we have touched on, including:
A compact guide for those short of time! This short but sweet title groups the information you need in to the following areas:
Critically assessing and revisiting your skills and knowledge are important components of 'reflective practice'.
If you haven't used reflective practice as part of your research and learning process, watch this short video on the "Gibbs Reflective Cycle" ((Oliver Johnson, September 21st, 2018) by the 301 Academic Skills Centre, University of Sheffield, as part of their Study Skills Hacks series)
If you want to find out more on how to develop your reflective writing and thinking skills, there is fantastic guidance via the Reflective Practice Toolkit developed by Research Skills Librarian, Claire Sewell:
Work through the components and become a reflective writer and practitioner!
As highlighted by the resources, incorporating critical reflection as part of your learning, is not only beneficial to your research practices and outcomes, but for job applications and the workplace.
The toolkit is designed to be used in the following ways:
If you want to look deeper in to reflective learning and writing, the following book available at the UL and Fitzwilliam College helps you to understand how you can use a 'personal learning journal' for your research and career development.
Now you have successfully identified your strengths and weaknesses, utilise other resources to make sure your core skills are on point...
Talented Librarians from across Cambridge have developed a multitude of online LibGuides and the 'CamGuides for Master's students' resource to help you with all aspects of your research and information literacy journey!
Areas covered include:
Check out the dedicated guides below