Being a researcher can mean juggling lots of different things. You might be wrestling with funding, or promoting your work, or finding the most up-to-date research, or even where to begin with writing up that data management plan you probably should have done a few weeks ago!
This course will introduce you to each of these concepts through a short video, a bit of reading, and a quick exercise to give you some time to explore and reflect on your own research needs. By the end of the course you will hopefully have a better idea of what your funder wants from you, how you can begin promoting your work, what techniques you can use to get that really useful research, as well as having already started writing up your data management plan.
While this course ran live during January 2021, we have left it available for anyone to work through at their own pace. You can work to the timetable we set out or you can dip in and out of this resource whenever you want to. We also have the option for you to request a certificate at the end to show off your new skills and your engagement with your own personal development.
All of our content will be self-guided but the Biological Sciences Libraries Team are available to have an online chat with you if you have any further questions or want to explore something further. If you have any technical issues or need any course content in a different format, you can contact George Cronin (Library Manager for Biological Sciences) who will be able to help.
This course is designed to be taken at any time, but if you want to follow the pattern we set out during our January 2021 live launch, our schedule should run as follows:
We will explain different online presence options that you might want to explore as a researcher, giving you the opportunity to explore some tools and reflect on your experience.
In a very bite-sized version of our bigger literature searching course, we will introduce you to the fundamentals of carrying out an effective and productive search to find resources that are the best fit for you. You will have the chance to develop your search strategy which you can then take away with you to use outside of this course.
We will give a short overview of what we mean by data management and the sorts of things you might want to consider. We will then give you a structured activity to start planning out your own data management so you can have something to take away and build on.
Having a funder pay for your research can be a lifeline for many researchers but there are often requirements that you have to follow. We will give you an overview of some of the things you might want to explore further with your funder as well as giving you the opportunity to reflect on your next steps. If you don't have a funder, there will be something in here for you too.
At the end of Week 4 you will have the option to apply for a Certificate of Completion for your own development records.
This course was developed by Sarah Crudge (Biological Sciences Librarian) and George Cronin (Biological Sciences Library Manager) for Cambridge University Libraries, and its content is available for sharing and reuse under a Creative Commons CC BY license. All images are reused under a CC0 (public domain) license unless otherwise stated.