Trinity Term Training – Help for your Thesis

Posted on 26 April 2019 by bjenkins

We have an extra-busy term of information skills training, aimed at helping second years prepare to research their Theses over the Long Vacation.

Everything kicks off on Thursday of 1st week, with the annual Thesis Fair held at Exam Schools from 2-4pm. Bringing together academics, librarians, archival experts and subject specialists, the Thesis Fair is the ideal opportunity to take stock and make connections before you begin your research – more details can be found on the Thesis Fair Libguide Page There’s something for everyone!

The Fair should get you ready for a hugely varied iSkills programme through the rest of term – ranging from courses on Online Sources for Historians and US History (2nd week), a new course on Resources for Modern Global History, and News Sources from 17th-20th Centuries (3rd week), African and Commonwealth Sources, and Medieval Studies (4th week), and an Introduction to UK Parliamentary and Government Materials (6th week).

History Faculty Library Staff will also be running their popular Research Skills for your Thesis workshop on Wednesday of 5th week, showcasing their tips and tricks for getting the most out of your searching – with opportunities to try out searches for your own topic and brainstorm research ideas. A companion session on Wednesday of 6th week, Researching Archives, will outline how the nature of different archives and their administration influences the discovery and use of themm, as well as introducing some key finding aids and key archival collections in the Weston Library and in the UK.

Full details and booking information for these and many more courses to help you with your thesis can be found on the Information Skills Libguide.

Thesis help for 2nd year Historians

Posted on 18 April 2018 by bjenkins

Is the thought of researching and writing your Thesis over the summer giving you sleepless nights? Don’t know where to begin with defining your subject, finding your sources, or finding primary source material?

DON’T PANIC!

We have History-specific events for you in Trinity Term to help you out!

Thesis Fair, 26 April, 2-4pm at Exam Schools

This highly popular event has Librarians, Academics, Information Skills advisors, Subject Specialists and lots more – covering many different subjects and aspects of your Thesis prep. Come and talk to dedicated specialists and find out what there is on offer in Oxford and further afield!
If you are in a college beginning letters B-N, please come at 2pm; all other colleges should try to come at 3mp – but if you can’t make it during your time slot, just come when you can.

Research Skills for your Thesis, 2-4pm, History Faculty Lecture Theatre, George St.
This 2-hour session is designed to equip history graduates with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of databases, e-journals and web portals will be explored as well as advanced features in SOLO and tools for literature searches. Time for hands on practice will be included.
Book now (SSO required)

There is also a full iSkills timetable running this term – details and booking links can be found on the iSkills Libguide.

2nd year Undergraduate Thesis Fair Thursday THIS WEEK 3-5pm

Posted on 2 March 2015 by bjenkins

Are you planning your thesis writing for the long vacation? Don’t know where to begin your research, or what resources are available to you? The History Faculty Library’s annual Thesis Fair can help! Bringing together academics, librarians, archival experts and subject specialists, the Thesis Fair is the ideal opportunity to take stock and make connections before you begin your research.
This year the Thesis Fair will take place on Thursday 5 March 2015 (week 7) from 3pm to 5pm in the North Writing School, Exam Schools.

Due to popular demand, we need to allocate 2nd year students to a timed slot.

3-4pm: Balliol, Brasenose, Christ Church, Corpus Christi, Exeter, Hertford, Jesus, Keble, Lady Margaret Hall, Lincoln, Magdalen, Mansfield, Merton, New College

4-5pm: Oriel, Pembroke,Queen’s, Regent’s Park, Somerville, St Annes, St Benet’s Hall, St Catherine’s, St Edmund Hall, St Hilda’s, St Hugh’s, St John’s, St Peter’s, Trinity, University, Wadham, Worcester

If you cannot make your slot, do come along anyway!

The Fair and follow-up workshops aim to help you locate relevant source materials for your thesis and to show how to make good use of tools and resources available to you.

This year the Thesis Fair stalls include:

medieval, early modern and modern sources
Visual Resources
global history: India, Africa & Commonwealth, US, Latin America, etc.
Legal History
Bodleian iSkills
Marine Lives collaborative research project
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Maps for historians
History of Science and Medicine
collections in the HFL and college libraries & archives, and many more…

We look forward to seeing you at the Thesis Fair – come along and let your ideas grow!

Calling all 2nd year historians: Thesis Fair 6 March 2-4pm

Posted on 27 February 2014 by iholowaty

Next week is Thesis Week!

The Thesis Fair aims to help you locate relevant source materials for your thesis and to show how to make good use of tools and resources available to you.

Exploring the Conservative Party Archive stall

This year the Thesis Fair stalls include:

medieval, early modern and modern sources
visual Resources
global history: India, Africa & Commonwealth, US, Latin America, etc.
legal History
RefWorks for reference management
maps for historians
history of Science and Medicine
collections in the HFL and college libraries & archives, and many more…

Come along and speak to experts or make an appointment with them. It’s a great opportunity to browse at your leisure, explore sources you thought existed and network with others.

Sessions on digital images and open access plus Thesis Fair this week

Posted on 6 May 2013 by iholowaty

Workshops

There are two WISER sessions coming up in weeks 3 and 4 this term:

Digital images: ARTstor, Bridgeman Education and VADS for teaching and learning (Tue 07 May 14:00-16:00) (wk 3)

The course examines two major digital image collections subscribed to by the University – ARTstor and Bridgeman Education – and a third resource, free for educational use, VADS. All of these are geared to research and teaching in the humanities, history of science and medicine, and social sciences. Viewing, presenting and managing images are also covered.
Presenters: Clare Hills Nova and Vicky Brown > Book Now

WISER: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (Thu 16 May 11.00-12.00) (wk 4)

A briefing on open access for research publications and Oxford’s position: Green vs. Gold; funder mandates and publisher policies; Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; new OA website/ helpline.

Presenters: Craig Finlay and Andy Kernot > Book Now

Keeping up with Bodleian Libraries training opportunities
Why not follow join our mailing list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser or visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com.

Not a member of Oxford University?
If you are not a current member of Oxford University but would like to attend a workshop please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Please quote your Bodleian readers card barcode number.

Questions?
Please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Thesis Fair for 2nd year historians

Thursday 9 May 2.30-4.30pm
North Writing Schools, Exam Schools, High Street, Oxford

The Thesis Fair is running on Thursday afternoon and is an opportunity to talk to expert librarians, archivists and other subject specialists about how to find resources for your subject. Whether you’re still picking your topic or have already started researching, advice is available on resources, skills training, reference management and tips on how to manage your thesis from a fellow student. This is a drop in session throughout the afternoon, 2.30-4.30pm and no booking is necessary.

Courses for 2nd year Historians doing thesis research

Posted on 22 May 2012 by iholowaty

Whether you’re still trying to settle on a topic, or already reading up on a particular area, there are a host of courses over the rest of the term that can help second year History undergraduates research their thesis topic.

Specially designed for second year undergraduate Historians
Library staff will be running two sessions in the History Faculty that are specifically aimed to help you prepare for your thesis. Spaces on these courses are limited and booking is essential.

Information Skills Minimum Kit
Wednesday 6 June (week 7), 14:00-16:00 – book online NOTE: last few spaces remaining
Repeated Wednesday 13 June (week 8), 14:00-16:00 – book online. This 2-hour session is designed to equip students working on their dissertation with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of databases, e-journals and web portals will be explored as well as advanced features in SOLO and tools for literature searches. Hands-on practise time will be offered. Presenters: Valerie Lawrence, Verity Westgate and Alice Nelson

RefWorks for your Dissertation
Friday 8 June (week 7), 10:00-11:30 – book online
Repeated Friday 15 June (week 8), 14:00-15:30 – book online. RefWorks is an online tool that makes it easy for students to keep track of their references and format them for inclusion in their work. This session for 2nd year History Undergraduates will give a basic introduction on how to use RefWorks for your dissertation and will highlight some of its key features. Presenter: Alice Nelson

WISER sessions

These courses are open to all members of the University and are held at OUCS on Banbury Road.

Online Resources for Historians Friday 1 June 14:00-15:15, (week 6) – book online. A general introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods for British & W European history: bibliographical databases, biographical / reference research aids, ebooks & ejournals, web portals, and collections of online primary source materials. Presenter: Isabel Holowaty

Sources for US History Friday 1 June (week 6) 15:30-17:00 – book online. Introduction to key information sources for the study of colonial America & US history. Starting with finding tools to locate material, examples of source materials will then be shown including archival, microform, printed/online collections & useful web portals & audiovisual collections. Presenter: Jane Rawson

WISER: Sources for Medievalists Monday 11 June (week 8), 9:30-12:00 – book online. General overview to a range of e-resources relevant for British & Western European medieval studies: bibliographical databases, biographical/reference tools, web portals & collections of online primary source materials of Anglo-Saxon sources, Greek/Latin texts, chronicles, charters & literary works. Presenters: Charlotte Goodall, Isabel Holowaty, Susan Usher, Hilla Wait

History Thesis Fair this afternoon

Posted on 10 May 2012 by iholowaty

Don’t forget to come along to the Thesis Fair this afternoon. Subject specialists will be at the North Writing Schools in the Exam Schools on the High St 2-4pm to help second year History undergraduates get ideas about resources for their thesis.

Full details at www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/history/thesisfair

History Thesis Fair in 3rd week

Posted on 26 April 2012 by iholowaty

Thesis Fair: Thursday 3rd Week in Trinity Term – 10 May 2012, 2-4pm, Exam Schools

All 2^nd year history undergraduates are encouraged to drop in on the Thesis Fair which will give you the opportunity to discover the University’s vast information resources including library, archive and electronic materials.

Library experts and academic historians will be on hand to provide expert assistance and tips on the information available to you for your research and how to search through it.

Stalls cover a range of information including:

Medieval sources
Early modern & Modern sources
British & European sources
African & Commonwealth sources
Latin American sources
Indian sources
US sources
History of Science & Medicine
History of Art & Visual resources

And many more…

Meet 2 History Finalists at the Top 10 Tips stall to learn from their experience. They will also give a talk in Room 1, School, 14:45-15:00.

Further courses

Courses to help prepare you for writing your thesis will be run later in the term. These include:

Online resources for historians
Information sources for African Studies
Manuscripts
US studies sources for historians
Medieval sources for historians
Using RefWorks for your dissertation
Information Skills Minimum Kit – a session designed to help you use a variety of information sources and tools to search effectively and carry out your literature review

More information about these sessions and online booking is available from: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/history/thesisfair

Thesis Fair for 2nd year History Undergraduates

Posted on 11 May 2011 by iholowaty

Thesis Fair 2011

Thursday 19 May, 14:00-16:00 – Exam Schools

The Fair aims to help 2nd year History Undergraduates:

explore what source materials and information resources (archival, print and electronic) are available in Oxford libraries;
meet local experts for further discussion;
learn about useful tips and tools;
browse among stalls to learn about Oxford’s rich collections as well as attend brief talks;
find information at your own pace and together with local experts jointly explore information resources and finding tools.

Timetable of talks:

Top 10 Tips from a Student survivor @ 14:30

The stalls will include medieval and early modern sources, modern political papers, US History, collections in the HFL and college libraries & archives, and many more. There will also be stalls on how to make the most of IT and web tools.

Come and along and get some ideas for your dissertation!

For details of further useful courses this term, including the Information Skills Minimum Kit and RefWorks, please see our Undergraduate Training page.

Thesis Fair 2010

Posted on 3 May 2010 by iholowaty

Thursday 13 May (week 3), 14:00-16:00

North Writing School, Exam Schools