On 8 May the iSkills programme will run a session on Sources for US History which will be invaluable to anyone embarking on research on US topics, including undergraduates planning their dissertations. You can book a place by clicking on the link below:
Bodleian iSkills: Sources for US History (Wed 8 May 11.00-12.30)
Introduction to key information sources for the study of colonial America and US history. The session will provide an overview of the primary sources available in Oxford and online (such as early printed books, US newspapers and US government papers), as well as guidance on locating material for your research.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers and anyone interested in this topic.
Other iSkills sessions coming up which may be of interest to Americanists:
Bodleian iSkills: Managing research data and Data Management Planning (DMPs) (Tue 7 May 10.00-12.00)
Good research data management is vital to academic practice. Effectively storing and managing your project research data preserves it for the future and enables sharing and collaboration. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career.
Who is this session for? All DPhil students and research staff.
Referencing: Choosing and using software (Tue 7 May 14.00-17.00; repeated Fri 17 May 09.15-12.15)
Formatting your in text citations/footnotes and bibliography correctly for your thesis or publication is a chore. Reference management software makes it easier and saves you time. This introductory session gives an overview of how reference management works, explores the pros and cons of a wide range of reference management packages and gives you the opportunity to try out four different packages so that you can work out which one is best for you. The packages included are RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.
Who is this session for? Postgraduate students, researchers and university staff.
Bodleian iSkills: Online resources for Historians (Wed 8 May 09.30-10.45)
A general introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods of British and W European history: bibliographical databases, biographical / reference research aids, ebooks and ejournals, web portals, and collections of online primary source materials.
Who is this session for? Students, researchers and anyone interested in this topic.
Bodleian iSkills: Google for academic research (Fri 10 May 14.00-16.00)
Google is often dismissed as being irrelevant to the academic literature search. However, changes to the nature of the dissemination of scholarly research and official information in recent years mean that a wealth of relevant information can be accessed via standard Internet search engines such as Google. Too often however such information is lost amongst thousands of irrelevant, spurious and misleading results.
Based on an understanding of how the Google search engine works this practical workshop will show you the basic techniques to quickly filter your results for high quality academic material.
A couple of other search engines will be considered briefly, including DuckDuckGo which has become a popular alternative to Google in the light of concerns about the privacy costs of a ‘free’ search within search engines such as Google or Bing.
Who is this session for? Anyone who is interested in best use of Google for their academic research
For a full list of upcoming workshops in Trinity Term please go to http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops/workshopsbydate.