Bodleian iSkills workshops aim to develop your skills in information discovery and scholarly communications, covering a variety of resources across a wide range of disciplines. They are primarily aimed at University of Oxford students and staff. Some workshops take place face-to-face, whilst others are run online.
The workshops are FREE but online booking is essential. A list of the sessions taking place this term can be found on the iSkills Workshops webpage.
Are you planning to present a poster at an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This introductory session will provide you with some top tips on how to create a poster presentation which will help you to communicate your research project and data effectively. There will be guidance on formatting, layout, content, use of text, references and images, as well as advice on printing and presenting your poster. This session will also provide help with locating resources such as templates, free-to-use images and poster guidelines. By the end of this online session you will be able to:
evaluate the effectiveness of templates, formatting, text and images;
plan, prepare and present your poster.
Please note that we also run this workshop in-person. Please check the iSkills course listing for availability.
Format: Online teacher-led presentation with opportunities for questions.
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to:
Understand the main features and benefits of EndNote
Set up an EndNote account
Import references from different sources into EndNote
Organise your references in EndNote
Insert citations into documents
Create a bibliography/reference list
Format: Online presentation and demonstration with time for questions.
A practical 180-minute workshop where participants will work on searches for their review across multiple databases. Librarians from the Bodleian Health Care Libraries will be on hand to demonstrate online tools for facilitating the process and give practical advice on refining individual search strategies. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to:
Describe alternative methods for identifying references, including citation tracking
De-duplicate results from multiple database searches
Start screening results for inclusion in your review
Report your search methods according to PRISMA-Search
Format: Classroom-based. Time for participants to work on their own searches with advice from a librarian. Explore tools that streamline the review process following a presentation with demonstrations.
Location: Beeson Room, Cairns Library, John Radcliffe Hospital, OX3 9DU
Bodleian iSkills workshops aim to develop your skills in information discovery and scholarly communications, covering a variety of resources across a wide range of disciplines. They are primarily aimed at University of Oxford students and staff. Some workshops take place face-to-face, whilst others are run online.
The workshops are FREE but online booking is essential. A list of the sessions taking place this term can be found on the iSkills Workshops webpage.
Are you looking to learn about the ways in which to transmit scientific ideas and make your research accessible to a non-specialist audience through a variety of mediums? This session will serve as an introduction to science communication and how it can be successfully incorporated into our roles. By the end of this session you will be able to:
define science communication and provide a list of examples;
explain why science communication is important for both our CPD and the public;
list ways in which we can all get involved in science communication.
Please note that this workshop is also run online. Please check the iSkills course listing for availability.
Format: Teacher-led presentation with opportunities for questions.
Location: Beeson Room, Cairns Library. John Radcliffe Hospital, OX3 9DU
Do you want to make sure your work is ‘REFable’ per the new REF open access requirements? In this focused online briefing, we will:
step you through the changes and new requirements
provide links to further REF information and guidance
let you know where to find help at Oxford
answer as many questions as we can
Ideally the ‘Fundamentals of Open Access’ course will have been attended. If you’re not in a position to attend this course you can find similar information in the e-learning package to work through prior to attending.
Format: Online presentation and demonstration with plenty of time for questions.
A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third-party source such as a data archive. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian who will lead the session. Follow up consultations with the Data librarian or other subject consultants are also offered. Topics to be covered include:
Key best practice principles when working with sensitive or restricted research data
Issues around creating original data
Informed consent agreements
Maximising the usage potential of data during and after a project
Strengths and weaknesses of anonymisation, data blurring and similar techniques
Key strategies for protecting data including encryption, embargoes, future vetting and access restrictions
Obligation put on researchers by legislation and research partners
Format: Teacher-led presentation with opportunity for discussion.
Location: Social Science Library, Information Skills Training Room, Manor Road, OX1 3UQ
Are you baffled by open, confused by embargoes? Does the mention of the colour gold or green catapult you into a realm of perplexed irritation? Come to this session, where we’ll break down open access and all its many jargon terms, confusing publishing structures and hint at the advantages you can reap by publishing open.
What is open access? Key terms – Gold, Green, Article Processing Charges
Where to get more information and help
Where to look for open access material
Useful tools to assist you in publishing open access
Each month we choose an electronic resource which we feel will be of interest to you.
Our Resource of the Month for June is Arcanum Newspapers, a huge digital archive of periodicals from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and its successor states.
Resource Overview
Arcanum Newspapers is a vast digital archive of Central European periodicals, mainly from Hungary and Romania. It spans several million pages, published from the mid-nineteenth to the twentieth centuries. Readers will find magazines, newspapers, academic journals and encyclopaedias, in Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Polish and German, among other languages.
Where can you access the resource
This resource can be accessed via SOLO. A Single-Sign-On (SSO) is required to access the titles remotely, as they are restricted to Oxford University students and staff members.
The SSL ‘Book of the Month’ feature highlights a book in our collection. This may be a recent addition to our stock or an existing item that we would like to share with you.
June’s Book of the month is:
Patriot
Alexei Navalny, translated by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel
June’s book of the month is Patriot, the autobiography of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Navalny died in an Arctic Russian prison in February 2024: he was probably murdered by the prison authorities, under the orders of Vladimir Putin. As his prison diary shows, his determination, humour and faith were unconquerable.
Book Overview
Navalny was arrested on his return to Russia in January 2021, after his recovery from an attempted poisoning in August 2020: he had not even stepped out of the aeroplane. Patriot consists of Navalny’s autobiographical writings in prison, his social media posts, and other short texts. Navalny himself describes it as “Gonzo journalism”: nothing else was possible under the circumstances. The prison regimes became more and more severe as time went on, until Navalny was confined almost permanently to a punishment cell.
The book contains humorous and incisive accounts of the late Soviet Union, Perestroika, and Russian political life in the 2000s and 2010s, as Navalny describes his experiences. He is a larger-than-life figure as much because of what was done to him, as because of his own responses. In 2017 he was sprayed green; his organisation’s offices were frequently raided, once apparently by sex workers; in 2020 government agents attempted to murder him by painting nerve agent on his underwear. He and his colleagues in the Foundation Battling Corruption demonstrated the corruption of Russia’s politicians to the population in detailed and colourful YouTube videos, which seem to have turned him into Putin’s personal enemy.
Navalny is a controversial figure within liberal western circles, as well as in the Russian Federation: he developed a connection with Russian nationalist movements in the 2000s, which he was later to drop. His determination to fight for Russia’s political freedom at whatever personal cost however testifies to the unique character he became.
Reviews
Luke Harding (Guardian, October 22 2024, 7.30 am GMT):
“This is a brave and brilliant book, a luminous account of Navalny’s life and dark times. It is a challenge from beyond the grave to Russia’s murder-addicted rulers. You can hear his voice in the deft translation by Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel: sharp, playful and lacking in self-pity. Nothing crushes him. Up until the end – his final “polar” entry is on 17 January 2024 – he radiates indomitable good humour.”
Patriot won the category for Narrative Non-Fiction and the overall Book of the Year Award at The Nibbies, the annual British book trade awards.
How can I access it?
You can currently find this book around the corner from our Issue Desk, above our New Books display. This title is loanable for University card holders. Its shelfmark is DK510.766.N38.NAV 2024
What would your SSL Book of the Month be? Do you have a favourite book in our collection? If so, we would love to know what it is. Add a comment below or email us.
Here are a number of library related things to keep in mind as you prepare to finish your degree and leave Oxford.
Return all your library books
Please return your books to the library from which you originally borrowed them. Find out the SSL’s opening hours on our webpage.
Pay for any Lost Books
If you have lost an item borrowed from one of the Bodleian Libraries, contact the library from which the item was borrowed with the author’s name, the title of the book, the shelfmark (if possible) and your name and email address.
If you have already been invoiced for a book you have lost, please pay the amount before you leave.
Consider donating textbooks
We would be pleased to receive personal copies of social sciences textbooks that are in reasonable condition and cited on reading lists. We would add these to our lending stock so future students benefit from increased provision.
In cases where we don’t have sufficient space to add donations to our collections, we send them on to a charitable non-profit organisation.
Please pass any donations to staff at our Issue Desk.
Use up your PCAS credit
Any unused credit on your PCAS account cannot be refunded and so we urge you to use it before you leave Oxford. On request, credit can be transferred to another PCAS account. Please email PCAS Support for assistance.
Find out about Alumni Privileges
BODLEIAN Reader’s card
As a graduate of the University of Oxford you are entitled to apply for a Bodleian Reader Card (this is different to your “My Oxford” Alumni card). This card will grant you reference access to the Bodleian Libraries. Details on how to apply are on the University of Oxford degree holders applying for a Bodleian Reader card webpage.
‘My Oxford’ Alumni Card
Graduates can register for a “My Oxford” Alumni card. This will provide you with a range of benefits and discounts.
Being an Oxford Alumni entitles you to remote access to selected electronic resources. More information can be found on the Bodleian Alumni Journals access webpage.
If you have a Bodleian reader card, you will also be able to access electronic resources in the Bodleian Libraries via reader PCs.
RefWorks Reference Manager
If you have a RefWorks account, you will be able to continue to use RefWorks once you have left the University. However, you need to ensure you sign in with a personal email address to continue using the service as alumni. If you currently use your single sign (SSO) to log in to RefWorks, please read the information on the Bodleian Libraries Reference Management Guide..
Returning Student Card
If you are returning for another Oxford degree course next academic year, you can apply for a returning student card from Bodleian Admissions to retain access to the Bodleian Libraries and borrow books in the gap between your courses.
Bodleian iSkills workshops aim to develop your skills in information discovery and scholarly communications, covering a variety of resources across a wide range of disciplines. They are primarily aimed at University of Oxford students and staff. Some workshops take place face-to-face, whilst others are run online.
The workshops are FREE but online booking is essential. A list of the sessions taking place this term can be found on the iSkills Workshops webpage.
Curious about using AI to find research papers? Not sure how to properly reference GenAI and avoid plagiarism? This beginner-friendly workshop introduces three GenAI tools (ChatGPT, Elicit, and Perplexity), showing how they can support information discovery and analysis. Designed for those new to AI, this practical session will allow you to independently experiment with these tools and participate in group discussions to explore their strengths, limitations, and suitability for different tasks. By the end of this session, you will be able to:
Explain what AI means and some key terms
Differentiate between several categories of AI tools
Describe how some GenAI tools can be used to discover information, including their strengths, limitations, and best practices
Critique GenAI tools and their outputs at an introductory level using evaluative criteria
State the University’s policies on AI, and avoid plagiarism by creating citations for AI-generated content
Format: Classroom-based. Presentation with practical exercises, group discussions, and an opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the session.
Location: IT Services. 7-19 Banbury Road, Oxon, OX2 6NN
This 90-minute session will cover some more advanced techniques for finding medical literature to answer a research question. We will recap some basics, then demonstrate searching in several medical databases, including using subject headings (MeSH) and the differences between platforms. By the end of this session, you will be able to:
Explain what subject headings are, and how to use them
Search for words that appear near to other words
Take a search from one database into another
Save a search and document it
Format: Online teacher-led presentation with opportunities for questions.
Are you planning to present a poster at an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This introductory session will provide you with some top tips on how to create a poster presentation which will help you to communicate your research project and data effectively. There will be guidance on formatting, layout, content, use of text, references and images, as well as advice on printing and presenting your poster. This session will also provide help with locating resources such as templates, free-to-use images and poster guidelines. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to:
evaluate the effectiveness of templates, formatting, text and images;
plan, prepare and present your poster.
Please note that this workshop is also run online. Please check the iSkills course listing for availability.
Format: Teacher-led presentation with opportunities for questions.
Location: Knowledge Centre Group Study Room. Ground Floor, Old Road Campus Research Building, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxon, OX3 7DQ
A practical 180-minute workshop where participants will work on searches for their review across multiple databases. Librarians from the Bodleian Health Care Libraries will be on hand to demonstrate online tools for facilitating the process and give practical advice on refining individual search strategies. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to:
Describe alternative methods for identifying references, including citation tracking
De-duplicate results from multiple database searches
Start screening results for inclusion in your review
Report your search methods according to PRISMA-Search
Format: Classroom-based. Time for participants to work on their own searches with advice from a librarian. Explore tools that streamline the review process following a presentation with demonstrations.
Location: Radcliffe Science Library, Seminar Room, Parks Road, OX2 3QP
Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and – where possible – shared with other academics. 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. Topics to be covered include:
Common dangers and pitfalls of digital data
Key principles of RDM and organising your data effectively
Producing a data management plan
Institutional, funder and publisher requirements
Issues around preserving data and cybersecurity
ORA-Data, GitHub and other preservation services
Sharing thoughts and insights about the potential of data management in your own field
Accessing Oxford based tools for research data management
Format: Classroom-based. Presentation with discussion.
Location: Social Science Library, Information Skills Training Room, Manor Road, OX1 3UQ
Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA). This online session will focus on what ORA is and how to deposit one’s thesis in ORA, and how to access help with this process. It will also cover the relevant rights and permissions required and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing their thesis for upload to ORA. Topics include:
What ORA is and what you need to deposit
How to deposit your thesis in ORA
Observing relevant rights and permissions
Accessing help with depositing your thesis in ORA
Format: Live online presentation followed by interactive discussion and Q&A.
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover:
Formulating a focused research question
Preparing a protocol
Developing a search strategy to address that research question
Choosing appropriate databases and search engines
Searching for grey literature and ongoing studies
Storing and managing references
Documenting and reporting your search
Please note, there won’t be an opportunity to search different databases during this session. For practical help on searching databases, please have a look at the search skills tutorials or check the iSkills course listing for the Searching Systematically workshop.
Format: Online teacher-led presentations with opportunities for questions.
Create content for your teaching or research with greater confidence by attending our session on Creative Commons (CC) licences. Learn how they work, how they interact with copyright and how to use them to best effect. The session will make special reference to images but is applicable to all media, including written works. The workshop is classroom-based. In this playful, interactive face-to-face session we will cover:
What Creative Commons Licences are
Where to find Creative Commons material
How to apply Creative Commons to your own work
How to reuse Creative Commons materials
And the session will finish with a Creative Commons card game.
Format: Classroom-based with an interactive presentation and game elements to reinforce learning.
Location: Radcliffe Science Library, Seminar Room, Parks Road, OX2 3QP.
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to:
Understand the main features and benefits of EndNote
Set up an EndNote account
Import references from different sources into EndNote
Organise your references in EndNote
Insert citations into documents
Create a bibliography/reference list
Format: Online presentation and demonstration with time for questions.
In this online workshop you will be shown the functionality of Zotero, which is a free-to-use software programme used to manage references and create bibliographies. Zotero will be demonstrated on a Windows PC but users of MacOS or Linux computers will be able to follow the demonstration. The workshop will cover:
Understanding the main features and benefits of Zotero
Setting up a Zotero account
Importing references from different sources into Zotero
Organising your references in Zotero
Inserting citations into documents
Creating a bibliography/reference list
Format: Online demonstration with time for questions.
The Social Science Library would like to promote the following opportunity to students at the university, especially those studying Politics and International Relations
Are you looking to enhance your CV with paid business experience at a global publisher? Gale, an international leader in digital archives and library resources, is offering an exciting opportunity for students to become Gale Student Ambassadors for the 2025-26 academic year. To learn more and apply go to: https://www.gale.com/intl/gale-ambassadors/application
Application deadline: 1 July 2025.
Gale produces digital archives such as the Chatham House Online Archive, Archives of Sexuality and Gender and wide range of online newspaper archives. To see all the Gale archives available at Oxford, type ‘Gale’ into SOLO and filter by resource type ‘Databases,’
Why Apply?
Paid Business Experience: Earn £750 while working directly with a global publisher.
Marketing Skills: Run your own marketing campaigns, refining copy and images for successful social media use.
Public Speaking: Gain valuable public speaking experience by conducting presentations and training sessions for your peers.
Published Work: Feature your work on Gale’s company blog, providing shareable evidence of your contributions.
Networking: Connect with university staff, fellow students, and professionals at Gale, both locally and internationally.
Research Skills: Enhance your research abilities and discover primary sources to improve your essays and grades.
Bodleian iSkills workshops aim to develop your skills in information discovery and scholarly communications, covering a variety of resources across a wide range of disciplines. They are primarily aimed at University of Oxford students and staff. Some workshops take place face-to-face, whilst others are run online.
The workshops are FREE but online booking is essential. A list of the sessions taking place this term can be found on the iSkills Workshops webpage.
Modern researchers need to have an up-to-date understanding of working with research data. This relates equally to the material they create themselves and that obtained from other sources. Academic institutions, funding bodies and even publishers are now expecting competence in these issues. This workshop will provide a grounding in the different ways quantitative and qualitative data is being made available to benefit researchers. By the end of the session you will also have some insight into how your own future work could add to the process and become part of the research discourse. The course aims to provide an overview of macro and micro data sources available at the University of Oxford, including national data archives, subscription services, business data, and offers some pointers for further searching. Topics to be covered include:
Overview of the landscape of data sources for health researchers, social scientists and most other researchers
How to obtain macro and micro data via specific sources
Qualitative and quantitative data resources
Additional data services such as the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Eurostat, Researchfish and the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative’s online interactive databank and global Multidimensional Poverty Index; plus specialist sources for business and economic data subscribed to by Oxford University
The value of resources for informing research design and methodological innovation
The importance of data management and cybersecurity
Format: Classroom-based. Presentation with discussion.
Location: Social Science Library, Information Skills Training Room. Manor Road, OX1 3UQ
This session will cover some more advanced techniques for finding medical literature to answer a research question. We will recap some basics, then demonstrate searching in several medical databases, including using subject headings (MeSH) and the differences between different platforms.
After the main 90-minute workshop, one of the Bodleian Health Care Libraries Outreach Librarians will be available for another 30 minutes to answer questions about your own searches, so feel free to bring along what you are working on.
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
Explain what subject headings are, and how to use them
Search for words that appear near to other words
Take a search from one database into another
Save a search and document it
Please note that this workshop is also run online. Please check the iSkills course listing for availability.
Format: Teacher-led presentation with opportunities for questions. The last 30 minutes are an opportunity to ask any questions you have about your own searches.
Location: Beeson Room, Cairns Library. John Radcliffe Hospital, OX3 9DU
Are you looking for a streamlined approach to gathering, managing and citing your references? Join us for this interactive online session in which we introduce Zotero, a reference management tool that helps you to collect and manage references and insert them into your word-processor document as in-text citations or footnotes, as well as generating bibliographies. The demonstration will be on Windows although Zotero is also available for Mac and Linux. By the end of the session, you will understand:
How Zotero can help you
How to add references to Zotero from a range of sources
How to manage your references
How to add in-text citations and/or footnotes to your documents
How to create bibliographies
Where to get help with Zotero
Please note that, whilst this session is mostly aimed at beginners, there will be a chance at the end to ask more specific questions about how to use Zotero. We also run an in-person Zotero workshop. Please check the iSkills course listing for availability.
Format: Live online session with a mixture of PowerPoint presentation and practical exercises.
Persistent Identifiers (PID’s) provide a consistent way of digitally referencing items that aims to be more reliable than a simple web address. This is important for scholarly communications because citation and attribution are essential elements of scholarly apparatus. This course will introduce you to the concept of Persistent Identifiers, the problems that they address, and how they can be used in the academic environment to simplify some tasks. It will examine several different types of identifier, some of which are currently widely used (DOI’s for publications/data and ORCID’s for researchers) and others which are emerging in importance.
Format: Online presentation with time for questions.
Despite its name, the Open Science Framework (OSF) is an online tool for managing academic projects in any discipline. Rather than trying to reinvent tools and systems that scholars already use, OSF integrates with a growing list of existing services and provides a single place where researchers can see and manage all the components that make up their project – including files, software, data and publications. This course will introduce you to the Open Science Framework at Oxford. It will explain how to get access to OSF using your Oxford SSO, give an overview of what it can and cannot do, and provide some examples of how it can be used with other research services.
Format: Online presentation with time for questions.
An online introduction to primary sources for the study of American history, from the colonial period to the 20th century. The session will provide an overview of the different kinds of information sources (early printed books, newspapers, databases and official records), and guidance on locating material for research. Collections highlighted include physical materials available in Oxford, Bodleian databases and other online resources.
Format: Online teacher-led presentations and live demonstrations (with opportunities for questions via chat function and follow up one-to-one help).
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover:
Formulating a focused research question
Preparing a protocol
Developing a search strategy to address that research question
Choosing appropriate databases and search engines
Searching for grey literature and ongoing studies
Storing and managing references
Documenting and reporting your search
Please note, there won’t be an opportunity to search different databases during this session. For practical help on searching databases, please have a look at the search skills tutorials or check the iSkills course listing for the Searching Systematically workshop.
Format: Online teacher-led presentations with opportunities for questions.
Location: Microsoft Teams
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