As you begin, or continue, your PhD it is important that you feel confident that you are locating and managing all the literature and information you require to achieve your research aims. For researchers like yourself the University’s Library Service is here to support you.

We are running a short series of Information Skills Workshops in July 2016 which will help you understand the library resources available to you as researchers here at the University of Aberdeen, and how to get the best out of them. Read on for further information on the workshops. To book workshops visit www.abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking and look for Library Information Skills classes.

There are three workshops on offer, each lasting two hours:

• Literature searching – Part 1: Getting started
• Literature searching – Part 2: Using databases
• Literature searching – Part 3: Managing your references using RefWorks

Across the three workshops we will look at:

• Planning your search
• Looking for books: using Primo and E-books
• Databases of academic literature
• Getting the best out of Google
• Managing your references with RefWorks
• Formatting Word documents with in-text citations and bibliographies

Feedback from those who have previously attended these sessions have been positive and they highlight how after attending they felt better equipped to find and manage the materials they need for research. One quote from a previous attendee nicely sums up what we are aiming for with these sessions:

“I will definitely be searching smarter than before”

Our aim is that after you attend you will also leave feeling this way.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The sessions focusing on the management of references is not suitable for research postgraduates in the School of Law, as the software used does not support the OSCOLA referencing style required for legal theses.

To find out more, and to book onto the different workshops please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking and look for Information Skills classes. We look forward to seeing you at the workshops.

In the meantime, do not forget that Library staff are always here to help with any information needs that you may have. Visit our website for further information on our services.