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NJM Instruction Sessions - Full Listing: Home

Course descriptions for all sessions taught at the NJM Library

NJM Instruction Sessions

NJM Librarians teach on a broad range of topics throughout the year. Below are course descriptions for all the classes. Check the current event listing to see when a session is being offered. If you don't see it on the calendar contact a librarian for personalized help or to set up a group training session.

Course Titles (in alphabetical order)

Data Deposit
Data Management Plans
Data Sharing and Licenses (Creative Commons) Essentials
Endnote: Advanced
Endnote: Basics
Introduction to Systematic Reviews
GIS in the Health Sciences
Library Essentials
Managing Your Research Profile using ORCID
Mendeley: Advanced
Mendeley: Basics
ORCID, Scopus, Publons, Google Scholar: Making Sense of Research Profiles and Identities

Preparing for Your First Publication
Searching in Scopus
Searching for Indigenous Health Research
Searching Like a Pro
Types of Reviews
Zotero: Basics 

Course Descriptions (in alphabetical order)

Data Deposit
This informative session will discuss data management plans - formal documents that outline how data/scholarly products of research are to be handled both during and after a research project. In anticipation of the Tri-Agency Policy on data management which will recommend them, and in support of research ethic board who are requesting them on ethic submissions, this session will walk participants through the University of Manitoba template available on the Portage Network’s DMP Assistant. Using an example, considerations will include: institutional supports for data management, data preservation, metadata description.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Examine the current Canadian data management context
  • Explain the roles of the two institutional repositories in meeting research obligations
  • Recognize the possible constraints on submission you may face with your own project
Data Management Plans
This informative session focuses on data sharing and usage. As stipulations for data deposit by publishers and funders become more common it is important that data sharing agreements are clearly outlined at the beginning of a project. at the beginning of a project, the data sharing agreement clearly outlines what data is going be shared and how the data will be used. Participants will delve into: data sharing agreements that have been established for institutional repositories (which would inform individual researcher agreements); samples of an agreement template; how data management plans inform and/or part of an agreement; and how related stipulations need to be considered including licenses that researchers, as authors, enter into through publishing and/or deposit agreements, namely Creative Commons Licensing.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Outline the purpose and structure of data management plans
  • Examine the Portage Network's data management plan assistant
  • Discuss how the UM Library supports data management, data preservation, and metadata description
Data Sharing and Licenses (Creative Commons) Essentials
This informative session focuses on data sharing and usage. As stipulations for data deposit by publishers and funders become more common it is important that data sharing agreements are clearly outlined at the beginning of a project. at the beginning of a project, the data sharing agreement clearly outlines what data is going be shared and how the data will be used. Participants will delve into: data sharing agreements that have been established for institutional repositories (which would inform individual researcher agreements); samples of an agreement template; how data management plans inform and/or part of an agreement; and how related stipulations need to be considered including licenses that researchers, as authors, have entered into through publishing and/or deposit, namely Creative Commons Licensing.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Discuss what a data sharing agreement is and its primary purposes
  • Summarize how the data sharing agreements that UM Libraries have established regionally may inform/influence your own research data sharing agreements you may create
  • Examine sample data sharing agreements
  • Assess how licenses, such as Creative Commons, entered as result of publishing/deposit may influence/inform present and/or future actions of data sharing for your project
Endnote: Advanced
This hands-on session focuses on advanced features of Endnote - a citation management tool - and assumes attendees are already familiar with the basic functions of Endnote. This session covers working with PDFs (watched folders, annotations); working with references (reference updates, global editing, using smart groups); working with journal term lists; managing figures; syncing your desktop library with your online account and sharing your library; and working with output styles (making minor modifications, installing new styles).  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Use Endnote to annotate, edit, and search for PDF notes
  • Create a travelling library of references to allow for multiple authors to edit and add references to the same shared document
  • Install, and edit 1000s of different output styles
  • Describe how to use Endnote's ManuscriptMatcher to identify potential journals to publish in
Endnote: Basics
This hands-on session will introduce you to Endnote - a widely used citation management tool. Endnote helps you organize references and PDFs and allows you to easily create bibliographies using 1000s of predetermined styles. This session will guide you through the layout of Endnote, how to import and export references, how to share reference lists with colleagues, how to locate full-text articles, and how to create a bibliography in the style (e.g., Vancouver, APA, MLA) that you need.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Explain the benefits of using Endnote as a citation management tool
  • Create an Endnote library and organize it using groups and shared libraries
  • Compare and contrast the different ways to import references into Endnote
  • Use the MS Word Plug-In with Endnote to create in-text citations and bibliographies

Introduction to Systematic Reviews
This informative session pushes beyond the systematic review to explore a variety of other review types in the health sciences. Attendees will discusses the advantages and challenges of different reviews (e.g., scoping reviews, rapid reviews, meta-analyses, umbrella reviews) to determine which type works best for their research question and process.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Define what a systematic review is
  • Review the process of a systematic review
  • Identify the tools and resources needed to complete a systematic review
GIS in the Health Sciences
This hands-on session provides an overview on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and how it can be used in the health sciences. The session will explore different types of data, compare various GIS software  (e.g, ArcGIS, Google Earth, QGIS) available to use, and examine how to prepare your data for analysis, and identify potential sources of of secondary data  (e.g., WHO, CDC, CIHI).  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Outline a basic overview of available GIS software
  • List methods for how GIS could be used for data analysis and visualization in health sciences-related disciplines
  • Describe how to prepare your data or determine if your data would - Locate potential secondary data to include in your analyses

Library Essentials
This hands-on session highlights the essential library and research tools all graduate student should know. Attendees will explore library tools (e..g, Library Access extension), resources (e.g, AskUs), and databases (e.g., Scopus) that will help streamline the entire research process. The session will also cover the single best tip to aid them in their search for library resources.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Describe tools and resources to assist you in your research career
  • Select the resources that are most relevant for the type of research you are doing
  • Describe the various searching tips that can be used to efficiently and effectively locate research material

Maximizing your Research Identity and Impact
This hands-on session explores various networking and academic profile websites to help you determine why tools like these matter and to choose which one(s) are appropriate for you. These tools raise the profile of a researcher at any stage of their career and better highlight scholarly impact.  ResearchGate, Mendeley, ResearcherID, Google Scholar, and ORCID will be compared.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Compare and contrast author impact, article impact, and journal impact
  • Identify key resources available to help a researcher track, measure, and visualize their impact
  • Assess researcher profile sites and their key features

Managing Your Research Profile using ORCID

This session explores various networking and academic profile websites to help you determine why tools like these matter and to choose which one(s) are appropriate for you. These tools raise the profile of a researcher at any stage of their career and better highlight scholarly impact. ORCID, Scopus, Publons, and Google Scholar are compared.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
* Identify key resources available to help a researcher track, measure, and visualize their impact
* Assess researcher profile sites and their key features
* Compare and contrast researcher profile sites

Mendeley: Advanced
This hands-on session focuses on advanced features of Mendeley - a citation management tool - and assumes attendees are already familiar with the basics features of Mendeley. This session covers working with PDFs (watched folders, annotations); tagging; collaboration tools (private and public groups); exploring importing options; deduplicating; and working with output styles (making minor modifications and installing new styles).  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Compare and contrast the features of public vs private vs locked groups
  • Use Mendeley to deduplicate references
  • Outline how to annotate PDFS and references
  • Install and edit 1000s of different output styles

​Mendeley: Basics
This hands-on session introduces you to Mendeley - a free citation management tool. Mendeley helps you organize references and PDFs and allow you to easily create bibliographies using a number of different predetermined styles. This session guides you through using both the online and desktop versions of Mendeley, introduces you to the layout of Mendeley, works through the different ways to import citations and PDFs, and demonstrates using the word-plug in to create bibliographies.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Explain the benefits of using Mendeley as a citation management tool
  • Create a Mendeley account and organize it using folders and groups
  • Compare and contrast the different ways to import references and PDFs into Mendeley
  • Use the MS Word Plug-In with Mendeley to create in-text citations and bibliographies

Preparing for Your First Publication
This informative session guides you through the complete process of preparing your first publication. It cover important factors to consider when selecting a journal, how the peer-review and revision process works, understanding open access options, the benefits of creating an ORCID, copyright issues, and how to keep track of potential future citations of your work.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Select potential journals to submit their first publication to
  • Outline how the peer-review process (including revisions) typically works
  • Explain the difference between gold and green open-access options
  • Identify copyright issues that must be considered before publishing
  • Create a ORCID profile

Searching in Scopus
This hands-on sessions takes a closer look at Scopus - the largest database of scholarly material. Scopus is a multidisciplinary database with a focus on STEM content and is an essential tool for many areas of health sciences research. The session will explore how users can use Scopus and its many features - such as Cited By, linked reference lists, author profiles.   By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Describe Scopus and its features
  • Construct searches in Scopus to easily locate material
  • Explain the benefits of creating a Scopus profile
  • Use the export feature to save results
Searching for Indigenous Health Research
This hands-on session will focus on using a variety of different databases with strong coverage of Indigenous health content. You will also be introduced to searching tips and tricks that will help you efficiently locate material in the grey literature and community-based resources.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Discuss why locating Indigenous health information can be difficult
  • Identify the best resources for finding Indigenous health information
  • Construct searches in different databases to locate Indigenous health information
  • Describe what grey literature is and why it is important for Indigenous health research

Searching Like a Pro
This hands-on session will give you the skills you need to search for research and information like a pro. Using a variety of search techniques (Boolean, truncation, phrase searching, etc), you will search more effectively and efficiently in the library catalog, scholarly databases, and in even in Google.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Describe the basic structure of databases and how they run your searches
  • Outline various advanced searching techniques and their advantages and disadvantages
  • Use advanced searching techniques to efficiently and effectively locate information from a variety of online resources.
Types of Reviews
This informative session pushes beyond the systematic review to explore a variety of other review types in the health sciences. Attendees will discusses the advantages and challenges of different reviews (e.g., scoping reviews, rapid reviews, meta-analyses, umbrella reviews) to determine which type works best for their research question and process.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Describe why reviews are necessary in the health sciences
  • Compare and contrast a variety of different review types
  • Construct basic searches to locate articles based on their review type
Zotero: Basics
This hands-on session will introduce you to Zotero  - a popular free and open-source citation management tool. Zotero helps you organize references and PDFs and allows you to easily create bibliographies using 1000s of predetermined styles. This session will guide you through the layout of Zotero, how to import and export references, how to share Zotero libraries with colleagues, how to locate full-text articles, syncing across libraries, and how to create a bibliography in the style (e.g., Vancouver, APA, MLA) that you need. You will also explore ZoteroBib - a free and easy-to-use web tool for very quickly creating formatted citations.  By the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • Explain the benefits of using Zotero as a citation management tool
  • Create a Zotero account and download the application and its browser connector
  • Import references using the Zotero connector, RIS files, and drag and drop
  • Use the MS Word Plug-In with Zotero to create in-text citations and bibliographies