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Commencing series for business, social sciences and humanities

The Commencing series is for PhD, Masters and Professional doctorate by Research students in the first six to twelve months of candidature who are researching social, cultural, environmental or economic aspects of human experience. The series is suitable for students in disciplines such as the social sciences, humanities, arts, education, health, business and social policy.  Each workshop builds on the last and attendance at the full series is recommended for maximum benefit.

The workshops in this series support the development of the research proposal. Each session includes a mixture of formal presentation, large group discussion, consideration of example research proposals, and small group work on each participant's proposal. Toward the end of the series, each student will have dedicated group time to discuss written drafts of their research proposal, and to practice a seminar presentation on their proposal. The series aims to provide a safe and stimulating learning environment in which to develop research skills, ask questions, receive constructive feedback from peers, and try out emerging ideas.
Online resources to support the Commencing core series

Series home  |  Methodology  |   Thesis writing and publishing  |  Writers' circles for English as an additional language students

Series details 2009

Although all RESA workshops have relevance to the Research Degree Graduate Qualities, the Commencing workshop series is particularly relevant to Qualities 2 and 6.

Weekday series - March-May

Tuesday 9.30am-12pm, Magill campus, G1-04 
Thursday 9.30am-12pm, City East campus P2-26
Thursday 5-7.30pm, City East campus P2-26
Library sessions 9.30-11am and 5-6.30pm in the Magill or City East Library Training Rooms

Workshop name Magill City East am City East pm
1 Research proposal: introduction and expectations 3 March 5 March 5 March
2 Introduction to searching (Library) 10 March 12 March 12 March
3 Conducting a literature review 17 March 19 March 19 March
4 Database searching for the literature review (Library) 24 March 26 March1 26 March1
5 Writing about the 'gap' in the literature 31 March 2 April 2 April
6 Keeping up to date (Library) 7 April 9 April n/a
7 Research design and methods 14 April 16 April 16 April
8 Proposal discussion group 21 April 23 April 23 April
9 Proposal discussion group 28 April 30 April 30 April
10 Proposal discussion group 5 May 7 May 7 May
11 Proposal discussion group 12 May 14 May 14 May
12 Preparing for oral presentations 19 May 21 May 21 May
13 Presenting the research proposal 26 May 28 May 28 May

1 These sessions will have a health science focus. Business and EASS students should consult the Calendar of SSR on campus workshops for specific sessions for their Division.


Weekend research proposal workshops

Saturday 2 May 9am-5pm, City East campus P2-26
Saturday 5 September 9am-5pm, City East campus P2-26


Facilitators

The Learning and Teaching Unit component is facilitated by Dr Wendy Bastalich. Wendy is a specialist research education Learning Adviser who works with business, social sciences and humanities research students across the University. Her role is to complement school and divisional research education activities by providing on campus and online workshops and resources.

The Library component will be delivered by Academic Librarians who are also the key contacts for Library support. There is a team for each academic Division and Research concentration. Academic Librarians will guide you through the information maze by keeping you abreast of electronic information products in your area of specialisation and showing you how to exploit them to your advantage.

 

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