Research and Knowledge Mobilization

Instructor-directed workshops

• Academic Integrity

  This workshop is aimed at a multidisciplinary audience of graduate students. Students will be familiarized with concepts of academic integrity, university policy on academic conduct, citation and citation management programs that can be used.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Distinguish between plagiarism and original work in various scenarios.
  • Understand the procedures to follow if you suspect plagiarism when you are working as a teaching assistant.
  • Understand what a citation manager is and how it can help in your research.
  • Identify a citation style that is appropriate for your discipline and work.
• Education/Social Science Research Skills

  Learn about library resources specific to the faculties of Education and Social Science and Humanities. While key databases will be emphasized, also included is a review of books, journals, media, statistical and government sources, and websites. The review of literature will be discussed in overview and resources cited.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Conduct journal and article searches in the online library as well as external search engines.
  • Get familiar with the library website.
  • Recognize the sections in a review of literature.
  • Recognize the major citation manager programs.
  • Consider the role of citation in your research.
• Engineering/Physical Sciences Research Skills

  Learn about library resources specific to the faculties of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science, Engineering and Applied Science, and Science (Materials Science programs). While key databases will be emphasized, also included is a review of books, journals, media, statistical and government sources and websites. The review of literature will be discussed in overview and resources cited.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Perform journal and article searches in the online library as well as external search engines.
  • Become familiar with the library website.
  • Recognize the sections in a review of literature.
  • Recognize the major citation manager programs.
  • Consider the role of citation in your research.
• Getting it Right in Grad School: Graduate Supervision Roles and Responsibilities

  Supervisor-student research relationships are key to graduate student success. Graduate students thrive when they develop positive and professional relationships with their supervisors. In this workshop, you will learn different supervisory styles, the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and students, and ways of aligning your expectations.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Understand common conflicts and challenges in research relationships.
  • Adopt strategies to conflict management and difficult conversations.
  • Understand the actions that can be taken, available supports and reporting process if a resolution is not possible.
• Grant Writing: How to Write a Winning Grant Application

  This workshop addresses both practical and conceptual aspects that are important to the grant writing process. It is designed for graduate students considering a career in academia. Emphasis is given to such things as idea development, identification of the most appropriate granting agency and how to write for reviewers.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Understand the process by which research funding is obtained in Canada.
  • Differentiate between the general components of a grant application and how to best prepare and present each of them in your application.
  • Become familiar with the Peer Review process of obtaining research funding in Canada.
  • Recognize the major funding agencies in Canada.
• Life Sciences/Health Sciences Research Skills

  Learn about library resources specific to the faculties of Health Sciences and Science. While key databases will be emphasized, also included is a review of books, journals, media, statistical and government sources, and websites. The review of literature will be discussed in overview and resources cited.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Perform journal and article searches in the online library as well as external search engines.
  • Become familiar with the library website.
  • Recognize the sections in a review of literature.
  • Recognize the major citation manager programs.
  • Consider the role of citation in your research.
• Making an Impact: Your Research Identity

  In this workshop, you will learn how to take control of your public research profile and track the impact of your publications and research activities. You will also use research metric tools and checklists to evaluate journals and conferences as possible venues for your research.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Adopt strategies to make your research identity more visible.
  • Enhance the impact of your work.
  • Make your scholarly work accessible.
  • Identify ways of promoting your research.
• Making Sense of Statement Writing

  Empower yourself and engage your audience once you are ready to apply for funding opportunities to support your research projects and academic studies. Whether you are applying for Canada Graduate Scholarships or other types of grants, writing a compelling research statement can be the most challenging step in the application process. This workshop demystifies the statement and research proposal writing process to help you achieve success.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Learn about effective research proposal statement.
  • Formulate a statement of research interest.
  • Develop ways of making your statement stand out.
• Perfecting Literature Reviews

  A literature review is a summary and evaluation of significant documents and developments on a topic. Completing a literature review will ensure a good understanding of a topic. In this workshop you will learn how to properly construct a literature review and how to organize your research.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Learn about the importance of critical and selective reading.
  • Identify any strengths, weaknesses, contradictions and gaps in the research.
  • Integrate and synthesize writing material to develop the literature review.
• Proper Paraphrasing and Summarizing

  Integrating research in written work is an essential skill although it is one with which many writers struggle. After considering the characteristics of each, you will have the opportunity to practice writing paraphrases and summaries as well as assess their effectiveness.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Learn about how to integrate research in written work.
  • Identify the characteristics of successful paraphrases and summaries.
  • Identify and apply writing strategies to paraphrase and summarize well.
• Radiation Safety

  This course is a requirement for any student planning to work with radioactive materials or radiation-emitting devices at the university. This course covers all of the training program core component requirements for working with nuclear substances and radiation devices, and with class II nuclear facilities and prescribed equipment.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Basic understanding of radiation physics and radiation safety principles.
  • Basic understanding of natural radiation versus man-made radioactive materials or radiation devices.
  • Radiation detection principles and controlling exposures to radioactive sources.
  • Basic understanding of the biological effects of radiation exposure.
  • Basic understanding of the regulatory framework for controlling radiation exposures at the university and in Canada.
• Research Skills for Graduate Students

  In this workshop you will learn how to develop a research question, the sources needed to find answers, search strategies for the “right” online library resources, criteria for evaluating and analyzing resources, importance of citing sources and adhering to copyright law.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Search for and evaluate a variety of academic sources on the library website.
  • Become comfortable using the library website.
  • Understand the basics of Canadian copyright law.
  • Understand what a research question is and how it shapes your research.
  • Articulate Canadian standards of citation.
• Responsible Conduct in Research

  This workshop will provide a general overview of the history of the responsible conduct of research framework in Canada and the importance of conducting ethical research. In particular, this workshop will outline the Canadian framework for responsible conduct in research, address what constitutes misconduct, provide an overview of the relevant university policies and procedures, and provide links to important resources for graduate students. Areas covered include research misconduct, authorship, data acquisition and management, and research compliance.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Define research misconduct.
  • Become familiar with the history of some misconduct cases and the subsequent guidelines, policies and procedures of research misconduct.
  • Develop techniques to resolve professional problems before they might lead to allegations of misconduct.
  • Understand the procedures and policies for dealing with misconduct.
  • Identify the issues surrounding the reporting of misconduct, including both positive and negative outcomes.
  • Reflect on how one might handle reporting misconduct, or how one might be the subject of a misconduct investigation.
• Scientific Writing for Academic Success

  This workshop will introduce you to the reader-centred approach to scientific writing. You will use a writing lexicon to discuss scientific articles and to understand readers’ expectations from texts. We will then apply these concepts to learn the structure of an effective abstract. The workshop requires students and postdoctoral fellows to actively participate in class discussions and related activities.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Become familiar with the basic concept in scientific writing.
  • Apply concepts discussed to technical writing activities for group feedback.
• Technical Writing

  This workshop will provide an introduction to technical writing. The field will be defined with concrete examples. The components of a technical report will be reviewed. The end use of a technical document, as well as audience, purpose, function and the presentation/format of the document will also be discussed. You will apply this discussion to technical writing activities for group feedback.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Become familiar with the basic concept in technical writing.
  • Apply concepts discussed to technical writing activities for group feedback.