REfocus@UoN

 

Course Name: Work-A-Holics Anonymous (Wellness@UoN)

Course objectives
Provide insight into work styles and drivers
Introduce options for redesigning the approach to effective working

Course Content
Do you feel tied to your desk, lab or laptop. Can’t find the time to get away to relax with family and friends? Stressed about your research, publication deadlines and teaching commitments? Learn how to work well and avoid overworking so that you regain your life. This two hour seminar, presented by Tarnya Davis from Newpsych will provide practical guidance for anyone feeling the need to rethink their hours, their weekends and their goals.

Course Name: Mentoring: a primer on giving and receiving (REfocus@UoN)

Course Objectives
To empower researchers to actively engage in mentoring roles
To understand the roles of mentor and mentee
To network across disciplines at UoN

Course Content
Are you an emerging researcher, looking for some guidance, but unsure how or where to get it? Or are you an experienced researcher who wants to contribute to the development of your peers and/or your more junior colleagues but feel uncertain how to do about it? Establishing a mentoring relationship may be the way to go.  Mentoring can be deeply rewarding - for both the mentee and the mentor.  However, it helps to have some insights as to how to go about it.  As a potential mentee, how do you find a mentor, and what should you expect from them?  And if you are a potential mentor, hwo do you conduct the relationship with the mentee so that you both get something out of it?

This session, for emerging and experienced researchers alike, offers an opportunity to empower people to get on and do something (either as a mentee or as a mentor).

Course Name: Time for Research: It’s a new ERA! (Office of Graduate Studies)

This workshop , presented by Maria Gardiner from the University of South Australia, is designed for early career researchers and demonstrates how to guarantee you spend high quality time on your research.  It teaches prioritising, goal setting, managing competing demands in a university and facing up to the realities of the Excellence in Research for Australia system.

Course Name: Turbocharge Your Academic Writing: Increase your research output (Office of Graduate Studies)

This workshop is designed for early career researchers and RHD students and teaches high output, low stress scholarly writing that is suitable for either those wishing to publish more/higher quality or those writing their thesis.  It aims to make a measureable increase to the number of articles submitted or thesis progress.

Course Name: The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful PhD Students (Office of Graduate Studies)

This seminar, presented by Hugh Kearns form the University of South Australia,  is targeted at RHD students, however supervisors of RHD students are most welcome to attend.
The seminar focuses on developing habits that will help RHD candidates work effectively with their supervisor, encouraging writing and taking a proactive approach to their thesis.  It is suitable for students at all stages of their candidature.

Course Name: QSR NVivo  7 (ITSkills)

Course Objectives
Introduces both novices and those experienced with earlier versions of NVivo  to the features of the software
Increases familiarity with the software as a research tool

Course Content
Pros and pros of caching mode
Setting up a caching mailbox
Synchronising the caching mailbox
Caching mode options

This course will provide you with the skills necessary to use the new QSR NVivo7 software for your qualitative research analyses. The 2-day course (1 day/week for 2 weeks) will cover project initiation, document preparation (text and numeric data), coding (manual and auto), project management (sets and attributes), searches and modelling. In the course of each day there will be time for you to put the new skills into practice by working through set tasks and, on the second day, there will be an opportunity for you to work on your own project.

Course Name: Introduction to SPSS (IT Skills)

Course Objectives
To be able to use SPSS to set up a data set for analysis
To be able to prepare simple tables and graphs
To understand basic syntax

Course content
This one day workshop will cover the following topics:

Overview of SPSS Statistics
Using the SPSS data editor
Checking your data
Using the output navigator
File manipulation
Cross tabulations
Importing data from other applications
Reading data from a text (ASCII) file
Creating and editing simple charts and graphs
Using SPSS syntax

This one day course aims to teach you how to use SPSS so you can create a dataset for analysis and prepare simple tables and graphs. These are basic skills that are needed to work with data and simple tools to summarise and present data.

The course introduces you to syntax, a form of programming language which can be used to document your analysis steps so that they can be repeated again later. This is very helpful with repetitive tasks.

What the course is not
The course does not teach you how to approach data analysis. It does not go beyond the very basic features of SPSS, nor teach higher order research skills. For example which features of SPSS are best to extract the information you need from your data and answer your research questions. Nor does it teach you how to interpret the output from these features or how to report the results for publication.

If you think you require these additional skills please consider also enrolling in the course How to Analyse My Data.

Go to http://www.newcastle.edu.au/faculty/science-it/research/sss/courses.html to view the two pdf files which will provide more information about this course.

Course Name: The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (REfocus@UoN)

Key outcomes
Increased awareness of the content of the Code's policies, procedures and guidelines
A clearer sense of the requirements of the Code and the benefits they offer
Greater understanding of the support available to researchers from the Research Office

Course Outline
Are you interested in successful funding applications? Who can help you ensure your practices comply with key national standards? Read on . . .
The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research was released by the Australian Research Council (ARC), National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Universities Australia in 2007.  The Code is a guide for responsible research conduct in Australia. As well, compliance with the Code is a prerequisite for receipt of ARC and NHMRC funding.  The University has responded to the release of the Code by developing a suite of policies, procedures and guidelines and it is important that researchers are familiar with the requirements of the peak national funding bodies and what measures are necessary to address these requirements.  During this informative workshop Alan Hales from the Research Office will outline the requirements of the Code and the University’s policy framework addressing these external requirements.

Course Name: Intellectual Property (REfocus@UoN)

Key Outcomes
Greater understanding of the University’s IP policy and procedures
Greater knowledge of the IP landscape
Able to identify readily support and expertise related to IP and your research

Content
A university is an environment in which intellectual property is generated, used, owned, apportioned and at times commercialised. The University of Newcastle has an intellectual property policy and procedures which set out the rights and responsibilities of those generating and working with University intellectual property. There are also decisions in the courts which affect University employees in relation to intellectual property.
 
This presentation by Sue Beach, University General Counsel, aims to explain the intellectual property landscape in which we work and to give the opportunity for you to ask about intellectual property matters of interest to you.

Course name: SPSS - How to analyse my data (Statistical Support Service)

How to analyse my data is a 2 day, with optional third day, fee-charged course that will be run 19-21 July 2010. It is aimed at RHD students, but staff can also attend. This course provides help in analysing data and reporting results. The use of statistical software packages will be illustrated using SPSS.

2010 Course Information and Registration Form - Download
2010 Course Outline - Download

Course Name: Getting a good night’s sleep: (Wellness@UoN)

Course objectives
Provide insight into what are the causes of poor sleep
Introduce skills to sleep better and deal with disturbed sleep

Course Content
Poor sleep affects every aspect of functioning. Exhaustion increases the risk of accidents, and does nothing to improve our mood. This workshop encourages you to develop good habits to gain that elusive good night’s rest.
Lunch will be provided.

Course Name: Academic Writing (REfocus@UoN)

Workshop for Early Career Researchers

Course objectives
Provide insight into what drives and hinders academic writing
Introduce skills to achieve effective writing and submissions for publication

Course Content
Are you daunted by high publication expectations? Struggling to find the time to write?
This workshop will provide early career academics with the opportunity to examine the place of writing in academic life and reflect on the personal rewards and challenges. Practical strategies for engaging productively and creatively in writing will be identified. This involves identifying barriers to writing and finding ways to keep the momentum going with writing projects when swamped with other demands. Publication strategies will be addressed, including engaging constructively with reviewer and peer feedback. Debbie Plath is a mid-career academic at the University of Newcastle who has implemented a publication development project in Humanities & Social Sciences. She will be sharing her discoveries on how academics facing competing demands can be more productive writers.

Course Name: Grant Writing (REfocus@UoN)

Course objectives
To understand more about the grant application process
To feel better positioned to become more successful at grant application writing

Course Content
This workshop  by Professor Julie Byles, Research Centre for Gender and Health, is designed for people who are wanting to develop a program of research and who are expecting to seek grant funding. The workshop is designed to help researchers position themselves as more successful research grant applicants.  Participants will consider those steps and actions that should be made during the lead time between developing a research idea and applying for a grant. The workshop will also include exercises in how to develop a research track record and how to present this to support the grant application.  The workshop is not targeted to any particular grant scheme or form, but considers those aspects of the research and the researchers that are important for success - even before you start to complete the application form.

Participants do not need to have particular research grants applications or projects in mind, but they are encouraged to bring and share their ideas and proposals if they do.

Course Name: Achieving Publication (REfocus@UoN)

Course objectives
To develop tools and techniques to find time to write
To understand the writing process
To develop skills for submission of work and dealing with the results

Course Content
Although the publication of journal articles is often viewed as an onerous burden, it is well within the reach of busy academics, and can be achieved via the regular implementation of proven techniques. This seminar by Professor Derek Smith, School of Health Sciences offers some key strategies to help increase research productivity and research output for busy academics. The peer-review process is also explained, along with hints and tips for dealing with journal editors, manuscript reviewers and the entire publication process.

Course Name: Making Effective Presentations (REfocus@UoN)

The workshop will be designed to provide advice to researchers on the key  elements of a good presentation. The workshop will primarily cover presentation design and will focus on questions and answers. Participants should bring a short (5 minute) presentation that can be critiqued and feedback will be provided. Participants may wish to bring their own laptops.

The workshop will be presented by Professor Paul Foster, Director PRC for Asthma & Respiratory Diseases at UoN.

Other seminars and events may be added from time to time.