Natasha Chamberlain

Graduate School Skills Workshops

11th March 2011:

An Introduction to Endnote Bibliographic Referencing

The aim of this workshop was to introduce the Endnote bibliographic referencing system and to teach the basic mechanisms of the software.

13th December 2010:

Tackling a PhD Literature Review

This session aimed to help:
- understand the purpose and scope of a literature review and how it relates to the research question
- know the criteria of a successful literature review
- learn to choose an appropriate structure for the review
- search and judge relevance of source material efficiently
- know strengths and weaknesses of various types of sources
- read and take notes with a defined purpose
- feel confident when outlining and writing up the review

13th December 2010:

Efficient Reading for Research

This session dealt with:
- being able to reduce the load by intelligent selection
- understanding the possibilities (and limitations) of “speed reading”
- understanding how the brain works when reading and remembering and be able to apply this knowledge when tackling the reading for own projects
- retaining more of what is read

7th October 2010:

SmartStart: A PhD Introduction

The aim of this introductory course was to:
- better understand the nature of the PhD
- consider the purposes, forms and processes of the PhD at the University of Exeter
- begin to explore key issues in the management of both the project and of the relationship with supervisors
- address practical issues relating to thesis production and to the upgrading process from MPhil to PhD
- consider ways in which the student can regularly plan and review their own development needs
- start to develop relevant team, time and project management skills
- gain an awareness of where to go for further help and guidance.