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This is a series of lunchtime informal networking and information events. Each of the 6-8 sessions has 2 guests who will spent 45 answering researchers questions about their career followed by a networking lunch. Guest will all have PhDs and many will be alumni of the institution

This series of podcasts were recorded with 4 university administrative staff all of whon have completed a PhD and some also postdoctoral research in academia before moving into a non-academic role in higher education.

PhD alumni of the university from all subject areas from the 70s, 80s and 90s who were not working in academia were contacted and asked to write a free text case study which covered certain key areas of interest. They were asked why they chose their career area, how they got into it, what it involves, how has their research background been useful and did they have any tips for current researchers.

This session focuses on how researchers can effectively market themselves to academic employers via CVs and application forms, through covering letters and at interview.

This course moves beyond getting researchers to think about the importance of evaluating information and considers the multitude of influences that impact on how critical we are able to be. This session introduces a range of cognitive biases that affect how we value information. It emphasises the subjective nature of any criteria for evaluation and will demonstrate the importance of considering these alongside objective and intersubjective values to ensure researchers are best able to make evaluative judgements about the information they find for your research.

The internet is a rich resource for researchers but its vast size means that even the most proficient user can struggle to find relevant information for academic work. This session will focus on the advacned features of Google Scholar and discuss its relative strengths and weaknesses as an alternative to library databases. It will also look at using other sources to find academic and grey literature on the web by exploring a range of search engines and making the most of advanced internet searching.

This session equips researchers with the skills necessary to locate collections held in archives and libraries across the UK. In addition it covers citation of primary resources, copyright and using material in your thesis, and utilising Freedom of Information to access records. The session also highlights key online resources for primary research. There is the opportunity to view material from Durham University Archives and Special Collections.

This course gives researchers the hands-on opportunity to learn about the process involved in publishing and reviewing journal articles over a 3 month period.

Skills Forge is a single website containing a range of modules to help track and organise research postgraduate activity. It has three key themes: 1. Reflecting on skills (currently based on the Joint Skills Statement, moving over to the Research Development Framework in Summer 2010) including research management, covering; designing systems for collating information, identifying and accessing bibliographic resources and other relevant information, and using IT appropriately for database management and recording or presenting information. 2. Identifying and recording development activities. 3. Supervisory and progression monitoring processes.

Newcastle University Library aims to provide support for researchers at all stages of their research career, from taught postgraduates through to more experienced researchers. Provision is discipline specific, though based on a common framework and is targeted through the three Faculties: Science, Agriculture and Engineering (SAgE), Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) and Medical Sciences (FMS). Similarities and differences in provision are highlighted below. SAgE: Research PGs - The Library offers a programme of 8 IL workshops as an integral part of the Faculty Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme (PGRDP). Attendance at workshops earns credits and students must gain a minimum number of credits to progress in their research degree. The full programme is run in Oct/ Nov, with 5 repeat workshops in Feb and an intensive week in June. Content includes: Introduction to Library Services, Finding Research Information, Managing Information, Current awareness, Keeping up to date, Using the Internet and Web 2.0 tools, Writing for Publication, plus a series of discipline/ resource specific sessions. Taught PGs – a cut down version of the Postgraduate Researcher Training Programme (PGRTP) is offered to all Masters students at School level, where it can be more tailored to specific subjects. Research Staff – Core workshops from the PGRTP are run on a regular basis for staff from both SAgE and FMS. FMS: The Liaison Team for the Faculty of Medical Sciences run two ‘carousels’ of IL training for postgraduates and researchers. The first programme or carousel is intended for Postgraduate taught students and is delivered in the first two terms to provide comprehensive information literacy skills at an appropriate level. This is delivered in conjunction with the Graduate School. The sessions for research students and contract researchers aim to group necessary skills together in a programme which allows attendance at all or individual session in order to gain better skills which are required at research level. Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty: The PGRTP programme for HASS research postgraduates includes 4 x 2 hour sessions with Library staff, All students have to complete an assessment which is marked by library staff and must be passed in order to proceed on the programme. This exercise gives us an excellent insight into the progress of the students.