Skills Training for Research Higher Degree Candidates
RHD Development
Pre-Confirmation Program
The Office of Graduate Studies and Learning Development are offering a new program in 2012 for pre-confirmation RHD candidates.
The program consists of 12 workshops. Each workshop is delivered four times, once for each discipline group. The workshops are offered at the Callaghan campus.
Individual RHD consultations are also available where you can obtain advice on strategies and techniques for reading and writing effectively as well as preparing for the confirmation process.
Please click here to see full details of the Pre-Confirmation Program and the individual consultations.
Find the Literature
Using the Library Database Effectively for Research
The Library is holding information sessions at Callaghan in the week 13-17 February. The sessions are run by the Faculty Librarians who will give you information on how to use the library databases for your research.
Please click here for more information.
Extra Library sessions have been added for the week 20-24 February. Please click here for more information.
RHD Development at Ourimbah
Learning Development offers a range of services for candidates studying at Ourimbah.
Please click here to download the information sheet.
RHD Development: English as a Second Language
The University offers eight types of ESL support for RHD candidates.
As well as the Workshops and Writing Circles designed for RHD students (see above and below), there is specific English Language support available for International RHD students including English Language workshops, RHD speaking sessions and individual consultations.
Please click here to download the information sheet.
RHD Development for Off Campus Candidates
RHD candidates who are enrolled off campus can access a range of support to assist them in their study.
Please click here to download the information sheet.
RHD Development for post-confirmation RHD candidates
The Learning Development Workshop program for post confirmation candidates and writing circles will run again in 2012. Information will be emailed to candidates when the timetable is confirmed.
WRITING CIRCLES FOR RHD CANDIDATES
Improving your writing skills is a key component of successful RHD candidature. Writing and showing your work forces you to stay on track and refine your thinking. The Writing Circles are run by Learning Development and are held at Callaghan and Ourimbah. Information will be emailed to candidates when the timetable is confirmed.
THE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE RESEARCHER SERIES
Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner of Flinders University visited Newcastle in September 2011 to run their 'Highly Effective Researcher Program". Hugh and Maria have developed a national reputation for working with researchers and RHD candidates to increase their research output. First introduced in 2006, Hugh and Maria now also run their program in the USA, UK, Ireland and Spain. We expect Hugh and Maria to be back in May 2012 to run their successful seminar series again.
The 7 Secrets of Highly Successful PhD Students
Presenter: Maria Gardiner
The 2011 seminar is available for downloading from Blackboard. Look under the 'Previous Course Sites' tab for the Research Higher Degree Candidates Course 2011.
What do research higher degree (RHD) students do to finish on time, to overcome isolation, doubt and writer's block, and to enjoy the process? And just as importantly what do they do in order to spend guilt-free time with their family and friends and perhaps even have holidays? If this sounds appealing, then this session will be of particular use to you.
This workshop describes the key habits that our research and experience with thousands of students shows will make a difference to how quickly and easily you complete your RHD. Just as importantly, these habits can greatly reduce the stress and increase the pleasure involved in completing a RHD.
The workshop helps you to understand how to increase your effectiveness and outcomes in the following key areas:
- how you deal with your supervisor
- how you structure your study time
- your attitude (or lack thereof!) in relation to your research
- dealing with writer’s block or having difficulty writing
- getting the help you need when you are stuck
- juggling multiple commitments and never having enough time
- keeping on going when the going gets tough
Who is it for: Research Higher Degree students at any point in their candidature.
Turbocharge Your Writing
Presenter: Maria Gardiner
The 2011 seminar is available for downloading from Blackboard.
Would you like to know the secret to high output, low stress scholarly writing? In academia it is often assumed that writing comes naturally. However, an overwhelming body of research shows that there are very clear and practical strategies that can greatly increase your writing productivity.
This workshop will help you to understand:
- why it can be hard to get started
- how we deliberately use distractions to slow down writing
- the principles of quick starting
- how to deal with internal beliefs that slow down writing
- how to set a writing plan and stick to it
- how to set achievable goals by writing in a silo
- how to greatly increase the number of actual words you produce
- how to clarify your thinking, and improve the quality of your work
Who is it for: Research Higher Degree students at any point in their candidature.Please RSVP to alison.chapman@newcastle.edu.au
2012 RHD SEMINAR SERIES
RHD candidates will be sent an email to their student mail address when new seminars are scheduled. Recordings from the seminar series are available from Blackboard as detailed below. Information on Endnote training, IT skills training, animal ethics and counselling services are also available below.
Understanding the Confirmation Year Process
This seminar is important for all commencing RHD candidates. It explains the reasons that students undertake confirmation, the requirements and the process. It was presented by Prof. Scott Holmes, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Dean, Graduate Studies on 11 May 2011. The seminar was recorded with Lectopia and is available to download from Blackboard.
Human Ethics Application Processes
Presented by Professor Alison Ferguson, Chair, Human Ethics Committee, this seminar covers the importance of obtaining ethics approval and the application procedures. It was held on 22 June 2011 and was recorded with Lectopia. It is available from Blackboard for downloading.
The care and maintenance of your supervisor
Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner - the presenters of the 'Highly Effective Researcher' Seminars including 'The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful PhD Students' have recently had three articles published in the prestigious science journal 'Nature'. 'The care and maintenance of your supervisor', 'Waiting for the motivation fairy' and 'Turbocharge your writing' can all be viewed on line. To view the articles, go to http://www.nature.com/ and type Hugh Kearns into the search function.
Hugh and Maria are expected to be visiting Newcastle in May 2012 to run their programs. Further details will be posted here when dates are confirmed.
Off campus students
For students located off campus, Learning Development has a Blackboard site with many online resources. Please log in to Blackboard and select Learning Development from the ‘My Courses’ list. Once there, select the ‘online resources’ button. Where possible, seminars run by the Office of Graduate Studies will be recorded with Lectopia and can be viewed from the RHD Blackboard site.
NUPSA
NUPSA organises training sessions for its members - please check the NUPSA Blackboard site for details.
Recommended Reading
The Library contains useful resources for RHD students on successful RHD study. We recommend: Doctorates downunder : keys to successful doctoral study in Australia and New Zealand, edited by Carey Denholm and Terry Evans;
By Hugh Kearns:
The 7 secrets of highly successful PhD students
Defeating self-sabotage : getting your PhD finished
The PhD experience : what they didn't tell you at induction
Endnote
What is EndNote?
EndNote allows you to record and organise personal databases of searchable references to books, journal articles, conference papers and other publications. You can create your bibliographies automatically by inserting references from your Endnote library into a Word document. Endnote formats the bibliography for your paper in the reference style that you choose. Endnote training is organised by the Library. For details of online training and workshops please visit:
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/library/endnote/
Animal Ethics
There is a separate training program on Animal Ethics provided by Research Services. Full details are available at the Animal Ethics website.
General Skills Training
A range of general skills training is available to research higher degree candidates at the University of Newcastle.
ITskills is a suite of "learn-it-yourself" training modules which are free to access. There are over 100 interactive online modules for the PC or Macintosh environments, in topics such as Microsoft Office, project management, Dreamweaver and basic computer skills.
The Careers and Employment Office of the University provides assistance or workshops on CV writing, interview techniques and writing job applications.
Counselling
The University's Counselling website has many resources to help you clarify and resolve a range of issues, which might otherwise interfere with academic or personal effectiveness.
