Research workshops and training

The Library’s Research and Open Scholarship team offers a programme of both in-person and online workshops for postgraduate researchers (PGRs), early career researchers (ECRs), researchers, teaching and Professional Services staff.  

Becoming an Open Researcher

• Getting started with pre-registration and registered reports

  Pre-registering your research or publishing a Registered Report enhances the transparency and credibility of the research process.  This introductory workshop will clarify the differences between  preregistration and Registered Reports, provide practical advice on using preregistration tools and explore effective implementation strategies. In addition, it provides a chance to meet with others who share the same commitment to fostering open research practices.

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Explain the differences between preregistration and Registered Reports and describe their benefits and limitations

  2. Find preregistration templates

  3. Identify journals that accept Registered Reports.

  4. Locate sources of support and guidance

  
  

  Duration: 1 hour

  Target audience PGRs and ECRs from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Learn

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Getting started with preprints

  Interested in sharing your research before formal publication? This introductory workshop will explore what preprints are, why they matter, and how researchers can use them to increase visibility and accelerate scholarly communication. It will cover practical tips for sharing preprints and discuss benefits and challenges.

  By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

  1. Describe what a preprint is and how it fits into the research publishing lifecycle.

  2. Identify trusted preprint servers relevant to your discipline.

  3. Apply a set of practical criteria to decide when and where to share a preprint.

  4. Recognize the potential benefits and challenges of preprint publishing.

  
  

  Duration: 1 hour

  Target audience Mid-late stage PGRs in all disciplines/ ECRs

  RDP Theme - Thrive

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Managing Your Research Data: Supporting qualitative data sharing

  Qualitative data has rich potential for re-use in future research, but it can be challenging to navigate routes for data sharing. This session will support attendees with data management planning that will help embed consideration of data sharing principles throughout the research process.

  By the end of this session you will be able to:

  Understand best practice in using consent forms and participant information sheets to seek consent for data sharing

  Identify common pitfalls in phrasing that prevent data sharing

  Consider a range of options for sharing qualitative data, including using embargos or restricted access

  Duration: 1hr

  Target audience: All Researchers (incl associates)

  RDP theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Managing your online researcher profiles: building visibility, impact and engagement

  Online researcher profiles play an important role in raising the visibility of your research, demonstrating it's impact. and helping you connect with collaborators and a wider audience. This workshop introduces the key platforms used to create and manage researcher profiles and explores how they can support your professional reputation and raise research visibility. Focusing on Elements, the University of Sussex's research information system, the workshop will demonstrate how to build and maintain an effective profile to present your research, professional , publication, and teaching activities. Participants will have the opportunity to review and update their own profile during the workshop.

  By the end of the workshop, you will know how to:

  1. Recognize the role of online profiles in enhancing research visibility and credibility
  2. Identify key platforms for creating and managing an online researcher profile
  3. Create an ORCID ID
  4. Apply best practices in curating your University of Sussex Elements profile
  5. Locate sources of guidance and support

  Duration: 1.5 hours

  Target audience PGRs and ECRs from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Publishing your research: choosing where and how to publish

  Choosing where and how to publish your research can be challenging, particularly if you are new to scholarly publishing. This workshop provides an overview of the publishing landscape, helping researchers evaluate journals and publishers and understand open access publishing options and funding arrangements. Participants will be enabled to make informed decisions about sharing research outputs openly and know how to access support services at the University of Sussex.

  By the end of the workshop, you will know how to:

  1. Evaluate journals and publishers using tools such as the Think, Check, Submit checklist and other indicators of publishing quality.
  2. Apply knowledge of open access publishing models, including Green and Gold open access, to select appropriate publishing options for their research outputs.
  3. Explain the benefits and implications of making research outputs openly available.
  4. Use publication metrics and other indicators responsibly to inform publishing decisions.
  5. Identify University of Sussex open access agreements, funding opportunities, and publishing support services.
  6. Locate sources of support, guidance, and advice on publishing and open research practices.

  Duration: 1.5 hours

  Mid-late stage PGRs in all disciplines/ ECRs

  RDP Theme - Thrive

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Open research: principles and practices

  What is open research and why does it matter? This workshop will introduce the concept of open research, and explore opportunities for implementing open research principles into your own practice. It will cover open access publishing, open data, open source software, open peer review and tools and techniques to help you discover open access materials.

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Define key concepts of open research

  2. Describe the benefits of open research for researchers, institutions and society

  3. Assess how open reseach practices align with and support your chosen research methodology

  4. Identify and apply relevant open research practices and locate sources of support and guidance to help you implement them effectively.

  
  

  Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

  Target audience PGRs and ECRs from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• 7 steps to reproducible research

  Reproducibility is important to the future of research, and is all about working collaboratively, and openly with others. In this workshop we will introduce concepts and tools that researchers are developing and using which aim to make their research more reproducible – so that others can examine their processes, and build on top of findings more easily.

  7 steps for reproducible research:

  Planning to be organised

  Keeping your files tidy and organised

  Methodology and protocols

  Documentation and writing it down

  Testing and controls

  Automation

  Publishing, persistent identifiers and preparing for reuse

  You'll come away from this workshop with useful tips and tools you can start using straight away to improve your research practices.

  By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

  1. Describe what is meant by reproducibility and why it matters

  2. Implement a number of approaches and resources to help you build reproducibility in your everyday workflows, and to make your work easier and more efficient.

  3. Utilise reproducibility techniques in ways to manage your project

  Duration: 2 hours

  Target audience PGRs and ECRs from all disciplines

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Tools for Open Research: OSF

  The Open Science Framework (OSF) is a free, open-source project management and collaboration tool that supports researchers throughout the entire research lifecycle-from planning, to conducting, to sharing and discovering research. This workshop introduces the key features of OSF and demonstrates how it can be used to enhance transparency, collaboration, and reproducibility in academic research. You will learn how to create projects, collaborate with others and share outputs openly.

  By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

  1. Describe the OSF and explain the benefits of using OSF in academic research

  2. Use OSF to discover openly shared research outputs

  3. Create an account, set-up projects and share your research outputs openly and responsibly using OSF’s registration and licensing tools.

  4. Locate source of support and guidance

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Target audience PGRs and ECRs from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Learn

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Sharing research openly: copyright, rights retention and Creative Commons licencing

  Open scholarship relies on understanding how copyright works. This workshop introduces the fundamentals of copyright in a research context, including ownership, fair dealing, rights retention and the reuse of third-party materials. Participants will explore how copyright affects publishing, dissemination and reuse of research outputs. The session will focus on Creative Commons licences and other open licensing approaches, helping researchers understand how to share their work openly while protecting their rights and meeting funder and institutional requirements.

  By the end of the workshop, you will know how to:

  1.Describe the role of copyright in the creation, dissemination and reuse of research outputs.
  2.Determine when and how third-party content may be reused legally.
  3.Explain the principles of rights retention and their relevance to research publishing.
  4.Distinguish between different Creative Commons licences and their implications for reuse.
  5.Choose an appropriate licensing approach to support the open sharing of your research.

  Duration: 1 hour

  
  

  Target audience ECRs from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Realise

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Responsible research assessment: publication metrics, impact and open research

  How should research quality, influence and impact be assessed in an open research environment? This workshop explores the role of publication metrics in research assessment. Participants will learn how commonly used metrics, including Journal Impact Factor, h-index, Field-Weighted Citation Impact and alternative metrics (Altmetrics), are calculated and applied, while critically examining their strengths and limitations. The session will consider how open research practices influence research visibility and impact, and introduce the principles of responsible research assessment, emphasising the use of metrics alongside qualitative evidence to support fair and meaningful evaluation.

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the role of publication metrics in research assessment by institutions, funders and publishers.

  2. Critically evaluate commonly used publication metrics, recognising their strengths, limitations and potential biases.

  3. Discuss the relationship between open research practices and research visibility, impact and assessment.

  4. Apply the principles of responsible research assessment to the use of publication metrics.

  
  

  Duration: 1.5 hours

  Target audience: Mid-late-stage PGRs in all disciplines / ECRs

  RDP Theme – Realise

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

Research Skills

• Copyright and your thesis

  Navigating copyright in academic writing can be complex, especially when preparing your thesis and, to help you make informed decisions, this workshop offers a practical overview of the essential copyright issues every postgraduate researcher should understand before submission. It will introduce what copyright is and why it matters in scholarly work, consider the role of fair dealing and exceptions for research and the intersection beetween copyright and open access publishing as well as offering practical tips for how to legally use third-party materials, licensing your own work and repository submission.

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Identify key copyright principles relevant to academic research and thesis writing

  2. Evaluate how and when third-party materials can be used legally in a thesis

  3. Understand how to license your own work, including Creative Commons options

  4. Recognise when permissions are needed and know how to seek them effectively

  
  

  Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

  Target audience mid to late stage PGRs from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Realise

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Keeping up with the literature: tools and techniques for researchers

  Keeping up with newly published research is essential and can be an over-whelming. This workshop introduces practical tools and techniques for discovering newly published literature in your field, including database alerts, academic networks, and publisher notifications. You will learn how to integrate literature tracking into your research workflow and identify sources of support.

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Identify key tools and platforms for discovering newly published literature

  2. Set-up personalised alerts and notification to monitor new publications in your research area

  3. Evaluate the relevance and reliability of sources when reviewing new literature.

  
  

  Duration: 1 hour

  Target audience: PGRs and Early career researchers from all disciplines

  RDP Theme - Learn

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Developing effective literature searching skills

  This workshop introduces core techniques for literature searching. We'll start by exploring connections between research outputs and authors to uncover new sources. Building on this, we’ll demonstrate how to carry out structured, systematic searches, getting you familiar with the advanced techniques that can be applied across different academic databases. The session will also include activities to help you refine your own literature searching approach.

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Construct and refine literature searches using effective strategies that move from unstructured exploration to structured database searching.

  2. Apply advanced search techniques across a range of databases and resources to locate relevant literature.

  3. Evaluate the reliability, relevance, and authority of sources retrieved through different search methods.

  4. Implement effective techniques for monitoring and staying up-to-date with newly published research.

  
  

  Duration 1.5 hours

  
  

  Target Audience: PGRs in the early stages from all disciplines

  
  

  RDP Theme - Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Managing references using Zotero

  This session covers the key features of Zotero, a free and user-friendly reference management tool. You’ll learn how to add sources to your personal library, generate citations, and organise your references. We’ll also highight additional features for note-taking, annotation and keeping your library backed up and accessible across devices. By the end, you’ll be able to integrate Zotero into your research workflow to support efficient and collaborative practice.

  Important: There is an expectation that attendees will have made an account with Zotero and installed the desktop app, the web importer and the Word plug-in. For guidance on these steps, see the Getting Setup section of the Library's Zotero guide (https://guides.lib.sussex.ac.uk/zotero).

  We will not be covering these setup activites during the session.

  
  

  By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Add, organise, and cite references for journal articles, books, and book chapters using Zotero.

  2. Back up and synchronise your Zotero library to ensure access across devices.

  3. Integrate Zotero into your research workflow to improve efficiency and collaboration.

  
  

  Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

  Target audience: PGRs in the early stages from all disciplines

  RDP Theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

Research Data Management

• Adding your research data to Sussex Figshare

  Sussex Figshare offers a route to publish your research data, allowing you to meet funder requirements and increase the reach of your data by making it openly available. 

  This session will introduce you to Figshare and take you through the practical steps of adding your data, including: 

  • how to generate a DOI for your data prior to publication 

  • what to consider when describing your data 

  • best formats to use to make your data accessible 

  • options for licensing your data 

  • how the Library will work with your data submission 

  • options for adding larger collections 

  • ways to view how your data has been used and cited by other researchers. 

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Target audience: All Researchers (incl Staff, Postdocs, PGRs & Associates)

  RDP theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Managing Your Research Data: Introduction to Data Management Plans

  Writing a data management plan (DMP) is useful for researchers in all disciplines. Research data is produced by most projects, and can be anything: interview recordings, sensor data, economic models and more. A DMP covers how data will be collected, organised, managed, stored, secured, backed-up, preserved, and where applicable, shared. Writing a DMP will help you to anticipate any challenges for working with your data and make the research process much smoother. By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

  Describe what a data management plan is and explain the benefits of writing one

  Identify the core elements of a DMP

  Use DMPOnline to locate suitable templates and guidance to begin a DMP

  Outline a DMP for your own research project

  Duration: 1.5hr

  Target audience: This workshop is aimed at PGRs

  RDP theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Managing Your Research Data: Keeping your data organised and secure

  How safe is your research data? What would happen if you lost it all? This session will help you consider how to keep your research data organised and secure.

  By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  Implement effective file naming conventions to improved the organisation and retrieval of your research data

  Develop a backup strategy to minimise the risk of data loss

  Evaluate the security strengths and weaknesses of various data storage options

  Adopt secure working practices to prevent putting data and participants at risk

  Duration: 1hr

  Target audience: PGR (Mphil & PhD)

  RDP theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.
• Managing Your Research Data: Supporting qualitative data sharing

  Qualitative data has rich potential for re-use in future research, but it can be challenging to navigate routes for data sharing. This session will support attendees with data management planning that will help embed consideration of data sharing principles throughout the research process.

  By the end of this session you will be able to:

  Understand best practice in using consent forms and participant information sheets to seek consent for data sharing

  Identify common pitfalls in phrasing that prevent data sharing

  Consider a range of options for sharing qualitative data, including using embargos or restricted access

  Duration: 1hr

  Target audience: All Researchers (incl associates)

  RDP theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

• Using DMPOnline to write your Data Management Plan

  Most funders now require a data management plan when submitting a grant proposal. DMP Online (https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/) is a freely available tool which can support you in creating your plan.

  This workshop is a practical introduction to getting starting with DMP online. At the end of the workshop you will be able to:

  Access DMPOnline and identify suitable templates for your DMP

  Use DMPOnline to find guidane and support to help write your DMP

  Share your DMP with colleagues and Library staff for input

  Duration: 1hr

  Target audience: This workshop is aimed at ECRs and faculty

  RDP theme: Core

  For details of scheduled workshops, please see the Researcher Development Programme and ECR Development Series listings.

Elements Essentials workshops

Elements supports the management of research activities by providing one single point of organisation, presentation and reporting for all scholarly and research activities, including research outputs. We offer a range of online workshops on profiles, publications, impact, reporting and REF assessment. See our programme and sign up for an upcoming session.