Library Workshops

Register for workshops via our registration page. Most workshops are offered either in-person or remotely via Zoom (a hybrid option is not available). Participants must register in order to receive the Zoom meeting link if attending a workshop offered via Zoom.

If you have any questions about these workshops, contact Hannah Rempel (hannah.rempel@oregonstate.edu).

Intro to R (no coding experience) (L .Borland)       

Tuesday, September 30, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to R for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with R." We will talk about reading data with R and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them.  We recommend that you install R and RStudio in your own computer for the workshop, but you can also access it via Citrix. For information about setting up R in your computer visit https://rstudio-education.github.io/hopr/starting.html. 

Intro to R (some coding experience) (L .Borland)       

Wednesday, October 1, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to R for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with R." We will talk about reading data with R and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them. We will talk about writing R scripts and functions, and introduce the tidyverse package. We recommend that you install R and RStudio in your own computer for the workshop, but you can also access it via Citrix. For information about setting up R in your computer visit https://rstudio-education.github.io/hopr/starting.html. 

Intro to GIS: QGIS Basics (Adam Lindsley)

Monday, October 6, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• Need to use geospatial data in your research? Learn how to load tabular, raster, and vector geospatial data, add base maps and other online services, extract relevant data, and author basic maps. In this workshop we'll use QGIS, an open-source software suite compatible with Windows, MacOS, and Linux/UNIX. If you're already familiar with other GIS software this training may be useful to you, but assumes no prior knowledge. NOTE: Classroom computers are available, or you can install QGIS on your own machine prior to the event.

Intro to Zotero: Manage Your Citations (Diana Park)      

Tuesday, October 7, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• Learn the basics about this free web-based citation management tool, which you can use to save and organize source citation information and PDFs, and then create bibliographies in Word or Google Docs.  In this session we will cover how to install Zotero, create a Zotero library, add sources into your library, edit citation information, create bibliographies, and store your Zotero information to the cloud so you can access Zotero from multiple computers.

Intermediate/Advanced Zotero (Diana Park)       

Tuesday, October 7, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• Learn more advanced features of this free web-based citation management tool.  In this session we will cover how to use Zotero as a robust research tool through note taking and tagging options, how to import and export from other citation managers, how to add in more citation styles, and how to use Zotero Groups. 

Intro to GIS: QGIS Basics (Adam Lindsley)

Wednesday, October 8, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., via Zoom

• Need to use geospatial data in your research? Learn how to load tabular, raster, and vector geospatial data, add base maps and other online services, extract relevant data, and author basic maps. In this workshop we'll use QGIS, an open-source software suite compatible with Windows, MacOS, and Linux/UNIX. If you're already familiar with other GIS software this training may be useful to you, but assumes no prior knowledge. NOTE: This workshop is provided via Zoom only; you must install QGIS on your own machine prior to the event to follow along.

Get Your Articles Quickly, Easily, and for Free (Hannah Gascho Rempel)

Friday, October 10, 12:00 - 12:30 p.m., via Zoom

• OSU Libraries provides access to scholarly sources, articles and books, in a number of different ways, including via subscriptions, open access, and borrowing from other libraries. In this workshop you'll learn several ways for accessing the articles you need quickly, easily, and FOR FREE - while helping the library maintain its commitment to open and sustainable scholarship.

Intro to Git-Session 1 (Clara Llebot)       

Monday, October 13, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., via Zoom

• This workshop is the first session of an introduction to version control systems with Git. Version control systems are tools that keep track of the changes made on a document, and help version and merge files. They allow the user to decide which changes make up the next version, and keep useful data about them. Version control systems are usually used by developers and people who write code, but are very useful also for people working with documents in general. It is especially helpful for collaborative work with more than one person working on the same file. The Intro to Git workshop has two parts: session 1 and session 2. Participants are welcome to come to only session 1, only session 2, or both. Both sessions of the workshop are designed for people who have never used Git or a version control system before, and want to learn more about what version control systems can do for them and their research. Session 1 covers setting up Git, creating a repository, tracking changes, exploring history, creating remote repositories, and collaborating. Session 2 assumes that participants have basic knowledge of the topics covered in session 1. It will be a hands-on workshop where we will create a repository, record changes to files, create a GitHub account, and synchronize the local and remote repositories. This workshop uses the command line to learn git, but no previous experience using command line is necessary. Please install Git on your own computer before the start of the workshop. More information and installation instructions at https://carpentries.github.io/workshop-template/install_instructions/#git 

Get Your Articles Quickly, Easily, and for Free (Hannah Gascho Rempel)

Monday, October 13, 4:00 - 4:30 p.m., via Zoom

• OSU Libraries provides access to scholarly sources, articles and books, in a number of different ways, including via subscriptions, open access, and borrowing from other libraries. In this workshop you'll learn several ways for accessing the articles you need quickly, easily, and FOR FREE - while helping the library maintain its commitment to open and sustainable scholarship.

Intro to Git - Session 2 (Clara Llebot)       

Tuesday, October 14, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., via Zoom

• This workshop is the second session of an introduction to version control systems with Git. Version control systems are tools that keep track of the changes made on a document, and help version and merge files. They allow the user to decide which changes make up the next version, and keep useful data about them. Version control systems are usually used by developers and people who write code, but are very useful also for people working with documents in general. It is especially helpful for collaborative work with more than one person working on the same file. The Intro to Git workshop has two parts: session 1 and session 2. Participants are welcome to come to only session 1, only session 2, or both. Both sessions of the workshop are designed for people who have never used Git or a version control system before, and want to learn more about what version control systems can do for them and their research. Session 2 assumes that participants have basic knowledge of the topics covered in session 1 (setting up Git, creating a repository, tracking changes, exploring history, creating remote repositories, and collaborating). Session 2 covers ignoring things, checkout, branches, merge, forks and pull requests. It will be a hands-on workshop that uses the command line to learn Git, but no previous experience using command line is necessary. Please install Git on your own computer before the start of the workshop. More information and installation instructions at https://carpentries.github.io/workshop-template/install_instructions/#git 

Intro to R (no coding experience) (L .Borland)       

Tuesday, October 14, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to R for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with R." We will talk about reading data with R and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them.  We recommend that you install R and RStudio in your own computer for the workshop, but you can also access it via Citrix. For information about setting up R in your computer visit https://rstudio-education.github.io/hopr/starting.html. 

Intro to R (some coding experience) (L .Borland)       

Wednesday, October 15, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to R for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with R." We will talk about reading data with R and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them. We will talk about writing R scripts and functions, and introduce the tidyverse package. We recommend that you install R and RStudio in your own computer for the workshop, but you can also access it via Citrix. For information about setting up R in your computer visit https://rstudio-education.github.io/hopr/starting.html. 

Using Qualtrics to Make Great Surveys (Diana Castillo)       

Tuesday, October 21, 1:00 - 3:30 p.m., Nishihara Family Classroom (Valley 2024)

• If you will be doing research that involves collecting survey data, then you'll want to learn about Qualtrics. Qualtrics is a powerful survey research tool available to all OSU faculty and students. It's easy, powerful and, best of all, IRB compliant. 

Researching for the Literature Review (Hannah Gascho Rempel)

Wednesday, October 22, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m., via Zoom

• Find out what the literature review is and how to get started, how to keep track of sources, searches and new research, and how to use library resources more effectively. 

Managing Your Digital Footprint (Kelly McElroy)

Thursday, October 23, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., Nishihara Family classroom (Valley 2024)

• Every day we interact with digital systems that collect data about us, which can be commercialized by data brokers or exploited in data breaches. Whether you're worried about online harassment or doxing or just want to limit what future employers could find, we will discuss strategies for managing your digital footprint.

Illustrator for Scientific Figures (Adam Lindsley)       

Friday, October 24, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• Learn to use Adobe Illustrator to make and edit figures for publication (posters, presentations, infographics, journal articles!).  In this flipped classroom-style workshop, we'll be gathering to work through several scientific illustration/graphics development scenarios, as well as working with your own data (if time).  If you have your own project, feel free to bring it. NOTE: This workshop is provided in-person; you will use software on computers in the Valley Library.

Researching for the Literature Review (Hannah Gascho Rempel)

Monday, October 27, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• Find out what the literature review is and how to get started, how to keep track of sources, searches and new research, and how to use library resources more effectively. 

Using AI Tools for Literature Research (Hannah Gascho Rempel & Adam Lindsley)

Tuesday, October 28, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• We'll demonstrate generative AI tools that can be used for advanced literature searching. Likely tools to explore will include Scite.ai, Elicit, Research Rabbit, and Consensus (note that these tools are constantly evolving, so it's possible the tool list will change). We'll review pros and cons of these tools and try them out to see how they might work for your context. 

Intro to R (some coding experience) (L .Borland)       

Tuesday, October 28, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to R for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with R." We will talk about reading data with R and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them. We will talk about writing R scripts and functions, and introduce the tidyverse package. We recommend that you install R and RStudio in your own computer for the workshop, but you can also access it via Citrix. For information about setting up R in your computer visit https://rstudio-education.github.io/hopr/starting.html. 

AI and Privacy: What You Should Know (Kelly McElroy)

Tuesday, October 28, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., Nishihara Family Classroom (Valley 2024)

• AI models depend on vast amounts of data, often including data that was not originally intended for this use. What are the privacy implications for users of these tools -- and the people whose data have been included? Whether you are an enthusiastic user of AI tools or more of a skeptic, this workshop will help you consider safer choices to protect your own privacy and that of others. 

Getting Started with EndNote (Uta Hussong-Christian)       

Wednesday, October 29, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m., Autzen Classroom (Valley 2082)

• Learn to basics of EndNote to save citations and store PDFs, as well as create in-text citations in Word while you write. In the workshop, participants will set up an EndNote library, save citations and PDFs, and create in-text citations and a bibliography in Word. This workshop is intended for novice EndNote users. 

Intro to Zotero: Manage Your Citations (Hannah Rempel)      

Thursday, October 30, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., via Zoom

• Learn the basics about this free web-based citation management tool, which you can use to save and organize source citation information and PDFs, and then create bibliographies in Word or Google Docs.  In this session we will cover how to install Zotero, create a Zotero library, add sources into your library, edit citation information, create bibliographies, and store your Zotero information to the cloud so you can access Zotero from multiple computers.

Intermediate/Advanced Zotero (Hannah Rempel)       

Thursday, October 30, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., via Zoom

• Learn more advanced features of this free web-based citation management tool.  In this session we will cover how to use Zotero as a robust research tool through note taking and tagging options, how to import and export from other citation managers, how to add in more citation styles, and how to use Zotero Groups. 

Intro to Python (some experience) (L .Borland)       

Wednesday, November 5, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to Python for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with Python." We will talk about reading data with Python and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them. Please install Anaconda on your own computer for the workshop. For information about setting up Anaconda on your computer visit https://www.anaconda.com/docs/getting-started/anaconda/install. 

Getting Started with Covidence for Evidence Synthesis Projects (Uta Hussong-Christian)       

Thursday, November 6, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., via Zoom

• Learn the basics of getting Covidence set up and running to manage an evidence synthesis project. In the workshop, participants will set up a review, get records into the review, set up screening parameters, and look at data extraction functionality. Since Covidence is primarily a fee-based tool, we’ll level the playing field by using only the options in the free trial version of Covidence.  

Intro to LaTeX (Clara Llebot)

Friday, November 7, 10:30 a.m - 12:00 p.m., via Zoom

• LaTeX is a free high-quality typesetting system suitable for any form of publishing, but especially useful for technical or scientific documents. It is designed so that you won’t have to worry as much about the appearance of your document, and will be able to focus on getting the right content. We will talk about the basic structure of a document, the typesetting of complex mathematical formulas, inclusion of figures, and the generation of bibliographies with BibTeX.  

Using AI Tools for Literature Research (Hannah Gascho Rempel & Adam Lindsley)

Friday, November 7, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., via Zoom

• We'll demonstrate generative AI tools that can be used for advanced literature searching. Likely tools to explore will include Scite.ai, Elicit, Research Rabbit, and Consensus (note that these tools are constantly evolving, so it's possible the tool list will change). We'll review pros and cons of these tools and try them out to see how they might work for your context. 

Open-source Illustrator (Inkscape) for Scientific Figures (Adam Lindsley)

Monday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., via Zoom

• Learn to use an open source alternative to Adobe Illustrator (Inkscape) to make and edit figures for publication (posters, presentations, infographics, journal articles!).  In this Zoom workshop, we'll be gathering online to work through several scientific illustration/graphics development scenarios, as well as working with your own data (if time).  If you have your own project, feel free to bring it.

QGIS Intermediate (Adam Lindsley)

Tuesday, November 11, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m., via Zoom

• Now that you've picked up the basics of QGIS, learn how to manipulate and analyze your data.  In Intermediate QGIS, we'll use the available spatial analysis tools to generate new insights into the material covered in the Basics workshop.  We'll use the raster calculator, join fields in databases, create hillshades, and make more complex, finished maps.  This workshop builds on the QGIS Basics workshop and may be difficult to follow if you have not taken Basics.

Getting Started with EndNote (Uta Hussong-Christian)       

Wednesday, November 12, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m., via Zoom

• Learn to basics of EndNote to save citations and store PDFs, as well as create in-text citations in Word while you write. In the workshop, participants will set up an EndNote library, save citations and PDFs, and create in-text citations and a bibliography in Word. This workshop is intended for novice EndNote users. 

Intro to Python (some experience) (L .Borland)       

Thursday, November 13, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. via Zoom

• This is an introductory workshop to Python for beginners. We will follow a shortened version of the Software Carpentry lesson “Programming with Python." We will talk about reading data with Python and organizing it in variables, vectors, and matrices. We will perform some basic operations on the data (mean, maximums, minimums), create some visualizations, and save them. Please install Anaconda on your own computer for the workshop. For information about setting up Anaconda on your computer visit https://www.anaconda.com/docs/getting-started/anaconda/install. 

Using PubMed Effectively for Evidence Synthesis Projects (Uta Hussong-Christian)       

Friday, November 14, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via Zoom

• Learn how to effectively use PubMed features to structure and run searches for evidence synthesis (and other literature review) projects. In this session we will cover how to use keyword searches in combination with MeSH term searches (and learn what a MeSH term is), how to use PubMed search history to track and combine individual concept searches into a final comprehensive search, how to download a search history, and how to create a PubMed search alert so that PubMed automatically re-runs a search string at regular intervals and sends you new search results.

AI and Privacy: What You Should Know (Kelly McElroy)

Tuesday, November 18, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., via Zoom

• AI models depend on vast amounts of data, often including data that was not originally intended for this use. What are the privacy implications for users of these tools -- and the people whose data have been included? Whether you are an enthusiastic user of AI tools or more of a skeptic, this workshop will help you consider safer choices to protect your own privacy and that of others. 

Using Qualtrics to Make Great Surveys (Diana Castillo)       

Wednesday, November 19, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., via Zoom

• If you will be doing research that involves collecting survey data, then you'll want to learn about Qualtrics. Qualtrics is a powerful survey research tool available to all OSU faculty and students. It's easy, powerful and, best of all, IRB compliant. 

Getting Started with Rayyan for Evidence Synthesis (Uta Hussong-Christian)       

Thursday, November 20, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., via Zoom

• Learn the basics of getting Rayyan set up and running to manage an evidence synthesis project. In the workshop, participants will set up a review, get records into the review, set up screening parameters, and look at data extraction functionality. Since Rayyan is primarily a fee-based tool, we’ll level the playing field by using only the options in the free version of Rayyan.

Break Up with Google (Kelly McElroy)       

Thursday, December 4, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., via Zoom

• Google is part of so many tools and products we use on a daily basis, from Google Docs to its search engine. While the ubiquity of these tools is convenient, it means that this one company knows a lot about you! Learn about alternative options, and take the first steps to de-Google your life and improve your privacy and security.