Develop research skills

You can equip yourself for the research journey by identifying the skills you need to develop, and taking advantage of the training opportunities offered across the university.

Find out what you need to know

To find out about the range of issues that you will face in the course of your candidature, check the General research seminars on the exPERT site. These cover topics like methodologies, ethics, copyright and intellectual property as well as relating to your supervisor, confirmation of candidature and applying for research grants. The list changes in response to feedback, so it is a good idea to check each semester to see what's new.

If you aren't able to attend, some past exPERT seminars are available on DVD .

Evaluate your skills

Try to work out what skills you already have, and what you will need to acquire.

You can visit the British website Just for Postgrads and download a useful checklist in the form of a Word document, based on a set of skills training requirements for research students developed by the U.K. Research Councils and the Arts and Humanities Research Board.

Learn how to find information

Efficiently locating all the information you need is a sophisticated art. Beyond the branch library collections are a range of online databases and tools. Which ones are relevant to your needs at different stages of your research?

The contact librarians for your faculty are happy to help you locate the best sources of information for your purposes and to help you develop effective search strategies. You may also like to check the library online tutorials for help with the essential steps in the process of looking for information and useful information on how to develop a search strategy, find a thesis or find material outside of Monash. The library also runs tutorials on appropriate ways of referencing the information you find.

A range of face-to-face library workshops is listed on your my.monash portal .

Develop computer skills

The exPERT seminars on IT skills include sessions on using MS Word for thesis writing. Computer file management can save you a great deal of time, and EndNote can help you store your references and your notes on your sources. You can also set EndNote up to present your references in the format required in your discipline.

If you are preparing for a seminar presentation, the sessions on MSPowerPoint are likely to be particularly relevant for your needs.

Develop statistical skills

The exPERT Stats series covers aspects of experimental design as well as a range of statistical packages relevant to your methodology.

Other sources of training

Your Faculty may also provide research training-contact your faculty administrative officers.

The Monash Postgraduate Association also provides seminars and workshops.