Searching & Managing Scientific Information

This is our biannual introductory training series for PhD students and other affiliates of the four federal research institutes Eawag, Empa, PSI & WSL. The series covers a whole variety of topics such as basic & advanced searching, scientific publishing, research evaluation, Open Access & copyright, literature management with Endnote and with Zotero, writing with LaTeX and research data management.

Autumn 2024 training series «Searching & Managing Scientific Information»

From October to December, we will again be offering eight individually bookable modules (ca 3-6h each) at the three sites of the institutes.

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Flyer Spring 2024

Useful information

Course description

The autumn training series 2024 is split into eight modules (3-6h each) that can be booked individually. On request, students attending four or more modules will receive a recommendation for 1 ECTS credit point. Modules 4a and 4b count as separate modules. Course slides will be available below a couple of days prior to each session.

course-description-series

    • Each venue is open to all members of the 4 research institutes Eawag, Empa, PSI and WSL. Most modules are offered on-site at Eawag-Empa Dübendorf, PSI Villigen and WSL Birmensdorf.
    • Registration closes ca. a week prior to each event.
    • All modules are held in English. No course fees apply.
    • Presentations/Workshops with examples and exercises. The course notes, presentation slides, and other course material will be available below a couple of days prior to the sessions.
    • Max. 20 participants for sessions of modules 1-3 & 5-7 (please bring your laptop).
    • Max. 12 participants for sessions of module 4a (computers provided) and module 4b (please bring your laptop).
    • For module 4b: Please bring your laptop with the latest Zotero release installed. Brief installation instructions can be found below ca. 1 week prior to the sessions. Contact us prior to the course should you require assistance with your installation.
    • For module 5: Please bring your laptop with a working LaTeX installation. Brief instructions for example installations can be found below ca. 1 week prior to the sessions. Please contact us should you require assistance with your installation.

  • In module 1, «Searching Scientific Information», you become skilled in finding relevant scientific information using suitable tools offered by Lib4RI.

    • How to use Lib4RI’s resources for quick information retrieval
    • Formulating systematic search queries including Boolean operators, wildcards and truncations
    • Examples/exercises from the swisscovery library catalogue, Scopus and Web of Science
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainers: Stephanie Hofmann, Bobby Neuhold

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In module 2, «Scientific Publishing - From Writing to Sharing», you will be guided through the scientific publication process from start to finish.

    • Steps prior to writing a paper
    • Grammar and writing style
    • Tips on the publication process
    • Author identification, impact and visibility
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainer: N.N.

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In module 3, «Open Access & Copyright» you gain knowledge on the principles of Open Access (OA) publishing and learn how to deal with copyright questions related to scientific works.

    • Apply Open Access to your publications and gain more impact for your research
    • Funding opportunities for Open Access publications
    • How to make your publications Open Access in the repository DORA
    • Principles of copyright and their applications in science
    • Creative Commons (CC) licences and how to use them
    • Copyright transfer agreements and author rights
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainers: Jochen Bihn, Lothar Nunnenmacher

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In module 4a, «Literature Management with EndNote», you get introduced to scientific literature management with EndNote.

    • Introduction to literature management
    • How to import and organise literature information including fulltext PDFs
    • Citing references and creating bibliographies in your scientific document using EndNote's Cite-While-You-Write (MS Word plugin)
    • How to modify/create output styles using EndNote's style editor
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainers: Stephanie Hofmann, Bobby Neuhold

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In the new module 4b, «Literature Management with Zotero», you get introduced to scientific literature management with Zotero.

    • Introduction to literature management
    • How to import and organise literature including fulltext PDFs
    • Citing references and creating bibliographies on the fly in your preferred text editor
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainer: Janina Radny

    Note: Please bring your laptop with the latest Zotero version installed. Please contact us should you require assistance with your installation.

    • Eawag: Download Zotero 6 and the Zotero Connector from Zotero.org. Get in touch well before the course with the Eawag IT department to setup the connection with your text editor! Otherwise you will not be able to use cite-while-you-write. 
    • Empa: Download Zotero 6 and the Zotero Connector from Zotero.org. If you encounter problems or require an admin account to correctly install Zotero, get in touch with your IT department.
    • PSI: Download Zotero from the institutional software list (Zotero 5 is available). Make sure the plug-in for your text processor is working correctly. Go to Zotero.org to install the browser connector if this is not automatically included in your download.
    Screenshot of Zotero in MS Word
    If you see this tab, Zotero is working in your text editor.

    System requirements for Zotero 6 can be found here.

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In module 5, «Getting Started with LaTeX», you are guided in creating your first LaTeX document, with special attention to scientific writing oriented features. The course is for LaTeX beginners.

    • A not so short summary of LaTeX basics
    • Tables, figures and formulae
    • The LaTeX error log and common errors to avoid
    • BibTeX and citation styles
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainers: Federico Cantini, Frank Hösli

    Note: Please bring your laptop with a working LaTeX installation. Brief instructions for example installations are given above ca. 1 week prior to the sessions. Please contact us should you require assistance with your installation. See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In module 6, «Work on Your Own Project», you work on your own literature project receiving individual assistance.

    • Develop your search strategy and set up your systematic topic search with bibliographic databases such as Scopus & Web of Science
    • Critically evaluate your search results
    • Tweak your reference management & citation tools (particularly EndNote)
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainers: Stephanie Hofmann, Bobby Neuhold

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!

  • In the new module 7, «Research Data Management - The Basics», you learn to identify the relevant strategies and tools to implement research data management in your research practices.

    • Life cycle of research data
    • Adequate metadata documentation for your code and data
    • Storing and publishing data
    • Writing Data Management Plans (DMP) and using OpenBIS (ELN)
    • Recent course material: see previous trainings

    Trainers: Federico Cantini, Fabian Felder (Lib4RI), experts from Eawag, Empa, PSI & WSL (depending on the venue)

    See Organisation & Requirements for additional information!