Current Students

Transition to Research

Transition to Research is an exciting NEW initiative by the Division to enhance support for HDR students. This 12-week program is designed to help you, as a new research student, adjust to the academic, linguistic and cultural conventions of research study in your department. In conjunction with your supervisors, this interactive program will support you in the production of a research proposal, literature review, or journal article in preparation for your presentation at the Research Protocol milestone after six months of full-time candidature.

For first year HDR students, the program commences with a course overview on Wednesday 16 July, and consists of a series of seminars followed by practical workshops (usually Wednesdays 12-3pm, in seminar room Level 6, E4A). Continuing HDR students may also register for the Transition to Research sessions listed below. Academic Writing staff Wendy Noble and Juliet Lum are the presenters unless otherwise specified, and they are open to all HDR students.

Program

  • Research Proposals; Citations – Wednesday 30 July

Writing a clear research proposal helps to narrow your research topic, build the conceptual framework, become acquainted with relevant research and establish a plan of achievable milestones. This seminar will also cover how to structure your proposal and examine some good examples. We will also discuss various forms of citation and referencing.

 

  •  Endnote Training – Wednesday 13 August, 10:30-12:30, Library

EndNote is a leading bibliographic software program and available and is free for Macquarie University Students. This practical session will teach you to: create a Library to organise, store and manage your references (citations); add references to your EndNote library from online databases and library catalogues; and insert citations into your Word document. Refworks will also be discussed.

 

  • Long Document Formatting 1 and 2 – Thursday 21 August and Tuesday 2 September, Library

In these library training sessions you will learn how to use the features of Word 2003 to prepare, format and manage a long thesis document. This course has been specifically organised for Postgraduate students and is essential for all new and continuing students who plan to use Word to write their theses. Please read the Training Notes before this session for Thesis Formatting 1 and Thesis Formatting 2.


  • Research Design; Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Overview - Wednesday 20-27 August 2008; September 3 2008, 4-6pm, Seminar Room L6, E4A (Cynthia Webster)

An overview of research design will be presented, and quantitative and qualitative methods will be discussed by an experienced researcher.


  • Thesis Structure; Introductions - Wednesday 10 September 2008

Writing a PhD thesis may seem daunting due to its lenght, but this seminar will show you how planning the overall structure enables you to tackle it piece by piece. Various thesis structures will be modelled and discussed. We'll also uncover the secrets to writing a successful introductory section, so your thesis or research paper captures a receptive audience.


  • Literature Reviews  - Wednesday 17 September

This seminar will cover the purpose and structure of a literature review and how it relates to your research questions or hypotheses. Critical reading, the organisation of your readings and outlining this chapter will also be discussed. Crucial skills in writing a good literature review are the ability to establish a critical voice as you comment on previous research, and to establish the centrality of the research space your project will occupy. Relevant language will be discussed.

 

  • Journal Articles; Abstracts – Wednesday 24 September 2008

Language patterns found to be common to the genre of journal articles and abstracts will be presented and examples of good writing will be analysed.

 

  • Giving a Presentation – Wednesday 22 October

Presentations are an important part of academic life. The structure, layout and delivery of presentations will be discussed as well as tips on how to handle “performance anxiety.”

 

  • Making the Most of Conferences – Wednesday 29 October

Your research scholarship is developed through exposure to new people and ideas. This seminar will discuss how to choose a conference, how to get accepted, and how to make the most of the opportunity both once you get there and after the event.
 

Please contact the Academic Writing Staff to discuss how the program can best contribute to supporting your progress.