GEN-8001 Take control of your PhD journey (2 ECTS)

GEN-8001 Take control of your PhD journey (2 ECTS)

Writing a PhD benefits from the acquisition of competencies outside of the specific study, such as being aware of current academic norms, knowing how to retrieve, evaluate, and manage sources, handling scientific research data in line with best practice, and being up to date about open access publishing. This course is designed for PhD candidates in their first year, coming from all fields of study.

The seminar series consists of five (four obligatory) seminars, organised as interactive sessions combining theory, plenary discussions, group activities, and individual practice.

1. Research integrity and the transparency of science: This seminar provides a basis for the entire seminar series. The aim is to understand the importance of research integrity for the different stages of the research process, and for science in general. With transparency as a guiding principle, the focus is on the whys and hows of using/creating sources correctly, both research papers and research data.
   
   
2. Literature search: This seminar focuses on doing complex and more systematic literature searches and how to use scientific databases in an efficient and effective way. A large component of the seminar is to address the various purposes of literature searches. Participants can choose between 3 seminars: i) Humanities and Social Sciences, ii) Medicine and Health Sciences, and iii) Technology and Natural Sciences.
   
   
3. Research data management: This seminar is an introduction to best practices for research data management. This includes how to write a data management plan, how to structure, document, and preserve the data during the project, and, finally, how to archive and share the data in suitable repositories. Participants also receive information about the UiT institutional archive, UiT Open Research Data, as well as the Principles and guidelines for management of research data at UiT.
   In the second half of the research data management seminar, we split in two groups. Participants can choose between i) a group focusing on research data containing sensitive information, and ii) a group focusing on research data without sensitive information.

4. Open access publishing: This seminar discusses what open access means, the choices researchers have to face when selecting publication venues, and how those choices affect both the scientific and the general community. Participants learn how to evaluate open access publication channels and receive information about the UiT Publication Fund. We also discuss how researchers can make their publications available in open repositories. This practice is called self-archiving, and it is mandated by an increasing number of funders and institutions.
   
   
5. Reference management: This seminar introduces reference management and how reference management tools can be used in the various phases of the research process, e.g. searching and organising literature, writing, collaborating, and sharing. The seminar will go in more detail into advanced features of EndNote, as this is the reference management tool currently best supported at UiT.
   Prior to the seminar, participants not familiar with EndNote are expected to go through an online introductory course, available on open.uit.no.

Pre-work

To maximally benefit from the individual seminars, participants are asked to carry out a certain number of small pre-assignments. These are not to be submitted but will function as basis for much of the content in the various seminars. The teachers will expect that all participants have engaged with each relevant pre-assignment. More details will be announced on Canvas well in advance of the teaching sessions.

Course schedule

The course is given over one week. The format alternates between in-person (autumn) and Teams (spring). When organized in-person, the course is given during 3 days. When organized in Teams, the course is given during 5 days. The total number of teaching hours with mandatory participation is 12 hours (seminars 1-4). For seminar 5, on reference management, participation is optional.

Please check the UiT course catalogue for exact dates.

Exam

Format: Reflective essay, 1000-1500 words (reference list not included).​

Purpose: Make you reflect on how you can proceed in decision-making, using your own research topic as starting point.

Contact information

If you have questions or comments, please send an email to helene.n.andreassen@uit.no

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