Library:Research Commons

Our Website is Moving!

For up-to-date find up to date information about the UBC Library Research Commons, including our our workshops and consultations beginning in September, 2016, please visit our our new website .

Our Services

The Research Commons provides a range of services both individually (in person, over Skype, Google Hangouts, or by e-mail) and through our workshop series. To register for one of our workshops, please see our events page.

Our services include:

Thesis Formatting

Understanding the basic Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies formatting requirements
Implementing the formatting requirements using Microsoft Word (PC or Mac)
Using the Microsoft Word thesis template available on our website (PC or Mac)
Troubleshooting formatting problems in Microsoft Word
Uploading your completed thesis to cIRcle, UBC's institutional repository. (Note: You will need to make sure that all your final thesis submission documents have been submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies before you can submit your thesis to cIRcle.)

Citation Management

Using citation management tools to organize and cite your references
Providing in-depth support for Mendeley, Zotero, and RefWorks

SPSS Statistical Software Support

Providing workshops on SPSS software
Providing consulting services on the use of SPSS software to do statistical analysis

NVivo Software Support

Providing workshops on NVivo, a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software package
Providing consulting services on the use of NVivo to do qualitative data analysis

To book a one-on-one consultation appointment, please fill out the following request form: Research Commons Consultation Form.

Did you attend one of our workshops or have a one-on-one consultation with a member of our team? We'd love to get your feedback - just fill out our short Research Commons Student Feedback Form.

Consultations

We offer 1-on-1 consultations for help with Thesis Formatting, Citation Management, SPSS, NVivo, and more!

We also offer online appointments via Skype or Google Hangouts for students who are not able to make it to campus in person during our scheduled consultation hours.

Consultations are by appointment only, and can be booked via our Consultation Request Form.

Consultation Schedule -- Fall 2016

(September 12-December 16)

Thesis Formatting / Citation Management

Mondays 3pm-6pm
Thursdays 9am-12pm

SPSS

SPSS consultation schedule will be available soon.

NVivo

NVivo consultation schedule will be available soon.

Location

Koerner Library, Room 218A (second floor)

Koerner Floor 2 - Consultations

Did you attend one of our workshops or have a one-on-one consultation with a member of our team? We'd love to get your feedback - just fill out our short Research Commons Student Feedback Form.

About Us

The Research Commons is a collaborative initiative of UBC Library, the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) and the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) and we were supported by a UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) grant from 2012-2015.

The Research Commons offers many services to help graduate students. Workshops and 1-to-1 consultations on thesis formatting, citation management tools, SPSS and NVivo are provided by graduate students. Workshops on literature reviews, copyright, managing your research identity and impact are delivered by librarians.

Location	Email
Koerner Library, Level 2	research.commons@ubc.ca

The Team

	Susan Atkey, Librarian, Humanities and Social Sciences Division Susan looks after the day-to-day operations of the Research Commons. She coordinates with Library and campus partners to ensure the project's success, and is responsible for managing the budget, and the ongoing hiring, training and supervision of the Research Commons team. Susan also organizes the Graduate Student Workshop Series which help students with all the steps of the research process, from literature reviews to getting published to measuring research publication impact.
	Sheryl Adam, Librarian, Humanities and Social Sciences Division Sheryl is the liaison librarian who works with the FIREtalks team. She also teaches some of the workshops in the Graduate Student Workshop Series.
	Erin Fields, Liaison Librarian & Flexible Learning Coordinator Erin is the liaison librarian who works with the citation management and thesis formatting teams of the Research Commons. This year the citation management team will focus on Mendeley, Refworks, Flow, and Zotero.
	Kelly Schultz, Data/GIS Librarian Kelly is the liaison librarian who works with the data analysis software teams that facilitate our SPSS, R and NVivo services.
Jose Bustamente	Jose Arias Bustamente, Graduate Assistant Jose is a second year PhD student in the Sustainable Forest Management Research Group in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. His research focuses on Indigenous communities from Chile, with particular interest in the land access struggles of Mapuche communities. At the Research Commons, Jose provides instruction and support on NVivo, a Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS). He runs workshops, and also offers individual appointments, and e-mail consultations. To contact Jose with questions or to schedule an appointment, please email jose.arias-bustamante@ubc.ca.
Wendy Lu	Wendy Lu, Graduate Assistant Wendy is an MLIS student at SLAIS/iSchool. Wendy has a MA in Motion Media from the Savannah College of Art and Design. As an undergrad, she majored in Psychology and Education and worked as a student researcher in two psychology labs. She has experience entering and analyzing data via SPSS. Wendy has also worked in advertising. Wendy will be joining our Data team; specifically, she'll be working with Sarah on Quantitative Data Software/SPSS, and with Shayesteh on R.
	Sarah Zhang, Graduate Assistant Sarah is an MLIS student at SLAIS/iSchool. Before coming to SLAIS, Sarah worked as a Project Manager / Coordinator for an architectural firm. She also has a MSci degree in Ecology. Sarah is interested in multidisciplinary theories and methods, such as data visualization and GIS. Sarah will be joining our Data team, working with Wendy Lu on Quantitative Data Software/SPSS, and with Jose on Qualitative Data Software/NVivo.

Related Services at UBC

Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS)

While we can help you with the nuts and bolts of how to format your thesis using Word, it is important to remember that the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Studies has the ultimate say in whether or not your thesis conforms to the thesis specifications. Current formatting specifications are covered in detail on the G+PS Formatting Requirements page.

Other essential thesis topics covered on the G+PS Dissertation and Thesis Preparation page include

Thesis Basics
Ethical Issues
Structure of UBC Theses and Dissertations
Formatting Requirements
Thesis Preparation FAQ
Resources for Thesis Preparation and Checking
Thesis Pre-Reviews Get your thesis pre-reviewed by G+PS before you submit! (Required for PhD students submitting for external examination; highly recommended for Master's students)

Writing Centre

The UBC Writing Centre can help you with thesis writing in a number of ways.

Tutoring is available at their Tutorial Clinics or online Writers' Workshops.
They offer 6 week workshops (in-person and online) on Writing for Graduate Students.
For information on how and when to cite, they have links to a number of online resources (such as the Purdue Online Writing Lab) that can help with that.

Copyright

The UBC Copyright Office can assist you in clarifying whether you need permission for materials from other sources (images, graphs, figures, etc.) which you're including in your thesis; they can also help you in obtaining that permission if necessary. Their comprehensive thesis and dissertation copyright guide is a good place to start looking for answers to your questions.

Ethics

UBC has two research ethics offices which can help you: the Office of Research Ethics, if your work involves humans, and the Office of Research Services, if your work involves non-human subjects. If you have any questions about whether your research needs ethical approval, please contact the appropriate office as early as possible in your research process. If you're unsure, complete the checklist available through G+PS.

cIRcle (UBC's Institutional Repository)

Your final thesis submission will be handled through cIRcle, once you've submitted all of your final forms to G+PS and have received authorization to upload your thesis via e-mail.

Graduate Pathways to Success

GPS offers a number of workshops to help you through the thesis-research and thesis-writing processes, as well as various other aspects of grad school. As well, if you're interested in forming a thesis support group, they have resources which you may find helpful.

UBC Library

UBC Library Guide for Graduate Students : Guide to library services and research support available to graduate students.