Topic outline
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Welcome to the beginning of your research degree! The first major goal in your research journey is to write a research proposal. The Research proposal writing series of workshops is designed to assist you to do so. The workshops in the series will step you through the elements involved in writing a research proposal, from research reading and record keeping, to writing the literature review, and editing research texts. The workshops will also assist you to prepare and present a research talk for your confirmation of candidature and other academic research forums. Each series is run with either a Business, Social Sciences and Humanities (BSSH), or Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Medical and health (STEMM) focus.
Information about BSSH research proposal writing workshops for 2024, and a link to the EDGEx registration site can be found below. Online resources to support research writing are linked from the right menu. Please read through all of the information on this page and the Frequently Asked Questions from the left menu before registering for and attending a workshop. Save this site to your favourites list!
Commencing research proposal writing workshops, March to August, 2024Date
Time Activity Title
Location
5 March 10am–12pm, Tues Reading and notetaking Zoom 5 March 12.30pm–2.30pm, Tues RP introduction and structure Zoom 20 March 10am–12pm, Weds Writing the literature review Zoom 20 March 12.30pm–2.30pm, Weds Referencing Zoom 28 March 9.30am–2.30pm, Thurs Getting off to a flying start (GOTAFS) CW H5-02 Bradley Forum 16 April 12.30pm–2.30pm, Tues Writing about methods Zoom 26 April 12–2pm, Fri Working with supervisors and making the most of your research degree experience CW JS6-17 April 29 11.30–1.30pm, Mon Research reading, record keeping CW JS6-17 April 30 2–4pm, Tues RP introduction and structure CW JS6-17 May 1 12–2pm, Weds Writing the literature review CW JS6-17 May 2 11am–1pm, Thurs Referencing CW JS6-17 May 13 10am–12noon, Mon Writing about methods CW JS6-17 June 3 10am–12noon, Mon Editing essentials CW JS6-17 July 1 11–1pm, Mon Research reading, record keeping CE P3-18 July 8 11–1pm, Mon RP introduction and structure CE P3-18 July 15 11–1pm, Mon Writing the literature review CE P3-18 July 22 11–1pm, Mon Referencing CE P3-19 July 29 11–1pm, Mon Writing about methods CE P3-33 Aug 1 11–3pm, Thurs Preparing for presentations CE P3-19 Aug 1 3pm–5pm Practicing presentations CE P3-19
Commencing research proposal writing workshops, October to December, 2024Date
Time Activity Title
Location
24 Oct 11am–1pm, Thurs Working with supervisors and making the most of your research degree experience (STEMM and BSSH) Zoom 25 Oct 10am–12noon, Fri Research reading, record keeping Zoom 1 Nov 10am–12noon, Fri RP introduction and structure Zoom 8 Nov 10am–12noon, Fri Writing the literature review Zoom 15 Nov 10am–12noon, Fri Referencing Zoom 22 Nov 10am–12noon, Fri Writing about methods Zoom 3 Dec 10am–12noon, Fri Editing essentials Zoom
Workshops involve facilitator-led presentations and group activities, analysis of discipline examples, group or pair discussion of your research and research writing, and individual writing on your research proposal. Please read the relevant online resource on the workshop topic before coming along to a workshop.
Zoom workshops
Workshops are interactive. If you will be attending a workshop via zoom, please ensure you are able to participate in a quiet, private space and that your audio and video is working effectively. When you enter the workshop room it is important to turn your video and audio on. If your audio or video is not working, that's ok, come to the workshop anyway, but please let the group know using the chat function and we'll do our best to ensure you're included in the discussion. No lurking please! It's disconcerting for the group. The zoom link is available on the registration page. It is the same link for all commencing series research proposal workshops, so save the link in your diary.
External candidates and just-in-time support
We do our best to ensure that everyone can access support. Because candidates start at different times of the year and work in both internal and external modes it can be difficult to get enough candidates together at one time to offer a workshop. Some things to bear in mind therefore:
- Even if you are not working on the workshop topic when the workshop is offered, come anyway! Commencing workshops provide a foundation for your entire candidature. It won't be too late or too early to get useful information that will assist you across your candidature.
- It's important to engage with support and to start building networks and connecting with peers early on and throughout your candidature! Research shows that commencing candidates underestimate the importance of peer support and learning, and that isolation can have a negative impact on your candidature. Engaging with others is more important than you may think! The university-wide training events offer an important space where you can meet candidates from across areas.
- If you need support on a topic and there is no workshop, the online resources cover key points from workshops, and new resources and updates are added regularly including recordings from academics and librarians at the University about different aspects of writing.
- If you are an external student and there won't be a zoom workshop for some time, and/or you can get together at least five committed students at the same time for a zoom workshop, let us know (you can email wendy.bastalich@unisa.edu.au). We can put additional workshops on for you if we have an agreed time and the numbers to do so.
- We don't make recordings of the workshops themselves because much of the time in the workshops is spent in private group discussion, or in writing activities. And a recording cannot replace the learning and connection that happens within the engagement and interactivity of a workshop, whether by zoom or face-to-face.
It is important to register for workshops as reminders, pre-workshop activities, and other important information about workshops is forwarded from the registration site to your student email address. Don't forget to check your student email regularly. If you find you will not be able to attend a workshop, please de-register at least two to three days before the workshop. In the two days before the workshop, the system will not allow you to de-register and your record will be 'no show'. If you can't make it on the day or so before the workshop, email the facilitator via the email link provided on EDGEx to let them know. They will then automatically record your attendance as 'excused'. It is important to de-register or to let the facilitator know if you won't be able to make it to a workshop because we sometimes work with small numbers of participants and we occasionally have to cancel a workshop if we don't have the numbers on the day. Letting us know you won't be able to make it as soon as you can means we can prevent inconveniencing other candidates in the event of a cancellation, some of whom travel a long way to attend workshops.