Postgraduate Toolbox
The Postgraduate Toolbox is a series of workshops and events focused on professional development in academic, research, communication, employability and personal skills
The Postgraduate Toolbox is a series of workshops and events focused on professional development in academic, research, communication, employability and personal skills that will be valuable while you complete your degree and in future employment. Sessions are offered by a range of campus services. We can provide you with a formal record of your participation in these professional skills development sessions to use in portfolios and job applications.
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
These workshops are hosted by the Wellbeing and International Support team.
Making your self-care plan
This workshop will inquire into what we need to do on a daily and weekly basis for our wellbeing. The idea is to make your plan and upon leaving the workshop you can start working your plan.
Releasing Pressure and working through your thinking traps
This workshop provides an opportunity to inquire and reflect on how you manage the pressure points in life, and the types of thinking traps and patterns we use to navigate daily life and events.
Managing Anxiety
Part 1 – A Body Perspective
This workshop looks at different ways we experience anxiety in our bodies. We will explore ways of paying attention to, and taking care of, our bodies in the moment to reduce anxious feelings. We will try different tips, tricks and techniques to create a personal anxiety self-care ‘toolkit’.
Part 2 – A Thinking Perspective
This workshop builds on the ‘Managing Anxiety – A body perspective’ workshop. We look at the impact of thinking on our experience of anxiety and how to Identify and ‘tweak’ the stories we tell ourselves to allow a calmer way of approaching challenges.
Developing your coping skills
Sometimes life is tough. This workshop will support your thinking around acceptance, control and coping. You will increase your skills to do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.
WOOP
Learn about WOOP, which is a science-based mental strategy that you can use to find and fulfil your wishes, set preferences, and change your habits.
Whanaukataka
Across the globe there is a growing conversation around bullying, harassment and harm and what individuals and institutions can do to prevent it. In this 2-hour workshop you will understand what healthy and respectful relationships look like and how these behaviours align with the values at Lincoln University.
We will encourage you to look at your own areas of growth and what to do if you find yourself in a difficult relationship and where to go for help.
Stretches and movement to help with posture
For our general health, it is important our bodies are moved. This session will teach you how you can integrate activity into your busy day, so you feel more comfortable and limit the risk of injury
(such as headaches and eyestrain, neck or back pain) from repetitive patterns.
Stretching and Breathing
Many of you will be required to do a repetitive pattern as you gather your field work data, work in the lab, or spend time at the computer. By learning some simple stretches you can prevent pains and strains occurring.
Group exercise
Expected audience: All students
These sessions are held at the LU Gym. No booking required.
Check out the latest group exercise programme and information to support your wellbeing.
Getting started with EndNote (EN)
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Learn how to use EndNote with Library databases, insert references into MS Word and generate a bibliography.
Introduction to research design (for qualitative & quantitative research)
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
An introduction to experimental design. Learn the basics of robust research design techniques.
Human ethics in research
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Learn about the general principles of ethics in research with humans, and how to apply for ethics approval at Lincoln University.
Finding the literature: Database searching
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
This workshop looks at developing an effective search strategy and using the advanced search features in a number of the library databases.
Getting started on the research journey
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers in the first few months of a degree
An introduction to what you ‘need to know’ to research, write and submit on time.
The what, why and how of research data management (Data management Part 1)
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Learn the basics of managing your research data, including proper storage and backup, metadata, data formats, and file and folder naming.
Completing a data management plan (Data management Part 2)
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
A data management plan can help avoid unpleasant surprises by helping you determine what storage and support you need to successfully complete your study.
NB: Please attend Data management Part 1 first.
Getting started on a literature review
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Explore the purpose and structure of a literature review.
Critiquing and integrating the literature
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Learn how to incorporate the literature into your writing in a scholarly way.
Mapping the structure of your literature review
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Learn how to map your literature review writing based on the aims and hypotheses of your thesis.
Start writing—keep writing
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Discover strategies for becoming a productive writer and for avoiding ‘writer’s block’.
Writing Retreats
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Join your peers for a period of intensive writing. This is a time to focus on a specific writing project without distractions. Plus, the opportunity to take time out during the day to talk to others about your project, seek feedback on your writing and enjoy socialising with colleagues. Most retreats are one or two days, on campus, but half-day and online retreats are also offered.
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Workshops on writing other sections are also available.
The essential elements of a thesis or dissertation
Explore the key criteria of a good thesis or dissertation, and typical thesis structures.
Writing a research proposal
Clarify the purpose of a research proposal and what it should contain.
Writing an abstract
Learn how to write an effective abstract.
Writing the Results and Discussion
Explore the different purposes and content of Results and Discussion sections, and how they link with other sections in a thesis or article.
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Strengthening sentences
Learn how to write sentences so that your reader can more easily understand the meaning and emphasis.
Writing concisely
Practise making your writing style clearer and more concise.
Developing coherence in writing
Learn how to construct sentences and paragraphs so that your writing has a smooth and logical flow.
Perfecting punctuation
Confused about how to use commas, colons and semicolons? This is the workshop for you!
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Intercultural skills
Learn how to navigate in a different culture and still understand what is required, and how to go about your research and study.
Communicating with people in your workspace
Ever find it frustrating to get your point across? Afraid to speak up? Find it hard to get other people to listen? Don’t know how to talk about the difficult stuff with your supervisor? This workshop focuses on relationship and communication skills. It will be interactive and you’ll get to try different ways of doing things and see what works for you.
Te Ao Māori – Te Reo
Learn how to put together your mihi mihi and pepeha, as well as some basic words and terms you may come across.
Understanding statistics
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Part 1: Qualitative & quantitative data, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing & p-values.
Part 2: Statistical tests for your analysing data (two or more groups).
NB: Please attend Understanding statistics Part 1 first.
Introduction to alternative statistical methods
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
This workshop introduces alternative statistical methods for analysing your data instead of the classical p-values. The workshop will introduce two main methods: effect size statistics and information theory.
Introduction to statistical packages workshops
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
- Introduction to Genstat
- Introduction to Minitab
- Introduction to SPSS
- Introduction to R
Introduction to NVivo
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
This is a ‘hands-on’ workshop for researchers who are intending to use NVivo to organise and analyse data in qualitative and mixed methods research.
Making the most of your ‘Three Minute Thesis’ presentation
Expected audience: Entrants in the Lincoln University 3MT
Find out more about 3MT and pick up some tips on how to present your research in just three minutes.
Presenting a conference paper
Expected audience: Conference presenters
A practical session that focuses on the key principles of effective structure and delivery of presentations.
Using TurnItIn to check your own drafts for plagiarism
Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers
Doing a thesis, giving a conference presentation or writing an article for publication? Learn how to use TurnItIn to check your writing for originality and avoid accusations of plagiarism.
MS Word formatting
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
Learn how to use the formatting tools in MS Word.
Understanding copyright
Managing Third Party Copyright material in a research output/thesis.
Building your research profile
Managing research outputs, providing durable and global access for your research, and increasing citations.
Expected audience: All postgraduate students
View and book our Careers workshops and events.
Identify what you have to offer
Understand your strengths and attributes to enhance your employability and career satisfaction.
Prepare for recruitment and selection processes
Understand and effectively navigate the intricacies of these processes.
Develop lifelong career management skills
Hone your career management and decision making skills to successfully navigate career transitions and career development.
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