Journal clubs
We can offer advice on setting up and running journal clubs, provide training on how to effectively search for and critically appraise evidence, and we can also supply you with copies of your chosen discussion article(s). Journal Clubs comprise a small group format to discuss research articles, members are guided through the session by prompting key discussion points with the aim of teasing out learning objectives, and by learning from each other. This is a technique that can help identify gaps in knowledge and promote further research around a particular area. For further support with Journal Clubs, please contact our Librarian, Michael Boyes.
Referencing
If you are writing a report, an assignment or a dissertation, your university will require you to reference the resources that you’ve used. The most popular is the Harvard Referencing style. Every university has its own variation of Harvard. This quick guide from Liverpool John Moores University gives examples of the different types of resources and how to reference them in the Harvard LJMU style. For further support with referencing, please contact our Librarian, Michael Boyes.
Critical Appraisal Skills training
When doing an academic course, you may need to critique an article. If you are new to scrutinising the scientific literature, our Librarian, Michael Boyes, can advise you on critical appraisal and basic statistical analyses. Michael can support either 1:1 or small group training. He can also offer advice on research and data presentation.
In addition, the library has several books to help you with the critical appraisal process and we can also show you several useful websites. For example, CASP the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme has an online learning course for appraising randomised controlled trials. The website also provides critical appraisal checklists to be used when reading different types of research studies.