OU Libraries offers workshops targeted to researchers of all levels (students, postdocs, faculty, and staff) to increase working efficiency with understanding of research and data better practices. Workshops focus on a broadly targeted mix of concepts and tools.
We can bring these workshops to your location or you can attend regularly scheduled workshops throughout the semester. You can sign up to receive notifications of these upcoming scheduled workshops on the Libraries Research Workshops listserv.
If you would like a workshop brought to your group (whether you are students self-organizing or a faculty member with a research group or a class), please contact your liaison librarian or the Research Workshops Committee chair. Minimum group size is flexible but a larger group (at least 10-15 people) are preferred for the multi-day workshops.
Online and In-Person Workshop Options Available
We offer workshops in both online (Zoom) and in-person formats (we can come to your classroom or meeting room, or host a workshop in our spaces). A smaller number of workshops are available in a hybrid format where pedagogy permits; these are noted in the "Formats Available" column. For workshops that are regularly scheduled and not available in hybrid format, we alternate in-person and Zoom formats each semester for accessibility.
Survival Skills 101
Survival Skills 101: Beginner-level workshops for researchers. These workshops cover basic data and computing skills needed in all research fields. No prior experience is needed for most.
| Workshop | Prerequisites | Duration | Formats available | Regularly scheduled |
| Managing Your Research Files | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Formatting Your Data for Analysis | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | Spring |
| Concepts of Data-driven Visualizations | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | Spring |
| Using Computers for Scholarly Research | None | 1 hour | In-person, online-only | Spring |
| Troubleshooting Computer Code | Any experience with coding | 1 hour | In-person, online-only | Fall only |
Better Practices
Better Practices: Better practices for research, data, coding, and communication. Workshop lengths vary from 1-2.5 hours. No prior experience is needed.
| Workshop | Prerequisites | Duration | Formats available | Regularly scheduled |
| Managing Research Projects with OSF | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Presentation Concepts and Practice | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Smoother Meetings | None | 1 hour | In-person, online-only | Fall only |
| Data Management Plan Tool for Funding | None | 2.5 hours | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Tracking Changes with Version Control in Git/GitHub | None | 2.5 hours | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
Workflow Tools
Workflow Tools: These beginner- to intermediate-level workshops focus on specific tools to implement workflows. These specific skill-sets meet specific needs of individual researchers and complement concepts shown in the Survival Skills and Better Practices collections. Prior experience needed is listed in the "Prerequisites" column.
| Workshop | Prerequisites | Duration | Formats available | Regularly scheduled |
| Citation Management with Zotero | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Introduction to LaTeX | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| A very brief introduction to MATLAB | None | 1 hour | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Unix Shell (Bash) for Beginners | None | 2.5 hours | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Visualizing Data with Tableau | None | 2.5 hours | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Beginner LaTeX | None | 3 hours | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
| MATLAB for Data Analysis | None | 3.5 hours | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Visualization in Python Using 'matplotlib' | Experience with Python | 2.5 hours | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Shortcuts and Tips for Shell (Intermediate Bash) | Experience with Shell (Bash) | 2.5 hours | In-person, online-only | No |
| Repetitive Tasks in R | Experience with R | 2.5 hours | In-person, online-only | Fall only |
| Visualization in R Using 'ggplot2' | Experience with R | 2.5 hours | In-person, online-only | Spring only |
Library Instruction
Library instruction sessions targeted to students and researchers of all levels (but mainly to undergraduate and graduate students) to increase working efficiency and ability to find appropriate information. Sessions are customized for each class or research group in collaboration with the instructor. A small sample of examples presentations and worksheets is available online and examples are linked from topics where available below.
| Workshop | Prerequisite | Duration | Formats available | Regularly scheduled |
| Overview of OU Libraries Resources | None | 15-30 minutes | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Citation Management with Zotero | None | 15-90 minutes | In-person, hybrid, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Introduction to Basic Academic Resource Searches | None | 20-60 minutes | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Subject Specific Academic Resource Searches | None | 30-90 minutes | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Library Resources and Services for Graduate Students | None | 60 minutes | In-person, online-only | No |
| Citing Sources in MLA 9th Edition Style | None | 60 minutes | In-person, hybrid, online-only | No |
| Digital Newspaper Collections at OU Libraries | None | 60-90 minutes | In-person, online-only | No |
The Carpentries
The Carpentries teaches foundational coding, and data science skills to researchers worldwide. Currently we schedule three Carpentries workshops per semester, with at least one each focusing on R and Python, respectively. You can learn more about these on the Carpentries @ OU page. No prior experience is needed, but if you would like additional preparation, we recommend taking Using Computers for Scholarly Research first, as it discusses how to think about and interact with computer programs in a scholarly context.
| Workshop | Prerequisites | Duration | Formats available | Regularly scheduled |
| Data Carpentry for Ecology with R, OpenRefine, and SQL | None | 2 days (16 hours) | In-person, online-only | No |
| Data Carpentry for Geospatial with R | None | 2 days (16 hours) | In-person, online-only | No |
| Data Carpentry for Social Sciences with R, Tidy Data, and OpenRefine | None | 2 days (16 hours) | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Software Carpentry with Python, Bash, and Git/GitHub | None | 2 days (16 hours) | In-person, online-only | Spring and fall |
| Software Carpentry with R, Bash, and Git/GitHub | None | 2 days (16 hours) | In-person, online-only | No |