Official Tumblr of the UBC Research Commons

We off four main services, run by grad students for grad students: come to a workshop, or make a one on one appointment for help with thesis formatting, citation management, or statistical software support, OR come out to an interdisciplinary FIREtalk! researchcommons.library.ubc.ca

[ubcresearchcommons]

Attention UBC Graduate Students!

 FIREtalks (bit.ly/firetalk) by the UBC Research Commons in Koerner Library is back for the 2014-2015 academic cycle, and we would like to invite you to participate as either a presenter or an attendee.

A FIREtalk (Facilitated Interdisciplinary Research Exchange) is a mix of 5-minute presentations, organized activities, and discussions, relating to a common theme, by UBC graduate students from different disciplines.

This year we will feature 4 #FIREtalks:

- A World of Methodologies - October 1st

- The Digital Universe - November 26th

- Interdisciplinarity across the Globe - February 4th

- Sustainable Planet - April 22nd

We are recruiting graduate students to submit proposals for 5-minute talks (especially for #WorldofMethodologies). If you are interested in interdisciplinary collaboration, practicing your communication skills, or sharing your research and interests, don’t miss this opportunity!

To submit a proposal to present, click here:

http://bit.ly/FTsubmissions

To register to attend, click here:

http://bit.ly/FTregister

For more information, email us at [email protected] (attn FIREtalks) 

Hope to see you at one or all of the #FIREtalks!

- The FIREtalks Team @UBCRCommons

[ubcresearchcommons]

Join us for our next FIREtalk: Tools of the Trade!

When: Wednesday, April 23, 4-6 pm

Where: Koerner Library, Room 216

[ubcresearchcommons]

Tonight, the Research Commons Thesis Formatting team is off to do a special workshop for the Faculty of Dentistry. Does your faculty or department need a specialized thesis formatting or citation management workshop? Get in touch with us to find out how we can set one up for you!

[theyuniversity]

[theyuniversity]

Great question.

As you correctly pointed out, figuring out whether a clause is “essential” or “nonessential” isn’t an exact science. Therefore, the most important factor in determining whether to use a comma before because is clarity, i.e., to prevent possible misinterpretations.

Let’s take...

[wheninacademia]

WHEN YOUR FRIEND POSTS THAT SHE SURVIVED QUALS:

[bookscassidy]

looks like someone is a fan of the Fire Talks at Koerner.

[ubcresearchcommons]

Yay!

[ubcresearchcommons]

Join us for our next FIREtalk: Tools of the Trade

When: Wednesday, April 23, 4-6 pm

Where: Koerner Library, Room 216

Our trade is producing knowledge and implementing it. What are some of the tools that are being used? Choosing the appropriate tool or method for your research is one of the most critical components for advancing academic inquiry. What approaches to research are in the academic's toolbox? Share with an interdisciplinary audience how a tool or method is used in your field:

interdisciplinary perspectives

mixed methods designs

meta-analysis strategies

cutting edge technology

classic techniques proven by time

Find more information at http://bit.ly/ToolsofTrade.

** Interested in presenting? Submit your proposals for a 5-minute presentation by April 16th, 2014. Find out more at http://bit.ly/FTpresent**

[ubcresearchcommons]

New SPSS video tutorials!

Need SPSS help? Stuck on something you know you learned in the workshop, but can't remember? Check out our new suite of SPSS Video Tutorials here: http://koerner.library.ubc.ca/services/research-commons/statistical-software-support/

Thanks to Shayesteh, one of our tireless SPSS Advisors, for creating these!

[explore-blog]

Education is what people do to you, learning is what you do to yourself.

MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito at #TED2014. Pair with this excellent read on how to fuel the lifelong engine of learning beyond formal education.  (via explore-blog)

[ubyssey]

Pie is sweet but PAI, the up to $5000 performance bonus each of the AMS executives are eligible for, is even sweeter. For this cover, only cherry and apple were harmed in the process. It was a good kind of messy. Photo by Carter Brundage. Design Ming Wong.

[ubcresearchcommons]

There are still lots of consultations and workshops available between now and late April - if you need Thesis Formatting, Citation Management, or SPSS help, check out our website for more info!

[phreakshownovel]

Here, have some pi

[mikelikesscience]

It’s Pi Day on a Friday

[ubcresearchcommons]

Happy Pi Day UBC! Have a wonderful weekend!

[ubcresearchcommons]

Join us for our next FIREtalk, Community and Communication:

http://bit.ly/CommunityCommunication

When: Wednesday, March 26, 4-6 pm

Where: Koerner Library, Room 216

Who should attend: Grad students from any UBC department!

When academic and research institutions generate information, they have a responsibility to share and communicate their findings with a broader audience in order to benefit as a whole. How is knowledge being implemented in different communities and what technologies are being used to communicate between each other? How can the academic community integrate with the wider community? The Research Commons invites grad students from every discipline to discuss:

involving the public in setting research agendas

knowledge translation

community members as active collaborators in research

patient-conducted research in health care

exploring social media for knowledge sharing

OpenScience, etc.: making publicly funded research freely available

What is a creator's accountability to the source of their inspiration?

Practice communicating your research as we blur the boundary between the academic and wider community. Join us for our March FIREtalk, Community and Communication.

[hccfrenzy]

To mark Freedom to Read Week, CBC Books created this awesome infographic to list 30 books you may be surprised to learn have battled censorship in Canada (Gossip Girl?!).

Click here to see the high-res version! 

[simonschusterca]

I guess Canadians don’t think gossiping is very nice. (Sorry.)

[scholardemic-deactivated2021052]

Oh I wish I had seen this earlier! bookscassidy 

[ubcresearchcommons]

It's still Freedom to Read week - have you read a banned book yet?

[syrup-trap-blog]

A pencil sketch of the UBC library in 1936.

[theyuniversity]

[theyuniversity]

The comma is probably the most misunderstood (yet most commonly used) punctuation.

For a thorough explanation on the proper use of the comma, read this excellent piece from the New York Times called “The Most Comma Mistakes.”

If you prefer a TL;DR version, read this Quick Guide to Commas from the always excellent Purdue OWL.

Cheers.

[explore-blog]

What time it is everywhere, in a brilliant infographic from XKCD. And still, for good measure, a reminder that time is not as “objective” – it slows down when we’re afraid, speeds up as we age, and gets all warped while we’re on vacation.