Events

Keeping track of your research can be an overwhelming task. Fortunately, Zotero is a tool that can help! In this session we will introduce you to the citation management application, Zotero, which can help you organize your research materials and save you countless hours in the course of your reading and writing. Zotero is a freely available citation management software application that works as standalone software or through a web browser. Zotero is easy to use and allows you to collect, manage,  and share your research sources. You can also insert properly formatted citations and bibliographies as you write in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and LibreOffice.

This workshop will be presented online via Zoom. Please register to receive connection information. A Northwestern Zoom Account will be required to access the workshop.

Join us for the Affordable Instructional Resources (AIR) Open Educational Resources (OER) Faculty Luncheon on Wednesday, October 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Devereaux Room in Deering Library, Register by October 7th, 2026. Lunch will be provided!

Since 2019, more than 50 Northwestern faculty have received grants to create, adapt, and adopt free, open, and customizable course materials. This luncheon brings together OER grant recipients, faculty currently exploring open education, and colleagues interested in learning more about what OER can make possible in their courses.

The event will be an informal opportunity to hear about OER projects underway at Northwestern, exchange ideas with colleagues, and build community around the creation and use of open educational resources. We will also share information about the OER Faculty Grant Program, including the current application cycle and the support available to faculty through the Libraries.

We are excited to bring the OER community together and hope you can join us. Feel free to share this event with faculty colleagues who may be interested.

Research is often portrayed as a linear process of discrete parts to be followed in sequential order. In practice, the components of the research process overlap, are interconnected, and repeat. This session will explore the messiness of research and highlight tools, services, and tips to help you navigate the process. Drawing on real-world examples, the presenters will discuss pitfalls and opportunities to help normalize potentially stressful experiences and help you mitigate them. This workshop is geared towards graduate students, but anyone is welcome to attend.

This workshop will be presented online via Zoom by Gina Petersen, Assessment Librarian; and Jason Kruse, Undergraduate Engagement Librarian. Register to receive connection information.

A friendly, project-driven intro to Digital Humanities.

We'll look at a range of innovative DH work and discuss the surprisingly contested question of what counts as digital humanities, and why it might matter for your own research. Experimenting with DH helps you learn valuable tech skills, find new creative outlets, and discover fresh ways to look at questions you thought you already knew the answers to. We'll survey some of the tools DH practitioners use to bring their projects to life and talk about how the library can support you at every stage of your own project. No prior experience or knowledge required. 

This workshop will be presented online via Zoom by Basia Kapolka, Digital Humanities Librarian. Please register to receive connection information.

Keeping track of your research can be an overwhelming task. Fortunately, Zotero is a tool that can help! In this session we will introduce you to the citation management application, Zotero, which can help you organize your research materials and save you countless hours in the course of your reading and writing. Zotero is a freely available citation management software application that works as standalone software or through a web browser. Zotero is easy to use and allows you to collect, manage,  and share your research sources. You can also insert properly formatted citations and bibliographies as you write in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and LibreOffice.

This workshop will be presented online via Zoom. Please register to receive connection information. A Northwestern Zoom Account will be required to access the workshop.

This session will introduce students to strategies for completing a literature review. The session will include tips and guidance on developing and refining a research question, choosing databases, advanced searching techniques, using citation management tools for organizing materials, and tips on constructing a review. The content will apply to literature reviews for short papers to articles to dissertations and more.

This session will be presented in person at the University Library by Jason Kruse, Undergraduate Engagement Librarian and Geoff Morse, Distinctive Collections & Research Services.

As you prepare your dissertation, you may have questions about copyright. Can you use articles you’ve published during your time at Northwestern? What about images and texts by other creators? This workshop will help you understand copyright as it applies to your dissertation, from the basics of copyright ownership to exceptions like fair use. No matter where you are in your program, come to discuss real-life examples – and feel free to bring your own.

This workshop will be presented over Zoom, led by Liz Hamilton, Copyright Librarian.

A Northwestern Zoom Account is required to access the session.

This session will introduce students to strategies for completing a literature review. The session will include tips and guidance on developing and refining a research question, choosing databases, advanced searching techniques, using citation management tools for organizing materials, and tips on constructing a review. The content will apply to literature reviews for short papers to articles to dissertations and more.

This session will be presented online via Zoom by Jason Kruse, Undergraduate Engagement Librarian and Geoff Morse, Distinctive Collections & Research Services.

Do you need to find statistics to support an argument?  Or a dataset to analyze as part of a research project?  Finding datasets from authoritative sources can be challenging. This introductory workshop will point you to the best places to start looking for data to streamline the discovery process.  How to cite datasets will also be addressed. 

Topics NOT addressed in this session: cleaning data, analysis methods or software.

This workshop is presented by Becca Greenstein, STEM Librarian.

A Northwestern Zoom account is required to access this session.

Copyright is a growing concern among researchers, who may have questions like “When can I use someone else’s copyrighted work?” or “What rights do I have in my own research?” This workshop will cover basic copyright principles, as well as taking a deeper dive into how exceptions to the law like fair use apply in an academic setting. Expect large-group discussion of real-life fair use case studies. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of texts, images, and other copyrighted materials they would like to incorporate into their work for the group to discuss.

This workshop will be presented over Zoom, led by Liz Hamilton, Copyright Librarian.

A Northwestern Zoom Account is required to access the session.

Keeping track of your research can be an overwhelming task. Fortunately, EndNote and Zotero are both tools that can help keep your research organized! In this session we will introduce you to the citation management applications, Zotero and EndNote, which can help you organize your research materials and save you countless hours in the course of your reading and writing. Zotero is a free and open-source citation management software application that works as standalone software or through a web browser, and EndNote is free to download for Northwestern users. Both are easy to use and allow you to collect, manage, and share your research sources. You can also insert properly formatted citations and bibliographies as you write in Google Docs and Microsoft Word.

No registration needed. Drop by any time during these hours for help getting started using EndNote or Zotero, if you're already using the software and need help, or if you're just curious how a citation management tool can work for you!

Do you need to find statistics to support an argument?  Or a dataset to analyze as part of a research project?  Finding datasets from authoritative sources can be challenging. This introductory workshop will point you to the best places to start looking for data to streamline the discovery process.  How to cite datasets will also be addressed. 

Topics NOT addressed in this session: cleaning data, analysis methods or software.

This workshop is presented by Becca Greenstein, STEM Librarian.

A Northwestern Zoom account is required to access this session.

This session will introduce you to the steps in the systematic review process, and the support services that Northwestern Libraries provides. Topics covered include different types of reviews, what to do before starting a review, software & tools, and scaling down projects using systematic review techniques. This session is geared towards faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and other researchers.
 
This session will be presented virtually over Zoom by Jason Kruse, Undergraduate Engagement Librarian and Chris Davidson, Campus & Community Engagement Librarian.

A Northwestern Zoom Account is required to access this session.

This session will provide an overview of systematic and scoping reviews, how they differ from literature reviews, what you should be thinking about as you plan your research, and the support available through Northwestern Libraries. This session is geared towards faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and other researchers.
 
This session will be presented virtually over Zoom by Jason Kruse, Undergraduate Engagement Librarian and Chris Davidson, Campus & Community Engagement Librarian. Register to receive connection information.

A Northwestern Zoom Account is required to access this session.