School of Graduate Studies

Digital, media and information workshops


Creative content production


This workshop will guide participants through the first steps of doing data analysis, specifically text mining with Weka.
 
Weka is an open-source machine-learning tool. We will be replicating the work of Mike Thelwall in his paper on Gender bias in machine learning for sentiment analysis.

Before getting into the hands-on text mining exercise, we will present a brief introduction to AI and machine learning, as well as the notion of algorithmic bias; what it is, how is introduced, and its repercussions.

By the end of the workshop participants will have applied a sentiment analysis technique to a gender-segregated data set and be able to determine its effect on the resulting predictive model.
 
  • 08 November
  • 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
  • Sir George Williams

Data analysis and visualization


This workshop will focus on the main sources of social statistics in Canada, namely Statistics Canada's Website, more specifically the Data section and the Canadian Census. Provincial statistics (Institut de la Statistique du Québec) will also be mentioned. The second part of the presentation will present the concept of microdata and introduce students to data available through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI). We will review the best methods to identify relevant surveys. The various types of data files (PUMFs, Master Files) will be described and students will be shown how to access those files via the Odesi database or by going to the Research Data Centre at McGill (QICSS). There will be a demonstration of Odesi which will focus on searching the platform for surveys and individual variables and on downloading datasets and associated documentation.
  • 26 September
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Sir George Williams

Information searching and archiving


Are you comfortable using Zotero but feel like you might not be getting the most out of it? This workshop is designed for people that would like to discover some tricks for working with Zotero. We will take a hands-on approach, so please bring your computer already configured for using Zotero.
  • 19 March
  • 09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Sir George Williams
In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to use Zotero, a desktop and web-based tool that you can use to organize the references you find in library catalogues and databases, insert citations in your papers, and prepare bibliographies or reference lists quickly and effectively, in a wide variety of citation styles (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, et cetera). We will look at integrating Zotero with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. We will also cover how to share folders and citations (e.g., for collaborative projects or to disseminate reading lists). No experience with Zotero is necessary.

Please ensure that you set up Zotero in advance of the workshop. You can find instructions on how to set up Zotero on the Library website: https://library.concordia.ca/help/workshops/zotero-prerequisites.pdf
 
  • 03 June
  • 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
  • Online
Would you like to be able to keep a permanent copy of something that's online? Whether it's your thesis project website, source material for your research, or your favourite cat video, online content is at high risk of disappearing. This workshop will show you how to preserve web content using free and open-source tools.  This is an introductory-level workshop and no prior knowledge or technical skills are needed.
  • 04 October
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Online

Productivity and collaboration


When someone looks you up online: what do they see? How will future employers learn about your accomplishments? While taking inspiration from outstanding researcher profiles, this workshop is designed for graduate students across disciplines to make informed decisions about their online presence. In building a public image of one’s scholarship, we will explore a range of profile systems such as Google Scholar, social media for academics, university profiles, and ORCID. While offering general tips and tricks, special attention will be given to ORCID as a versatile tool, favouring the researcher’s control. Finally, there will be plenty of space for a critical discussion on the benefits and challenges of public and open scholarship. Come prepared to explore and participate.     
  • 04 April
  • 09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Online
What do you do during a poster session?  What makes for a successful academic poster?  Maybe you have been doing research for a long time and don’t know how to condense it.  Maybe you are new to the research world, and you doubt that you have enough done to present.  In this workshop, we discuss the academic poster session, how to design a poster, and provide some tips for shining as you present your poster.
  • 07 June
  • 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
  • Online
This hands-on workshop will introduce students to the modern, no-cost, digital note-taking tool, Obsidian (or Zettlr). Integrated with Zotero and used in an academic framework, these tools can foster productive research writing. The workshop will help students start practising the principles of a Zettelkasten technique to build a personal knowledge base of literature notes, interlinked ideas, long-form writing, visual concept maps, and more. It will show how to associate Obsidian notes with bibliographic information in Zotero as part of the research writing workflow. 
  • 09 February
  • 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Sir George Williams
This hands-on workshop will introduce students to the modern, free, digital note-taking tool, Logseq. Integrated with Zotero and used in an academic framework, these tools can foster productive research writing. The workshop will help students start practising the principles of a Zettelkasten technique to build a personal knowledge base of literature notes, interlinked ideas, tasks, spaced repetition, visual concept maps, and more. It will show how to associate Logseq notes with bibliographic information in Zotero as part of the research writing workflow. 
  • 08 February
  • 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Sir George Williams

Social media management


According to LinkedIn, there are well over 360 million professionals on LinkedIn. How we build our professional network has changed. Hiring managers are also proactively using LinkedIn as a powerful recruitment tool. According to Jobvite.com, 94 % of recruiters are using LinkedIn to find talent.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Students are highly recommended to have a computer for this workshop and make sure they have an account set up on LinkedIn.
 
  • 05 June
  • 01:30 PM - 03:30 PM
  • Sir George Williams