School of Graduate Studies

Digital, media and information workshops


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.
  • 23 January
  • 11:00 AM - 12:30 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


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


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