Academic Consulting

Browse through our course outlines below, or select an outline from the list on the right.

Designing Questionnaires in MS Word

The presentation of research questionnaires can have an enormous impact on the quality of data provided and completion rates by respondents. This workshop will cover a range of techniques in MS Word that will assist researchers in creating professionally presented questionnaires.

Course Content

• Overall questionnaire layout e.g. font choice, page setup options
• Creating different question types e.g. rating scales, ticked options, open response
• Working with questionnaire templates
• Printing and production issues
• Other techniques for questionnaire design e.g. specialised software

Course Length

3 hours.

Introduction to PASW

Please Note: PASW is the new acronym for SPSS

PASW provides a powerful statistical analysis and data management system in a graphical environment. This session introduces participants to the basic functions of PASW and teaches the skills necessary to perform a variety of statistical functions.

Course Content

• Creating data sets and entering/importing data
• Defining variable properties
• Performing data transformations
• Calculating descriptive statistics and other statistical procedures
• Producing tables, charts, and graphs
• Using the PASW Help features

Course Length

3 hours.

Intermediate PASW

Please Note: PASW is the new acronym for SPSS

The aim of this course is to introduce participants to a range of methods for working more efficiently within the PASW software. This course builds on our PASW Introduction course

Course Content

• Revision of introductory PASW knowledge
• Data manipulations (computing/recoding variables, selecting/sorting cases)
• File manipulations (merging variables/cases, splitting files, and aggregating data)
• Working with PASW Syntax (writing, running, and trouble-shooting)
• Useful PASW features (variable sets, moving variables, journal file, dialog recall)

Course Length

3 hours.

Inspiration

Inspiration is a software package for visual thinking and learning, and as such can be used for a wide-range of academic functions such as brainstorming, diagramming, planning, concept mapping, organising and outlining. This workshop introduces participants to the basics functions of Inspiration, particularly as they relate to academic research, teaching, and learning.

Course Content

Creation of a range of Inspiration diagrams and outlines

• Creating notes
• Methods for linking
• Creation and use of templates
• Exporting to MS Word, Powerpoint and other formats
• Enhancing diagrams with symbols, colour and other formatting

Course Length

3 hours.

Introduction to EndNote

EndNote is a bibliography package that can assist you in organising and mangaging your references, as well as compiling reference lists automatically, This course introduces participants to the basic functions of EndNote, enabling them to make the most of the functions EndNote offers.

Course Content

• Creation of EndNote libraries and entering reference information
• Efficiently working with EndNote libraries and references
• Using EndNote to cite reference information while writing a paper
• Generating reference lists in an appropriate reference style
• Creating independent bibliographies
• Performing keyword searches in an EndNote library

Course Length

2 hours.

NVivo Part One: Working with Data

NVivo 8 is the latest qualitative data analysis software produced by QSR International. Whether you’re a new or advanced qualitative software user, NVivo 8 offers a range of tools to help you explore complex ideas with ease. NVivo 8 functionality caters to academic, government and commercial researchers, and can be tailored to suit your personal working style. As well as providing an overview of the software, this introductory workshop introduces participants to the basics of setting up an NVivo 8 project. Please note that this is part one of a two part workshop - participants may choose to attend both days or this session only.

Course Content

• The NVivo 8 project interface
• Preparing and working with data
• Node types and uses
• Creating and working with nodes
• Viewing coding and context
• Linking
• Basic searching

Course Length

6 hours.

NVivo Part Two: Extending Analyses

Our ‘Extending Analyses’ class builds on the basic functions learnt in Introduction to NVivo 8: Working with Data. This interactive workshop looks at the additional NVivo 8 tools available and discusses the various means of extending and simplifying NVivo qualitative analyses.

Course Content

• Revision of introductory NVivo 8 knowledge
• Coding extensions
• Reporting
• Cases and attributes
• Working with models
• Queries

Course Length

6 hours.

Statistics for Data Analysis

This course will introduce participants to the basics of quantitative data analysis. A variety of statistical procedures and theory will be discussed in conjunction with practical application using the SPSS software. Note that this course consists of 2 x 6 hour sessions - participants must attend both sessions.

Course Content

• Calculation and interpretation of a range of descriptive statistics
• Calculation and interpretation of various statistical procedures including t-tests, ANOVA’s, correlations, and non-parametric statistics
• Choosing the correct statistical procedure
• Introduction to the PASW software

Course Length

2 x 6 hours.

MS Word for Successful Thesis Writing

This full-day course will cover everything you need to know to successfully format and write your thesis in MS Word. The morning session will cover formatting issues specific to theses, while the afternoon will deal with writing related issues. This is more than just a ‘long documents’ workshop as it deals with the needs of thesis writers specifically. Other useful software such as EndNote and Inspiration will also be briefly discussed.

Course Content

• Working with templates
• Creating and modifying styles
• Working with your thesis chapters and your thesis as a whole
• Pagination, Headers, and Footers
• Inserting a Table of Contents and other lists
• Tips and tricks for the writing process

Course Length

6 hours.

Using NVivo for Survey Analysis

NVivo can be an extremely useful tool for analysing open-ended responses to survey questions. This training course focuses on the specific tools within NVivo that are useful for this, and discusses quick methods for importing survey data into NVivo and automatically coding aspects of it. Please note that this workshop will not be relevant to those analysing interview and focus group transcript data - please refer to our 'NVivo Part One: Working with Data' training instead.

Course Content

• Setting-up an NVivo project
• Importing open-ended survey questions from Excel or PASW
• Automatically coding questions
• Working with cases and attributes
• Running text and coding queries
• Reporting results

Course Length

6 hours.

Working with Graphs: PASW vs MS Excel

This workshop details the creation (and modification) of graphs in both MS Excel and PASW, while comparing the strengths and weaknesses of each package for graphing.

Course Content

• ‘Golden Rules’ for presenting graphs
• Creating and modifying graphs in MS Excel
• Creating and modifying graphs in PASW
• Ensuring consistent formatting
• Working between software packages

Course Length

3 hours.

Writing Smarter

This training course highlights time-saving features of MS Word that are especially useful for academic writing and research but also generally for efficiency with any word processing use. Workshop content will be ideal for users of MS Word who are 'self-taught' and wish to learn more about making the most of MS Word.

Course Content

• A brief introduction to styles and templates
• Methods for viewing and navigating large documents
• Tips and tricks for drafting and editing
• Keeping track of changes (reviewing features)
• Other useful features including Autosummarise, Document Statistics and AutoCorrect
• Spelling, grammar and language issues
• Working with multiple Word files successfully

Course Length

3 hours.