Digital Scholarship Hub: Workshop Lineup

As with every pre-midterm season at McGill, the campus is buzzing with life! Students are enjoying the last bouts of September sun, lining up for free plants, and queuing at McGill Farmers’ Market.

In the midst of all the havoc, McGill Library’s Digital Scholarship Hub (DSH) is back again with its Fall workshop lineup!


We’ve got numerous amazing workshops lined up from September through October. To help you through the rather extensive list, below we highlight some of our personal favourites;

Bias, Ethics, & Artificial Intelligence – September 29, 11am

Are you someone who closely follows the roller coaster ride that is the tech industry? With its continuously growing market and Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations, it is the point of discussion from every household to every seminar room.

What side of the debate are you on? How ethical do you find the everyday innovations in the industry? Focused on understanding the impact of AI on society as we know it, this workshop aims to dip a toe into these tumultuous waters in order to find ethical solutions to AI development.

Join presenters Amanda Wheatley and Sanday Hervieux as they explore the core issues surrounding AI ethics and how we can overcome these issues to broaden our understanding of technology. 

How to Write a Data Management Plan – October 3, 12pm

This workshop will provide attendees with practical tips and examples on how to write a data management plan for funders, journals, or other oversight organizations. We will demo an online interactive tool, Portage DMP Assistant, which has built-in templates particular to the Canadian research context. Attendees will also have a chance to discuss discipline-specific issues related to planning for the management of data actively during the research process and for long-term archival purposes.

Making Your Work Open Access (psst: it doesn’t have to cost money) – October 25, 12pm

Are you a student-run journal considering the latest trends in scholarly publications? Or perhaps a graduate student looking at the implications of making your thesis public? Well worry no more, you’re not the only one!

This online presentation brings together a group of people looking to make their work open to access. While the discussion will be focused on the role of grant-holders and the support they can find on-campus for making their work open access, the presentation is open to everyone!

Ready to Publish? Selecting a Journal – November 3, 12pm

Finished your research and looking to publish? This 45-minute workshop will outline how to locate and assess relevant journals in your discipline. This workshop will also discuss the basics of the peer review process, journal selection considerations, and frequently asked questions about publishing. This workshop will serve as an introduction to the topic for new researchers and those just starting to publish.

At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

  • Describe tools and strategies to identify appropriate journals in their discipline
  • Describe the peer review process
  • Describe main considerations when choosing a journal

Also, stay tuned for our Workshop Spotlights over the next few weeks!

Check out DSH’s calendar for their upcoming workshops and office hours schedule. And for further queries, email us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca.

Feeling Moody? New Research Tool Workshop Coming Up!

For many students, the thought of a thesis can be incredibly daunting– especially starting to work. This can take the joy out of the incredibly important work you do in academia. This September, we are hosting the first ever mood board workshop! The aim is to give you the space to freely and calmly think through your research in a creative way, with mood boarding!!

On Tuesday, September 27th 11:45 – 12:45 in the Innovation Commons Room A, join other undergraduate and graduate students to learn about the purpose of mood boards and how to make one. This session focuses on online tools that can help bring your vision to life and reignite a passion for your research.

Sign up today!

If you have any questions, email hssl.library@mcgill.ca

Cupid Strikes Again: Love Data Week

In the darkness and cold of winter, the only thing we have is each other (and SOUP). While us mortals scuffle through the snow and start the winter semester, a little flying baby has other plans. From the top of the Arts Building a heart-shaped arrow is drawn with chubby little fingers… cupid has struck the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. Suddenly we are pawning over statistics, excel, charts, and more. From this adoration, Love Data Week was born. 

Love Data Week is back for 2022! 

This year, there is a full week of events catered to all. Whether or not you have been bitten by the love(data) bug, there are introductory workshops, intermediate tutorials, and an exciting panel. Data is for everyone. All workshops are remote, but still a ton of fun.

You can register for individual workshops, or as many of the 11 offered that you want to come to.

A little cupid told us that an exciting event this year is the The Pandora Papers for Data Lovers. This is a panel from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists about the process of working with these papers that expose the shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful. You can register here to attend on February 16th, at 12PM EST.

Wonderful librarians and staff have super worked hard to bring #LoveDataWeek2022 so come, bring friends, and show love <3

Join us for a romantic week with data and maybe even fall in love…