Research Skills and Knowledge

Develop skills to conduct high quality research and scholarship more effectively and responsibly.

UF Research oversees compliance with the multiple requirements and guidelines that must be followed according to different funding sources to conduct research at UF. This includes the following:

Training

Many of the required training modules (including lab safety, FERPA guidelines, and sexual harassment prevention) are available through myTraining. The trainings you will need to complete will depend on the type of research you do. Please consult with your graduate program with any questions that you might have.

Data Management

The data you collect during graduate research will need to be properly stored, particularly if you are participating in a federally funded project and/or your research is published.
This library guide includes information about tools for:
- data management planning
- data and file sharing
- metadata and data standards
- data storage.

Authorship

Authorship inclusion and ordering is not a matter of preference, but of ethical implications. This library guide provides some information regarding best practices in the authorship of scholarly works. Be aware that individual research groups and disciplines may have their own best practices. It is recommended that you establish authorship with your advisor before the start of a project and revisit it as needed.

Research Misconduct

Research misconduct is a very serious concern. This library guide provides information about misconduct and resources to avoid it.
If you suspect research misconduct has taken place, please follow these steps.

It is important to keep a record of the articles, books, and more that you read during your studies. There are several options to accomplish this:

Citation management software
- The Smathers Library Citation Management Overview website may help you to find a citation manager that fits your need.
Running list of citations in Google Docs or Dropbox
Annotated bibliographies in Microsoft Word or Excel

Every discipline on campus has a designated library liaison who can help with your particular research needs. Other library resources include:

Smathers Libraries Guide for New Graduate Students
Literature Search Strategy Development Worksheet to help prepare an effective search for literature
subject area library guide
Academic Research and Consulting services covering topics such as
- data management
- research metrics and impact
- data visualization

UF Information Technology (UFIT) also offers multiple training opportunities, including:

R programming
using SPSS and SamplePower3

LinkedIn Learning is also available for all UF graduate students free of charge. Courses include, but are not limited to:

SPSS for academic research
data visualization
R for Data Science
Cloud Computing

Writing effective grant proposals is an important part of graduate training, particularly if you hope to follow a career in academia.

Here are some resources to help you gain more skills in this area:

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also offers a helpful guide on writing winning proposals.
If you are in the biomedical field, you may find many resources on grant writing in the CTSI website.
In addition, there are many Grant Writing courses offered at UF (see below under "Relevant Courses").

Graduate certificates offer opportunities to gain valuable skills that may aid in your graduate training and/or future career.

Certificate programs currently available at UF may be found here.

Semester	Workshop Title	Presenter	Recordings, Transcripts, and Materials
Fall 2023	Scholarly Information Search: Finding the Sources You Need in the Library and on the Web	Suzanne Stapleton, Marston Science Library	Workshop Recording
Fall 2023	Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review by the Graduate School Editorial Office	Stacy Wallace, Lisa DeLacure, and Anna Pardo (Graduate School Editorial Office)	Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review by the Graduate School Editorial Office recording Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review PPT
Spring 2023	Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review by the Graduate School Editorial Office	Stacy Wallace, Lisa DeLacure, and Anna Pardo (Graduate School Editorial Office)	Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review by the Graduate School Editorial Office recording Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review PPT
Spring 2023	Ethics of Authorship and Deciding Where to Publish	Suzanne Stapleton, Marston Science Library	Ethics of Authorship and Deciding Where to Publish Recording Ethics of Authorship and Deciding Where to Publish PPT
Spring 2023	Granstmanship 101: Keys to Writing Effective Proposals	Lucy Deckard	Grantsmanship 101 Recording Workshop Resources and PPT
Fall 2022	Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review by the Graduate School Editorial Office	Stacy Wallace, Lisa DeLecure and Anna Pardo, Graduate School Editorial Office	Submitting Your Thesis/Dissertation for Review by the Graduate School Editorial Office recording Editorial Office PPT Workshop Q&A
Spring 2022	Thesis and Disseration Electronic Submission	Stacy Wallace and Anna Pardo, Graduate School Editorial Office	Thesis and Dissertation Electronic Submission Recoridng Electronic Thesis and Dissertation PPT
Spring 2022	"Finding the Gap" and Identifying a Good Thesis or Dissertation Topic	David Achweider	Finding the Gap PPT Scholarly Information Search- Overview and Strategies PDF Finding Books, Journal Articles, and Other Sources
Fall 2021	Finding Reputable Journals: Library Tools to Identify Credible Publications	Suzanne Stapleton, MS, UF Libraries	Credible Publications Workshop Recording Credible Publications PPT Credible Publications Workshop Transcript
Spring 2021	Literature Reviews: Know Your Options	Suzanne Stapleton, UF Libraries	Lit Review Options Workshop Recording Lit Review Options Workshop Transcript Lit Review Options PDF Lit Review Options Additional Materials
Spring 2021	Thesis and Dissertation Electronic Submission	Stacy Wallace and Anna Pardo, UF Graduate School Editorial Office	Electronic Submission Workshop Recording Electronic Submission Workshop Transcript Electronic Submission PPT
Fall 2020	Excellent Scholarly Information Search: Finding the Sources You Need in the Library and on the Web	Dr. David Schwieder, UF Libraries	Scholarly Information Search Workshop Recording Scholarly Information Search Workshop Transcript Scholarly Information Search PDF
Fall 2020	Finding a Good Thesis or Dissertation Topic	Dr. David Schwieder, UF Libraries	Thesis or Dissertation Topic Workshop Recording Thesis or Dissertation Topic Workshop Transcript
Fall 2018	An Overview of Literature Review Types	Ariel Pomputius & Nancy Schaefer, UF Smathers Libraries	Lit Review Types Workshop Recording
Fall 2019	What You Need Before You Proceed: Finding and Filling the Gaps in Your Academic Training	Dr. Scott Thourson, UF Biomedical Engineering	Your Academic Training Workshop Recording

Course Title	Course Number	Department	Course Description	Instructor
Scientific Reasoning and Research Design	FYCS 6800	Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	Research tools and techniques appropriate for an ecological model, emphasizing a multi-method approach.
Advanced Research Method	FYCS 6802	Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	Advanced students select and study problem related to family, youth, and community sciences.
Data Mining with Social Data	HMG 6583C	Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management	Introduces the students to issues related to data-intensive problems. Newly available massive amounts of data produced with the networks of traditional sensors, social networks, and novel data acquisition systems require new approaches to data storage and analysis. The course focuses on building the initial Big Data analysis skills.
Survey Research	POS 6757	Political Science	Methods of survey research in context of field investigation: formulating research hypotheses, constructing measurement instruments, and collecting and analyzing data.
Quantitative Methods in Earth Science	GLY 6862	Geological Sciences	Providing graduate students with a solid introduction to the quantitative methods that are increasingly utilized in the Earth sciences.
How to Craft Effective Broader Impacts	GLY 6932	Geological Sciences	Lectures, conferences, or laboratory sessions covering selected topics of current interest in modern geology.
Ethics in Population Science	PHC 7427	College of Public Health and Health Professions	Covering federally mandated topics in the Responsible Conduct of Research: Data Acquisition, Management, Sharing, Ownership; Conflict of Interest/Commitment; Human Subjects; Animal Welfare; Research Misconduct; Publication Practices and Responsible Authorship; Mentor/ Trainee Responsibilities; Peer Review; and Collaborative Science. This ethics course is for those enrolled in research intensive graduate programs.
Epidemiology Literature Review and Critique (Journal Club)	PHC 7901	College of Public Health and Health Professions	Preparing students to perform peer-review and to think critically. In weekly class discussion sessions, students will review peer-reviewed, published research studies that demonstrate innovative or faculty epidemiologic content or methods. Feedback will be given by student peers and faculty.
The Art of Scientific Dissemination	RSD 6930	Rehabilitation Science	Special Topics in Rehabilitation Science	Krista Vandenborne
Matlab Basic for Rehabilitation Science	RSD 6XXX	Rehabilitation Science		Zheng Wang
Writing for Professional Publications	HSC 5956	Health Education and Behavior	Procedures and practices in scholarly writing for health-related professional publications including topic selection, literature searches, internet applications, documentation, manuscript preparation, reasons for rejection, and legal and ethical considerations.
Research Methods in Health Education	HSC 6735	Health Education and Behavior	Introduction to methods of health education research.
Rotating Topics: Multiple Regression; Structural Equation Modeling; Mediation & Moderation Analysis	HSC 7937	Health Education and Behavior	Advanced Seminar in Health Education
Public Health Computing	PHC 6089	Biostatistics	This course covers using SAS and R to manage and analyze public health data. Students will learn how to import, modify, visualize and perform common analyses of public health data using SAS and R.
Data Visualization	PHC 6937	Biostatistics	The world is growing increasingly reliant on collecting and analyzing information to help people make decisions. Because of this, the ability to communicate effectively about data is an important component of future job prospects across nearly all disciplines. In this course, students will learn the foundations of information visualization and sharpen their skills in communicating using health science data. Throughout the semester, we will use R and other software to explore concepts in graphic design, storytelling, data wrangling and plotting, and biostatistics as they apply to data-driven communication. Whether you’re an aspiring data scientist or you just want to learn new ways of presenting health science information, this course will help you build a strong foundation in how to talk to people about data.
Introduction to Biostatistical Methods	PHC 6052	Biostatistics	Introduction to the concepts and methods of biostatistical data analysis. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, standard probability distributions, sampling distributions, point and confidence interval estimation, hypothesis testing, power and sample size estimation, one- and two-sample parametric and non-parametric methods for analyzing continuous or discrete data, and simple linear regression. SAS statistical software for data management, statistical analysis and power calculations. Required core course for students in biostatistics, environmental health, and epidemiology concentrations.
Regression Methods for Health and Life Sciences	PHC 6053	Biostatistics	Introduction to a wide range of regression methods. Primary topics are multiple linear regression, logistic regression, and Poisson regression.
R for Functional Genomics	BSC 6438	Microbiology and Cell Science	Introductory course to the basics of the R language and to state of the art methods for functional genomics data analysis. Students will learn how to write R scripts, choose appropriate statistical tools and how to use linux environments to analyse high-throughput genomics data.
Critical Analysis of Research in Materials Science & Engineering	EMA 5095	Materials Science and Engineering	Critical methods for reviewing technical papers, for writing effective technical papers, and for developing meaningful research projects, in the field of materials science and engineering.
Error Analysis and Optimization Methodologies in Materials Research	EMA 6808	Materials Science and Engineering	Statistical approach to materials research, basic and relevant statistical concepts, error analysis, factorial matrices, reducing variance, nested designs and sampling plans, mixture designs, optimization techniques, response surface method, and Taguchi method.
Learning Analytics Concepts & Techniques	EDG 6931	School of Teaching and Learning	Special Topics
Entering Research	GMS 6905	College of Journalism and Communications	Independent Studies in Medical Sciences
Let's Experiment: A Guide for Scientists Working at the Bench (Self-Paced)	Not affiliated with UF. Offered online by iBiology	Not affiliated with UF. Offered online by iBiology	Scientists from a variety of backgrounds give concrete steps and advice to help you build a framework for how to design experiments in biological research. We use case studies to make the abstract more tangible.

Research Skills and Knowledge

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