23 Research Things is back in 2020

What are 23 things that 2014 and 2017 have in common? Answer: 23 Research Things.

23 Research Things a program of 23 blog posts that highlight digital tools to support the research activities of academics and graduate students. We first ran this series in 2014, and then again in 2017. Guest bloggers were invited to share their expertise on a set of research tools or topics, and outline why and how these might be integrated into practice. Guests include other researchers, data scientists, librarians, 

When is this happening?

Planning is underway for publication mid-year 2020. Make sure you get all the updates by subscribing to Researcher@Library Blog. 

In the meantime, …

Over the next few Researcher@Library blog posts, we’ll revisit some of the Things from 2017 – join us to see how well these Things have withstood the test of time. Is it a case of “the more things change”? Cast your vote, and share your favourite Research Things. 

Let’s start with Office 365, A.K.A. Research Thing 1, 2017.

🛠️ Thing 1 (2017): Office 365

Read the original blog post from 2017 by Ashley Sutherland (Arts Faculty Librarian) with advice from Tommy Carron and Drew Poynton (Infrastructure Services). 

So, what’s changed since 2017? With the COVID-19 public emergency, researching from home and all associated challenges is now a daily reality. While Office 365 is not a cure-all, it does offer a suite of tools – with 1TB of cloud storage – available to Unimelb researchers, even during these tough times.  

Availability and support:  

• All University of Melbourne students and staff have access  
• Off- and on-campus – install Office 365 on your personal devices 
• Supported by Student IT and (for staff researchers) IT Services 

3 Top Tech Tips:  

• Explore: Office 365 is more than just Microsoft Word and Excel. Collaborating on a project? You could use Teams and its free add-on applications for communication, web conferencing, file sharing, project management and more.  
• Learn: Are you getting the most you can from Excel and other Office 365 tools? Complete Pick IT Up Online modules for basic to advanced skills training in key Office 365 tools, or try out Office Training by Microsoft. 
• Save time by managing your data: Office 365 apps do automatically generate quite a bit of file metadata, including time-stamping, author and version details. This can be helpful for managing your files, but it doesn’t replace a sound Data Management Plan (DMP). Start by establishing standard – and meaningful – naming conventions and an easy-to-navigate set of folders. (Protip: For a step-by-step guide to creating a solid Data Management Plan, complete Managing Data @ Melbourne modules online. Need more help to tame this digital chaos? Attend ‘File Management 101’, a Researcher@Library training session presented by experts from the Digital Scholarship team.)
  

Bonus Tip: Ask for help 

Visit the Student IT homepage to start an online chat for tech support, and to find and access to other free online tools. 

📧 Readers, what’s your assessment?

What’s the first Research Thing that comes mind for you in 2020? Share your thoughts with us at gr-library@unimelb.edu.au.