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Engineering (General)

Provides basic resources for locating information related to engineering.
This workshop series was hosted by the Engineering Librarians in 2024.
Topics included: How to Conduct a Literature Review, How to Read Scholarly Articles, AI Tools for Library Research, and AI Tools for Discovery & Summarization (for U-M MIDAS)

How to Conduct a Literature Review

Video Recording
The recording is 54 minutes long and contains a closed caption option.

Whether you’re working on a chapter for your dissertation or a section of a scholarly article, writing literature reviews is tough. But there are some tips that can help you to conduct effective and efficient literature reviews. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

  • Determine which type of literature review you need to do (scoping review, systematic review, meta-analysis, etc.)
  • Search scholarly databases effectively for literature, including saving searches and setting up alerts
  • Utilize citation management software (Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero) to keep your literature organized
  • Get personalized assistance from a librarian

Presented by: Jamie Niehof, Engineering Librarian


Follow along with the GoogleSlide deck

How to Read Scholarly Articles

Video Recording
The recording is 38 minutes long and contains a closed caption option.

Ever feel stuck while reading scholarly articles? Have a seemingly endless pile of articles to read but don't know how to start? Join two engineering librarians for a workshop on how to read scholarly articles effectively and efficiently. 

In this workshop, you'll learn how to:

  • Develop a personalized method for reading scholarly articles
  • Set up the ideal reading environment for you
  • Organize your articles with citation management software (Zotero / Mendeley.)

Presented by: Paul Grochowski & Sarah Barbrow, Engineering Librarians


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AI Tools for Library Research

Video Recording
The recording is 49 minutes long and contains a closed caption option.

AI tools are proliferating at an astounding rate and you may be wondering how some of them can support your library research process. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to use specific AI tools to:

  • scope your topics
  • generate search terms
  • find and summarize literature
  • generate images

You will also learn about some best practices when using AI tools for library research to help you avoid hallucinations or misleading information and to work ethically throughout the process.

Presented by: Sarah Barbrow & Jamie Niehof, Engineering Librarians


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MIDAS Talk: AI Tools for Library Research

Video Recording
The recording is 2 hours long and contains a closed caption option.

About: This session introduced generative AI tools that can assist you with literature discovery, summarization, and synthesis. Featured tools include Open AI’s chatGPT, UMGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, ResearchRabbit, and more.

This session was part of MIDAS' Transforming Your Research with Generative AI series, which includes other recorded workshops of potential interest, including "An Introduction to Generative AI Tools for Research" and "GenAI Tools for Writing and Presentation."

MIDAS = Michigan Institute of Data and AI in Society

MIDAS also recently hosted the MIDAS Data Science and AI Mini-Symposium Series, which includes other potentially interesting workshops like "Creativity and AI" and "Generative AI: Diffusion Models for Scientific Machine Learning."

Instructors:
Jamie Niehof, Engineering Librarian
Tyler Nix, Associate Director, Research & Informatics, Taubman Health Sciences Library
Sarah Barbrow, Assistant Director, Engineering Librarian


Follow along with the Google slides