Workshops by Series

This virtual 30‑minute lunchtime session, led by a Medical Librarian at the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library introduces clinical faculty to the library’s core services, collections, and support for teaching, research, and clinical practice. The session is designed to be concise and practical. 

By the end of the session, faculty will: 

• Understand the scope of medical library services and collections available both in person and online 
• Navigate and access key library resources for teaching and research 
• Establish a point of contact for ongoing collaboration with library staff

Discover more about open access publishing options, including a new model that allows you to make your journal articles freely available through existing library-led transformative agreements. These agreements can help you access fee waivers for Article Processing Charges (APCs). The TMU Libraries, as part of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), are participating in these transformative agreements as part of a pilot program aimed at enhancing the reach, access, and impact of research.  This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Open Access Publishing (and Transformative Agreements)  can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.

A literature review can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task, but it is a crucial academic skill. It is essential to research and is frequently required in course assignments throughout university. This session will break down the reasons why we do literature reviews and the steps one must take in order to ensure a sufficient and/or thorough exploration of the resources where the literature is found. Tips and tricks for managing the process will be offered. Participants will have increased confidence in defining and conducting the literature review and will become familiar with the key resources required to complete one.

Key learning outcomes include:

1. Understand the importance of literature reviews for research and academic assignments.
2. Know the steps required to conduct a thorough literature review.
3. Know how to explore and identify key resources for your literature review.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Literature Review Essentials can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Research Skills Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Research Skills Stacked Badge. 

This presentation will not be discussing Large Language Models (LLM) or complex AI systems. Nor should participants expect  to build robots from scratch, either. Instead, come join the Library Collaboratory Research Technology Officer for a fun and curious look at how humans can’t help but see life in machines.

Through simple robot demonstrations and interactive moments, participants will explore how easy it is to  project emotions, intentions, and even personalities onto the most basic of robots. This presentation is  a lighthearted dive into the very human habit of treating machines as though they are alive.

This is the first session in the academic publishing series, Ink to Impact: A series on academic publishing.

This panel discussion brings together seasoned editors from university presses, academic trade publishing houses, and independent experts to illuminate the publishing journey from the publisher’s point of view. Panelists will share practical advice for crafting compelling book proposals, strategies for approaching editors professionally, and guidance on the key questions authors should anticipate, both asking and answering.

The focus is on scholarly monographs. Designed with the humanities and social sciences in mind, this session aims to demystify the publishing process by revealing what happens behind the scenes: submission timelines, editorial decision-making, and what publishers look for in manuscripts. Attendees will also gain insights into the distinctions between university presses and academic trade publishers, helping them determine the best fit for their work.

Moderator: Prof. Naomi Adelson, Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Toronto Metropolitan University

Panelists: 

• Rachel Stapleton, Senior Acquisitions Editor, University of Regina Press

• Katie Gallof Houck, Senior Publisher, Film & Media Studies, Bloomsbury Academic Publishing

• Sam Hiyate, Founder and CEO, Literary Agent, The Rights Factory

Session Objectives: 

• Explore publisher expectations and challenges in academic book publishing 

• Unveil the process “behind the curtain”: submission, review, and publication timelines

• Share actionable strategies for developing successful book proposals

• Clarify distinctions between academic trade presses and university presses to help authors identify their best fit

Target Audience: This session is primarily designed for early career researchers in the Social Sciences and Humanities who are working on their first single-authored monograph. However, the conversation is relevant to researchers at all career stages, including instructors, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students, who are interested in understanding academic book publishing from the publisher’s perspective.

If you have any questions about this session, email Chris Kim at kim.chris@torontomu.ca, Ann Ludbrook at aludbrook@torontomu.ca, or Toby Malone at toby.malone@torontomu.ca.

Medical school is busy and having the skills to read strategically can help you get through the mountains of assigned readings. This workshop introduces practical approaches for navigating scholarly and clinical literature. Participants will learn how to identify the purpose and structure of different article types, recognize key methodological features, and apply strategic reading techniques to grasp the most relevant information. This session supports the development of foundational critical appraisal skills, enabling learners to assess quality and relevance. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify and describe the major components of a scholarly research article, including abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion.
• Apply structured strategies for reading research articles efficiently and with purpose, including skimming, scanning, and targeted deep reading.
• Interpret common methodological terminology and study designs encountered in medical literature. 
• Evaluate the strengths, limitations, and applicability of research findings to academic or clinical questions.

This workshop is one of two that focus on developing Generative AI fluency using the framework of Delegation, Description, Discernment and Diligence. Delegation & Description introduces the idea of defining goals and delegating tasks, as well the development of techniques to prompt iteratively. Participants will explore the strengths and limitations of large language models (LLMs) such as Gemini and Gen AI tools within library databases and discuss how to define a project, guide the AI's process, and specify desired performance to achieve results that align with their goals.

This session is eligible for two TMU Libraries badges. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Artificial Intelligence: Delegation & Description can be used to earn two individual badges, or as a component of the Artificial Intelligence Fluency badge.  Complete both Artificial Intelligence workshops and the four associated activities to earn the Artificial Intelligence Fluency badge.

This workshop will deal with copyright issues that are commonly encountered when publishing your work in scholarly formats such as journals, conferences, posters etc. It will also cover some aspects of copyright in thesis and MRP submissions at TMU. Topics that will be covered will be how to acquire permissions, fair dealing, attribution, and open access licensing. This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students. 

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Copyright and Scholarly Publications can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.

Struggling to efficiently review extensive research literature? Join this hands-on walkthrough workshop to learn how topic modeling and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) can streamline your literature review process with the help of the open-source tool, Orange 3.

In this peer-to-peer learning workshop, you will learn how guest instructor Zahra, a TMU Professional Communication graduate student, is actively using topic modelling in her own research.

Participants will learn how text analysis capabilities of Orange 3 can speed up and automate literature reviews by analyzing papers without getting bogged down in manual reviews.

Using a case study of “binge-watching," participants will be shown how to use this tool to efficiently uncover the core themes and topics within large volumes of text and research data.

No technical or previous experience is required.

Bring a laptop with the software and add-ons installed, along with the CSV.
** All materials should be downloaded and installed prior to the workshop.**

• Orange Data Mining (free and open): https://orangedatamining.com/download

• Instructions to install the add-ons: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t_v6-AB_iz10PpCk1BvaFjLfuV3UB9hj/view?usp=sharing

• Downloadable dataset (required for workshop):  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LItkxG20Xp5SC107wNP6F4ioKkmxbH3C/view?usp=drive_link

• Stopwords list (required for workshop): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ggtDd05r2xDOXAsVIffbppembFnf1gym/view?usp=drive_link

About the Guest Instructor:

Zahra Entezami holds an MBA and a Master of Professional Communication from TMU, with a research focus on bibliometrics and text mining. She brings over four years of experience in teaching, analysis, and digital marketing, as well as one year of experience as a research assistant. Zahra is actively engaged in scholarly work, with a publication on media literacy and an ongoing research project on social media influencers’ media management practices at the prestigious World Media Economics and Management Conference.

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool that helps you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Zotero lets you add citations to journal articles, websites and books with a single click. You can also use it to create footnotes, endnotes, in-text citations, or bibliographies in the style of your choice. Use of a citation manager is highly recommended for graduate students, faculty, and research assistants.

Are you overwhelmed by the amount of reading you have to do? Are you having a hard time navigating and understanding scholarly literature? In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to:

1. Understand Scholarly Jargon: Break down complex terminology used in scholarly articles.
2. Read Strategically: Recognize and understand the different components of a scholarly article; develop strategies to read scholarly articles efficiently and effectively.
3. Think Critically: Improve ability to analyze and interpret scholarly texts.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Strategic Scholarly Reading can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Research Skills Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Research Skills Stacked Badge. 

Stats Chat is a weekly workshop series that dives into data and statistical learning every Thursday afternoon at 2pm.

For this session, we will be joined by guest speaker, Dr. Ahmed S. Khwaja. Participants will be introduced to the basics of the Python programming language and Google Colab, which is a free cloud-based Python programming environment provided by Google.

About the guest speaker:

Dr. Khwaja is a research associate working in the fields of applied machine learning, optimization and signal processing at the WINCORE and DABNEL labs, Toronto Metropolitan University.

In this workshop, we’ll explore key topics about tracking research impact. We’ll discuss the importance and challenges of tracking research impact, discuss the basics of citation analysis, and introduce useful library and web-based evaluation tools. We’ll also cover how to identify and avoid problematic journals and conferences. This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students.

This event is part of the TMU Libraries Scholarly Publishing Badge programme: 

To earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked badge, complete at least three of the five workshops listed. Tracking Impact and Scholarly Publishing, Developing your Scholarly Profile, Research Data Management, Open Access Publishing, and Copyright and Scholarly Publishing. Each of these workshops will earn you one badge. Note that these workshops are held at various times throughout the year. Check out which workshops are available now & register.

This workshop is one of two that focus on developing Generative AI fluency using the framework of Delegation, Description, Discernment and Diligence. Delegation & Description introduces the idea of defining goals and delegating tasks, as well the development of techniques to prompt iteratively. Participants will explore the strengths and limitations of large language models (LLMs) such as Gemini and Gen AI tools within library databases and discuss how to define a project, guide the AI's process, and specify desired performance to achieve results that align with their goals.

This session is eligible for two TMU Libraries badges. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Artificial Intelligence: Delegation & Description can be used to earn two individual badges, or as a component of the Artificial Intelligence Fluency badge.  Complete both Artificial Intelligence workshops and the four associated activities to earn the Artificial Intelligence Fluency badge.

A literature review can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task, but it is a crucial academic skill. It is essential to research and is frequently required in course assignments throughout university. This session will break down the reasons why we do literature reviews and the steps one must take in order to ensure a sufficient and/or thorough exploration of the resources where the literature is found. Tips and tricks for managing the process will be offered. Participants will have increased confidence in defining and conducting the literature review and will become familiar with the key resources required to complete one.

Key learning outcomes include:

1. Understand the importance of literature reviews for research and academic assignments.
2. Know the steps required to conduct a thorough literature review.
3. Know how to explore and identify key resources for your literature review.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Literature Review Essentials can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Research Skills Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Research Skills Stacked Badge. 

This is a hands-on introduction to R, a free software environment for statistical computing. Before learning about scripting and syntax in R, this will help beginners orient themselves with R and RStudio, open data files, get required packages, and save their work. Most importantly, we will talk about how to utilize the rich documentation and strong community support for R when searching the internet for help! No prior knowledge of programming is required.

Stats Chat is a weekly workshop series that dives into data and statistical learning every Thursday afternoon at 2pm. New to quantitative research or looking to level up your data skills? Join us at the Geospatial Map and Data Centre at the main floor of the TMU Library!

Got a big idea but don’t know where to start? Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup founder, an artist, or a creator, this workshop will introduce you to the resources and spaces available to you at TMU Libraries and beyond.

In this workshop, you will learn about:

✅ The different spaces and resources that support entrepreneurs and creators

✅ Market research support available to TMU community members

✅ Skill-building opportunities at TMU Libraries

Who should attend? TMU students of all disciplines, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovators. In order to access library resources in this workshop, you need to be a current member of TMU, such as a student, Zone member, faculty, instructor or staff.

No prior entrepreneurship experience or venture idea required! If you’re interested in entrepreneurship but don’t know where to get started, this workshop will be useful in navigating the different resources, spaces, and units across campus.

Get recognized for your skills! This workshop is badged. Learn more about how to earn a badge.

This session is presented in collaboration with the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) of Canada, and will be delivered by a CPA member with expertise in personal finance and student-focused financial education.

It’s never too early - or too late - to learn how to manage your money. In this session, you’ll learn what credit is, how it works, and why having a good credit rating matters. You’ll learn how debt can sneak up on you, and how to use both debt and credit wisely to set you up for future success. You’ll also gain practical tools to help you assess your current financial situation, set clear money goals, and start building a solid financial foundation today. 

Presenter: Dwayne Richards, CPA, CMA

Target Audience: Students looking to deepen their understanding of credit and debt while learning how to take control of their finances.

SimplyAnalytics is a powerful tool. As a data mapping application, it can give you valuable insights into consumer behaviour and demographics. Whether you’re looking to narrow down your target market for a new venture or determine the viability of a business idea by understanding your consumers, this workshop will equip you with the skills you need to leverage SimplyAnalytics for your market research.

This event is in collaboration with the International Love Data Week by ICPSR. Love Data Week is an international celebration of data, taking place every year during the week of Valentine’s day. This year’s Love Data Week theme is “Where’s the Data?”    

Find more Love Data Week events.

Please note this session will be focusing on Canadian content. 

Join us for the MedLib Resource Spotlight, a 30‑minute live virtual demo showcasing one essential library tool for medical education and practice. Each session offers a focused walkthrough, practical tips, and space for questions. You’ll get an in‑depth look at a key resource and learn how to use its features to strengthen your study process. 

In this session, we will be exploring VisualDx, a diagnostic clinical decision support system designed to enhance diagnostic accuracy, aid therapeutic decisions, and improve patient safety. With a strong dermatology component, this application can help quickly build a differential to evaluate the possibilities, compare variations, and improve diagnostic accuracy. Its vast medical image library includes many skin types, and pigments effectively providing access to clinical information and images at the point of care. 

By the end of the session learners will be able to: 

1. Access VisualDx through the library and set up a personal account. 
2. Navigate the interface and core features. 
3. Build and refine differential diagnoses using the Differential Builder.

During ideation for any new venture, research is an important step in validating that your potential solution is a viable one. This workshop will introduce you to key research strategies and resources that will support you through your ideation process.

In this workshop, you will:

✅ Understand why it’s important to learn about a problem before trying to solve it

✅ Identify impact gaps between problems and solutions

✅ Learn where to find information using library resources

✅ Gain essential searching skills using Omni and library databases

Who should attend? TMU students of all disciplines, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovators looking to ground their ideas with research. In order to access library resources in this workshop, you need to be a current member of TMU, such as a student, Zone member, faculty, instructor or staff.

No prior entrepreneurship experience or venture idea required! If you’re interested in entrepreneurship but don’t have an idea yet, this workshop will be useful in helping you build key research skills using proprietary business databases.

Get recognized for your skills! This workshop is badged. Learn more about how to earn a badge.

A lithophane is an object for the display of an image in 3D relief. Illuminated from behind, light passes through layers of translucent material, revealing the image in detail. Invented in the early 19th century, and originally made of porcelain or bone china, lithophanes are becoming popular again because of modern 3D printing techniques. 3D printing techniques permit far easier and faster methods for making lithophanes.

Participants will learn how to:

1. Prepare an image to be printed as a lithophane;

2. 3D print the image;

3. Display a printed lithophane.

No prior experience is necessary.

Participants are required to bring their own laptop, and encouraged to choose an image to work with, in advance of the workshop. There are no constraints on resolution or image size. The printed lithophane will be between 10x10cm and 20x20cm. Participants may wish to choose an image that will look reasonable at that size.

Participants should also install Bambu Studio in advance. Bambu Studio is free and available at this link: https://bambulab.com/en/download/studio

Looking to strengthen your online research profile for job applications or grant proposals? Developing a strong research profile is essential in modern scholarship, making your work and achievements more accessible. Developing a research profile is a crucial aspect of modern scholarship, helping with job and grant applications and the submission of papers for publication. This workshop will provide an introduction to effective scholarly profiles and ORCID. This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students.

To earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked badge, complete at least three of the five workshops listed. Tracking Impact and Scholarly Publishing, Developing your Scholarly Profile, Research Data Management, Open Access Publishing, and Copyright and Scholarly Publishing. Each of these workshops will earn you one badge. Note that these workshops are held at various times throughout the year. Check out which workshops are available now & register.

Scholars GeoPortal is a geospatial data infrastructure that allows users to search, discover, visualize and download spatial datasets including vector data (GIS shapefiles), aerial images and orthophotography, open data, and historical digitized maps. Join GIS & Map Librarian, Dan Jakubek for a demonstration of this valuable web mapping application to learn about gaining access to a variety of geospatial data resources. This session will demonstrate the functionality of the geoportal and highlight the key data resources available within. 

Are you diving into quantitative research or looking to upskill in data analysis? This workshop explores the wealth of statistical and data supports available at the TMU Library. Together, we’ll walk through common questions and show you how to find the right resources and supports—what’s available, how to access them, and what to expect along the way.

Who’s it for?
Anyone in the TMU community (e.g. undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, research assistants) venturing into quantitative research, managing complex datasets, enhancing research methods, or involved in data-related projects.

Why attend?

• Discover learning pathways tailored to your needs and research goals.
• Explore the range of statistical learning resources available across the university.
• Learn to navigate the full lifecycle of statistical research—from data discovery and management to analysis and interpretation.

Stats Chat is a weekly workshop series that dives into data and statistical learning every Thursday afternoon at 2pm.

This event is in collaboration with the International Love Data Week by ICPSR.

Please note this session will be focusing on Canadian content.

Data is essential to the early stages of a business. From creating a business plan to pitching to investors, data helps inform your decisions, validate your ideas, and mitigate risk. This workshop will help you leverage Canadian data resources at TMU Libraries and beyond.

You will learn how to:

• Find statistics and data resources at the library
• Access and leverage publicly available data
• Identify what kind of data you need for your business idea

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, startup founder, creator, or just interested in data, this session will provide you with an important introduction to data resources.

This event is in collaboration with the International Love Data Week by ICPSR. Love Data Week is an international celebration of data, taking place every year during the week of Valentine’s day. This year’s Love Data Week theme is “Where’s the Data?”    

Find more Love Data Week events.

Please note this session will be focusing on Canadian content.

Are you overwhelmed by the amount of reading you have to do? Are you having a hard time navigating and understanding scholarly literature? In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to:

1. Understand Scholarly Jargon: Break down complex terminology used in scholarly articles.
2. Read Strategically: Recognize and understand the different components of a scholarly article; develop strategies to read scholarly articles efficiently and effectively.
3. Think Critically: Improve ability to analyze and interpret scholarly texts.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Strategic Scholarly Reading can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Research Skills Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Research Skills Stacked Badge. 

This workshop is the second of two that focus on developing Generative AI fluency using the framework of Delegation, Description, Discernment and Diligence. 

Discernment & Diligence introduces the idea of determining the usefulness and accuracy of Generative AI outputs and using them ethically and appropriately. Participants will explore the strengths and limitations of large language models (LLMs) such as Gemini and Gen AI tools within library databases and discuss how to decide if a tool is good for the task at hand, guiding AI towards your vision for success, and ensuring you are operating within the bounds of university policy and ethical AI use.

This session is eligible for two TMU Libraries badges. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Artificial Intelligence: Discernment and Diligence can be used to earn two individual badges, or as a component of the Artificial Intelligence Fluency badge. Complete both Artificial Intelligence workshops and the associated activities to earn the Artificial Intelligence Fluency badge. 

Expectations for Participants: The session is designed to be interactive, and collaborative. You will be invited to participate in small group activities and discussion.

A note for the group-activity-averse: If you usually shy away from group work, please don’t let the mention of small group activities deter you. The group portion will be brief, just around 10 minutes, and we’ve designed it to be light, and manageable. No pressure, no overwhelm. Promise.

Who can join: This session is open to all current TMU graduate and undergraduate students, no matter your program or area of study. Everyone’s welcome!

If you have any questions about this workshop, email Chris Kim at kim.chris@torontomu.ca, or Magdalen Sinson at msinson@torontomu.ca

Understanding your industry is an essential step when starting a new venture. It will help you become aware of trends, understand competitive forces, identify emerging opportunities, and more. This workshop will introduce you to key research strategies and resources that will support you when doing industry research.

In this workshop, you will learn:

✅ How to identify your industry

✅ Where to find industry information at the library

✅ How to read an industry report

Who should attend? TMU students of all disciplines, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovators looking to ground their ideas with research. In order to access library resources in this workshop, you need to be part of the TMU community as a student, Zone founder, faculty, staff, etc.

No prior entrepreneurship experience or venture idea required! If you’re interested in starting a business but don’t have an idea yet, this workshop will be useful in helping you build research skills using proprietary library business databases.

Get recognized for your skills! This workshop is badged. Learn more about how to earn a badge.

To learn more about conducting secondary market research for a new venture, this workshop is best when taken alongside the following workshops: Competitor Research: Know your Rivals, and Market Research: Customers and Consumers.

This virtual 30‑minute lunchtime session, led by a Medical Librarian at the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library introduces clinical faculty to the library’s core services, collections, and support for teaching, research, and clinical practice. The session is designed to be concise and practical. 

By the end of the session, faculty will: 

• Understand the scope of medical library services and collections available both in person and online 
• Navigate and access key library resources for teaching and research 
• Establish a point of contact for ongoing collaboration with library staff

Understanding the competitive landscape will give your venture an advantage. Discover how library resources can help you identify competitors and find company profiles for private and public companies.

In this workshop, you will learn:

✅ Where to find company profiles and financials

✅ How to identify competitors, both direct and indirect

✅ How to create company lists and map business locations

Who should attend? TMU students of all disciplines, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovators looking to ground their ideas with research. In order to access library resources in this workshop, you need to be a current member of TMU, such as a student, Zone member, faculty, instructor or staff.

No prior entrepreneurship experience or venture idea required! If you’re interested in starting a business but don’t have an idea yet, this workshop will be useful in helping you build research skills using proprietary library business databases.

Get recognized for your skills! This workshop is badged. Learn more about how to earn a badge.

To learn more about conducting secondary market research for a new venture, this workshop is best when taken alongside the following workshops: Industry Research: Big Picture Trends, and Market Research: Customers and Consumers.

In this workshop, we’ll explore key topics about tracking research impact. We’ll discuss the importance and challenges of tracking research impact, discuss the basics of citation analysis, and introduce useful library and web-based evaluation tools. We’ll also cover how to identify and avoid problematic journals and conferences. This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students.

This event is part of the TMU Libraries Scholarly Publishing Badge programme: 

To earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked badge, complete at least three of the five workshops listed. Tracking Impact and Scholarly Publishing, Developing your Scholarly Profile, Research Data Management, Open Access Publishing, and Copyright and Scholarly Publishing. Each of these workshops will earn you one badge. Note that these workshops are held at various times throughout the year. Check out which workshops are available now & register.

This workshop will deal with copyright issues that are commonly encountered when publishing your work in scholarly formats such as journals, conferences, posters etc. It will also cover some aspects of copyright in thesis and MRP submissions at TMU. Topics that will be covered will be how to acquire permissions, fair dealing, attribution, and open access licensing. This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students. 

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Copyright and Scholarly Publications can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.

Personal archiving is an essential method of ensuring that what matters to you now can be accessible to you in the future. Looking at methods of organizing and preserving physical and digital records, this workshop will provide you with the insight you need to begin crafting your life log and personal archive.

Struggling to efficiently review extensive research literature? Join this hands-on walkthrough workshop to learn how topic modeling and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) can streamline your literature review process with the help of the open-source tool, Orange 3.

In this peer-to-peer learning workshop, you will learn how guest instructor Zahra, a TMU Professional Communication graduate student, is actively using topic modelling in her own research.

Participants will learn how text analysis capabilities of Orange 3 can speed up and automate literature reviews by analyzing papers without getting bogged down in manual reviews.

Using a case study of “binge-watching," participants will be shown how to use this tool to efficiently uncover the core themes and topics within large volumes of text and research data.

No technical or previous experience is required.

Bring a laptop with the software and add-ons installed, along with the CSV.
** All materials should be downloaded and installed prior to the workshop.**

• Orange Data Mining (free and open): https://orangedatamining.com/download

• Instructions to install the add-ons: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t_v6-AB_iz10PpCk1BvaFjLfuV3UB9hj/view?usp=sharing

• Downloadable dataset (required for workshop):  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LItkxG20Xp5SC107wNP6F4ioKkmxbH3C/view?usp=drive_link

• Stopwords list (required for workshop): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ggtDd05r2xDOXAsVIffbppembFnf1gym/view?usp=drive_link

About the Guest Instructor:

Zahra Entezami holds an MBA and a Master of Professional Communication from TMU, with a research focus on bibliometrics and text mining. She brings over four years of experience in teaching, analysis, and digital marketing, as well as one year of experience as a research assistant. Zahra is actively engaged in scholarly work, with a publication on media literacy and an ongoing research project on social media influencers’ media management practices at the prestigious World Media Economics and Management Conference.

This session is intended for students, research assistants and faculty who are planning to undertake a systematic review project, or who are interested in applying systematic research methods to a current project. We will discuss the core components of a systematic review, what makes a review ‘systematic’, and how to apply advanced research skills when searching the literature. There will be a particular focus on how best to utilize the library’s resources when undertaking a systematic review.

This workshop is designed to help graduate students prepare for their next conference presentation, whether it’s their first or fifteenth. An introduction from start to finish, the workshop will cover initial preparations, strategies and methods for effective presentation techniques, and tips and tricks to address fears and doubts. 

Created by grad students, for grad students, the workshop will explore different types and modes of presenting, and guide participants through the entire process–from writing and submitting an application to the big day. This workshop is open to both grad students who have experience and are interested in honing their skills, and to grad students with no experience (yet).

Toronto Metropolitan Libraries will be hosting a Black Studies Libraries Tour which will feature several experts from the Libraries’ team. The Tour will include an overview of the Black Studies Libraries Guide which showcases key scholarly and community resources, a presentation about geospatial and data resources for Black Studies, a visit to the virtual reality Immersion Studio showcasing its use by Black Studies instructors, and end at TMU’s Archives and Special Collections which will highlight unique pieces from those collections about Black Studies. 

This is a hands-on introduction to data analysis in R and RStudio. Participants will learn how to import, extract, and retrieve data in R. We will also go through demonstrated examples of data transformation and summary statistics. 

Stats Chat is a weekly workshop series that dives into data and statistical learning every Thursday afternoon at 2pm. New to quantitative research or looking to level up your data skills? Join us at the Geospatial Map and Data Centre at the main floor of the TMU Library!

Personal archiving is an essential method of ensuring that what matters to you now can be accessible to you in the future. Looking at methods of organizing and preserving physical and digital records, this workshop will provide you with the insight you need to begin crafting your life log and personal archive.

Understanding consumer trends and identifying your target market is important to building a successful business. Discover free and library resources to help you understand your audience through secondary market research.

In this workshop, you will learn:

✅ Where to find consumer market reports and data

✅ How to find information on target market segments (demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioural)

✅ The differences between primary and secondary research, with a small intro to primary research methods

Who should attend? TMU students of all disciplines, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovators looking to ground their ideas with research. In order to access library resources in this workshop, you need to be a current member of TMU, such as a student, Zone member, faculty, instructor or staff.

No prior entrepreneurship experience or venture idea required! If you’re interested in starting a business but don’t have an idea yet, this workshop will be useful in helping you build research skills using proprietary library business databases.

Get recognized for your skills! This workshop is badged. Learn more about how to earn a badge.

To learn more about conducting secondary market research for a new venture, this workshop is best when taken alongside the following workshops: Industry Research: Big Picture Trends, and Competitor Research: Know your Rivals.

Discover more about open access publishing options, including a new model that allows you to make your journal articles freely available through existing library-led transformative agreements. These agreements can help you access fee waivers for Article Processing Charges (APCs). The TMU Libraries, as part of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), are participating in these transformative agreements as part of a pilot program aimed at enhancing the reach, access, and impact of research.  This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Open Access Publishing (and Transformative Agreements)  can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.

Looking to strengthen your online research profile for job applications or grant proposals? Developing a strong research profile is essential in modern scholarship, making your work and achievements more accessible. Developing a research profile is a crucial aspect of modern scholarship, helping with job and grant applications and the submission of papers for publication. This workshop will provide an introduction to effective scholarly profiles and ORCID. This workshop is geared towards upper level undergraduate students and graduate students.

To earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked badge, complete at least three of the five workshops listed. Tracking Impact and Scholarly Publishing, Developing your Scholarly Profile, Research Data Management, Open Access Publishing, and Copyright and Scholarly Publishing. Each of these workshops will earn you one badge. Note that these workshops are held at various times throughout the year. Check out which workshops are available now & register.

Join us for the MedLib Resource Spotlight, a 30‑minute live virtual demo showcasing one essential library tool for medical education and practice. Each session offers a focused walkthrough, practical tips, and space for questions. You’ll get an in‑depth look at a key resource and learn how to use its features to strengthen your study process. 

The BioDigital Human platform is a medically accurate, virtual map of the human body composed of over 8,000 individually selectable anatomical structures, 600 simulated health conditions, and a toolkit to map and visualize data. 

By the end of the session learners will be able to: 

1. Access the BioDigital Human Studio platform and create a personal account. 
2. Navigate the 3D body map and search functions. 
3. Use anatomy quizzes to reinforce learning.

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool that helps you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Zotero lets you add citations to journal articles, websites and books with a single click. You can also use it to create footnotes, endnotes, in-text citations, or bibliographies in the style of your choice. Use of a citation manager is highly recommended for graduate students, faculty, and research assistants.

Join us for the MedLib Resource Spotlight, a 30‑minute live virtual demo showcasing one essential library tool for medical education and practice. Each session offers a focused walkthrough, practical tips, and space for questions. You’ll get an in‑depth look at a key resource and learn how to use its features to strengthen your study process. 

In this session, we will explore Anatomy.TV, an interactive platform with a collection of anatomy tools including 3D models, virtual dissection imagery, clinical content, and self-guided quizzes/assessments. Anatomy.TV offers content for both systemic and regional anatomy learning environments. Anatomy.TV also includes sharing tools to allow for group projects, collaboration, and effective delivery when teaching. These sharing tools include link copying, embedding, and both image and text downloads. 

By the end of the session learners will be able to: 

1. Navigate the Anatomy.TV interface and locate content by region, system, or keyword search. 
2. Interact with 3D anatomical models, including rotating, layering, labeling, and exporting images for study or teaching. 
3. Explore and create assessments using built-in quizzes and the Quiz Builder feature.

New to research data management? Start here! This session will cover the basics of research data management (RDM) and will introduce you to a data management plan (DMP), which is a document that outlines what data will be created, and what you will do with that data during and after your research project. Documenting a plan for your data is good practice and an integral part of responsible data management. This workshop will go through the steps of creating a data management plan using DMP Assistant, an online tool that follows best practices in data stewardship and walks you through key questions about your data.

This session is eligible for a TMU Libraries badge. Badges are meant to recognize that you’ve developed a particular skill or concept through attendance at a library workshop, and completion of an activity after the session. There are two types of badges we offer:

1) badges for individual workshops which recognize specific skills, and

2) stacked badges, showing you have completed 3-5 workshops in a group of related workshops and demonstrating the interrelated nature of the different skills.

Open Access Publishing (and Transformative Agreements)  can be used to earn an individual badge, or as a component of the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.  Complete at least three of the five workshops listed here to earn the Scholarly Publishing Stacked Badge.

This workshop focuses on interactive workflows of interfacing various input and output data within TouchDesigner. TouchDesigner is a node-based visual programming software for real-time interactive multimedia content.

Following an overview of the software through concepts like proceduralism and data flow, interactivity is explored with a variety of input devices such as peripherals, cameras, depth sensors, MIDI controllers, biofeedback sensors and microcontrollers.

Participants will learn how to interpret and process this data using node-based operations to craft dynamic and expressive experiences with a variety of audio-visual outputs.  Researchers can benefit from using TouchDesigner, by having access to its vast set of tools, which can apply to a variety of disciplines. In addition to being a real-time interactive 2D/3D design tool for visual media with a strong audio toolset, TouchDesigner can be used to interface and communicate with a variety of other applications, including but not limited to physical computing, robotics and lighting.

Participants are encouraged to have the software installed prior to the workshop, but assistance can be provided in case participants install it during the workshop. TouchDesigner and the components required for this workshop are listed below:

• Download TouchDesigner here: https://derivative.ca/
• TouchDesigner at GitHub: https://github.com/torinmb/mediapipe-touchdesigner
• Download Arduino IDE here: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software/

This virtual 30‑minute lunchtime session, led by a Medical Librarian at the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library introduces clinical faculty to the library’s core services, collections, and support for teaching, research, and clinical practice. The session is designed to be concise and practical. 

By the end of the session, faculty will: 

• Understand the scope of medical library services and collections available both in person and online 
• Navigate and access key library resources for teaching and research 
• Establish a point of contact for ongoing collaboration with library staff

Struggling to efficiently review extensive research literature? Join this hands-on walkthrough workshop to learn how topic modeling and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) can streamline your literature review process with the help of the open-source tool, Orange 3.

In this peer-to-peer learning workshop, you will learn how guest instructor Zahra, a TMU Professional Communication graduate student, is actively using topic modelling in her own research.

Participants will learn how text analysis capabilities of Orange 3 can speed up and automate literature reviews by analyzing papers without getting bogged down in manual reviews.

Using a case study of “binge-watching," participants will be shown how to use this tool to efficiently uncover the core themes and topics within large volumes of text and research data.

No technical or previous experience is required.

Bring a laptop with the software and add-ons installed, along with the CSV.
** All materials should be downloaded and installed prior to the workshop.**

• Orange Data Mining (free and open): https://orangedatamining.com/download

• Instructions to install the add-ons: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t_v6-AB_iz10PpCk1BvaFjLfuV3UB9hj/view?usp=sharing

• Downloadable dataset (required for workshop):  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LItkxG20Xp5SC107wNP6F4ioKkmxbH3C/view?usp=drive_link

• Stopwords list (required for workshop): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ggtDd05r2xDOXAsVIffbppembFnf1gym/view?usp=drive_link

About the Guest Instructor:

Zahra Entezami holds an MBA and a Master of Professional Communication from TMU, with a research focus on bibliometrics and text mining. She brings over four years of experience in teaching, analysis, and digital marketing, as well as one year of experience as a research assistant. Zahra is actively engaged in scholarly work, with a publication on media literacy and an ongoing research project on social media influencers’ media management practices at the prestigious World Media Economics and Management Conference.

Join us for the MedLib Resource Spotlight, a 30‑minute live virtual demo showcasing one essential library tool for medical education and practice. Each session offers a focused walkthrough, practical tips, and space for questions. You’ll get an in‑depth look at a key resource and learn how to use its features to strengthen your study process. 

This session features UpToDate, a point-of-care clinical resource and decision-making tool containing medical and patient information, drug handbooks, and medical calculators. Learners will also be guided through account creation and mobile access options. 

By the end of the session, learners will be able to:

1. Access UpToDate through the library and create a personal web and/or mobile account. 
2. Navigate topic pages, drug information, patient education materials, and calculators within the platform. 
3. Integrate UpToDate into clinical decision‑making and study routines. 

Join us for the MedLib Resource Spotlight, a 30‑minute live virtual demo showcasing one essential library tool for medical education and practice. Each session offers a focused walkthrough, practical tips, and space for questions. You’ll get an in‑depth look at a key resource and learn how to use its features to strengthen your study process. 

In this session, we will explore Bates’ Visual Guide to Physical Examination, a video‑based resource demonstrating head‑to‑toe and systems‑based physical exam techniques. The platform includes high‑quality instructional videos that support skill development in assessment and clinical medicine. It also features OSCE Clinical Skills videos that model realistic patient encounters and help learners strengthen their clinical reasoning and exam preparation.

By the end of the session, learners will be able to: 

1. Access Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination through the library and set up a personal account. 
2. Locate and use videos in the three main content areas:
   1. Physical Examination 
   2. Communication and Interpersonal Skills 
   3. OSCE Clinical Skills 
3. Integrate Bates into study routines.

This virtual 30‑minute lunchtime session, led by a Medical Librarian at the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library introduces clinical faculty to the library’s core services, collections, and support for teaching, research, and clinical practice. The session is designed to be concise and practical. 

By the end of the session, faculty will: 

• Understand the scope of medical library services and collections available both in person and online 
• Navigate and access key library resources for teaching and research 
• Establish a point of contact for ongoing collaboration with library staff

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are a critical component of medical education, designed to assess clinical competence in a structured and standardized way. Preparing for OSCEs requires access to reliable, high‑quality resources that support both knowledge and skill development. The TMU Libraries provide a range of tools and collections to help medical learners strengthen their clinical skills, practice exam scenarios, and build confidence. This session introduces key library resources that can support OSCE preparation and demonstrates effective strategies for navigating them. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Access support services (e.g., librarian consultations, subject guides) to enhance OSCE readiness.
• Identify key features of OSCE‑related resources (e.g., video demonstrations, case scenarios, practice checklists) within Bates’ Visual Guide.
• Apply search strategies to retrieve OSCE materials across multiple formats (print, e‑books, multimedia) in the TMU Libraries collection.

This virtual 30‑minute lunchtime session, led by a Medical Librarian at the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library introduces clinical faculty to the library’s core services, collections, and support for teaching, research, and clinical practice. The session is designed to be concise and practical. 

By the end of the session, faculty will: 

• Understand the scope of medical library services and collections available both in person and online 
• Navigate and access key library resources for teaching and research 
• Establish a point of contact for ongoing collaboration with library staff

This virtual 30‑minute lunchtime session, led by a Medical Librarian at the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library introduces clinical faculty to the library’s core services, collections, and support for teaching, research, and clinical practice. The session is designed to be concise and practical. 

By the end of the session, faculty will: 

• Understand the scope of medical library services and collections available both in person and online 
• Navigate and access key library resources for teaching and research 
• Establish a point of contact for ongoing collaboration with library staff