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GRADReCon: Graduate Research Connections

Build your productivity, research, and writing skills at GRADReCon. October 30-31, 2024. See you there!

GRADReCon 2024 Schedule | Location: ONLINE

GRADReCon 2024 Schedule | Location: ONLINE

Time Session Registration Link             

10:30AM - 11:30AM

Funding for Graduate Student Research at Mason and Beyond

Funding is one of the greatest challenges graduate students face as they plan research activities. This session will offer an overview of funding opportunities and support available to Mason grad students. The session will cover internal funding opportunities offered to Mason grad students from within the university, and also help students learn how to identify funding opportunities from external sources, including government agencies, foundations, professional associations, and more. The session will also provide information on support and advising services available to students through the Office of Graduate Fellowships, which assists Mason students seeking external funding in support of research, training, or professional development opportunities.

Presenter: Dr. Megan Bruening, Director, Office of Fellowships 

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11:45AM - 12:45PM

Grant Writing 101: Telling Your Story 

Developing a grant proposal can be overwhelming. In this presentation you will learn some basic tips on how to “Tell Your Story” to funders and learn strategies for preparing strong proposals for any external funder, including federal agencies, foundations, and other organizations. Dr. Leslie Frieden, Associate Director for Research Development, and Dr. Rebekah Hersch, Associate Vice President for Research Innovation, both from the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Impact, will share tips, insights, and additional resources to help you craft your proposal to meet the requirements of the funding opportunity.

Presenters:

Dr. Leslie Frieden, Associate Director for Research Development, Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, lfrieden@gmu.edu

Dr. Rebekah Hersch, Associate Vice President for Research Innovation, Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, rhersch@gmu.edu

Register

1:00PM - 2:00PM

Project Planning: Getting Your Research, Thesis, or Dissertation Done

This session will provide you with strategies for managing large projects such as research projects, community service events, and dissertations.

Learn how to define the scope of your project, identify resources, create a timeline, and keep everything organized.

Presenter: Vicki Dominick, Associate Director, Learning Services

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2:15PM -  3:30PM

Strategies for Structuring and Writing Literature Reviews

Most graduate students must write literature reviews, but this genre of writing can be mysterious for students approaching it for the first time. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn about the main purposes and features of lit reviews, and they will explore methods for analyzing how lit reviews function in their own disciplines and genres of writing. The workshop will then provide participants with tools for generating material and organizing a review of the literature that is driven by the writer.

Presenter: Jessie Wiggins, Graduate Writing Coordinator, Writing Center; PhD student, Writing & Rhetoric

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Time Session Registration Link
10:30AM - 11:30AM

Summarizing and Displaying Your Data with Excel

Discover how to effectively and efficiently work with data in Excel.

Learn to use Pivot Tables to summarize the data and see best practices for creating data visualizations. 

Intended for those who are already comfortable in Excel.

Presenter: Debby Kermer, Data Services Research Consultant, University Libraries

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11:45AM - 12:45PM

Authorship and Publication

Authorship and publication practices are the activities of preparing research findings and sharing them in a professional context, in a way that upholds the integrity of the research process. Emilie Algenio, Open Educational Resources and Scholarly Communications Librarian, will lead the discussion and answer questions on these critical topics. Participants will learn about concepts like what it means to be the primary author, the essential research question to address, plus a takeaway of useful resources for getting started.

Presenter: Emilie Algenio, Open Educational Resources and Scholarly Communications Librarian, University Libraries

Register
1:00PM  - 2:00PM

Organizing and Managing Your Project Data

Working on a research project but not sure how to begin to organize and manage your data?

This introductory workshop is designed to be an overview of major data management topics. You will learn the essentials of research data management, including data formats; best practices for organizing, storing and backing up your files; documenting your research data (readme files, codebooks, etc.); and useful tools for organizing your data.

One tool that will be highlighted is the Open Science Framework, which provides free and open source project management support for researchers across the entire research lifecycle.

Presenters: 

Wendy Mann, Director, Data & Digital Scholarship Services, University Libraries

Margaret Calkins, Physical Sciences & STEM Data Librarian, University Libraries

Register
2:15PM  - 3:30PM

Writing and Wellbeing

In this workshop, we offer mindful writing as a means of easing the stress and fatigue of graduate writing.

Prepare to leave with mindful writing practices and resources you can use in your thinking, writing, and researching.

Presenter: 

Angela N. Barajas, Thesis & Dissertation Writing Tutor, Writing Center; PhD candidate, Cultural Studies

Register