Researcher support
The La Trobe University (LTU) Library offers workshops, tailored advice and support on issues specific to researchers and graduate researchers.
Our Research Librarians and Academic Skills Advisors are very experienced with matters related to research, providing consultations, customised searches, metrics and advice.
Research consultations and drop-in sessions
We can provide face-to-face support at our campus libraries and online, offering both one-to-one consultations on specific topics and a weekly online drop-in session where you can talk through any research-related questions you have.
The areas that we can help you with include:
- developing a search strategy
- database searching and setting up database alerts
- creating researcher profiles
- identifying where to publish
- open access advice
- uploading research outputs to OPAL
- managing research data and outputs
- using the My Publications system
- advanced information and digital fluency skills.
Our advisors can help you with your academic writing for both theses and publication. We also provide a guide where you will find general advice, tips and strategies to enhance your academic writing, develop your thesis writing skills and help you find useful resources.
Note: We do not offer editing or proofreading services.
Graduate thesis writing
The areas we can assist with include:
- academic English skills
- structuring your writing
- understanding strengths and weaknesses in your writing
- responding to supervisor comments
- developing clarity, cohesion and coherence in your writing
- persuasive and rhetorical strategies
- finding your academic voice
- polishing your writing.
Writing for publication
We can provide advice on:
- using journals as templates for your writing
- articulating purpose and argument
- writing for your readers
- keeping to word limits.
View the 'Graduate research and thesis writing' guide Request a graduate research writing consultation
Our research team can help you with:
- refining your search question and terms
- developing a search strategy for reviews (e.g. literature, systematic and scoping reviews)
- selecting and demonstrating the most appropriate databases.
Customised search
Our team can establish search strategies for grant proposals or funded projects, which involves advanced literature searches (or systematic literature searches) using up to two databases.
We will also document what we've done, how we've searched, databases that were used and other recommendations, as well as provide the search results in an EndNote file. This is particularly important for a Systematic Review searches, as the search strategy is part of any resulting publication and is reviewed in the peer review process and by the publishers.
Research attention, impact and metrics
We can help you measure the influence of your work within your discipline and its real-world impact in other sectors.
Research Attention, Value and Engagement (RAVE) service
The RAVE service generates a tailored report designed for grant applications and funded projects. It uses several traditional citation analysis tools including Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The report also includes alternative metrics, such as social media attention, to create a complete picture of how your work is contributing to the world around us.
Note: RAVE reports require a minimum of six weeks' notice for completion.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) RAVE workshop
We also offer a comprehensive training session to show you how to find and use citation metrics and altmetrics for academic promotion and career development.
Research impact tracking
All projects registered in PRIME can have one or more associated records of societal impact (i.e. the change or benefit your research has brought to external organisations or communities).
For assistance with impact tracking, please contact the Impact Team in the Research Office.
Help guides
The following guides provide further information on metrics and measuring impact.
Workshops
The Library offers a huge range of workshops and researcher education sessions covering topics like open access publishing, systematic searching, research data management, academic writing and much more.
The Research Education and Development (RED) team, based in the Graduate Research School (GRS), also curate workshops and seminars to support the development of researchers across all disciplines within the University. Find out more.
Contact us
If you have any questions or require further information about any of these services, please get in touch.