What can we help you with?
With the exception of Archival & Special Collections appointments, all appointments are available only to U of G students, staff, and faculty.
Writing Appointments
- Meet with a staff or peer consultant
- Get feedback on your writing at all stages of the writing process
- Learn strategies for organising your ideas and structuring your thesis, papers, and chapters
- Receive advice on clarity, cohesion, and style
- You do not need to have a completed draft of your paper to book or attend an appointment
Faculty and instructors can also request instruction sessions on the above topics. Learn more about writing support in the library.
Research Assistance
Research assistance appointments will help you:
- Identify and narrow your topic
- Learn advanced research skills
- Get started on a literature review, scoping review, systematic review or other knowledge synthesis
- Learn how to use the citation manager Zotero
For immediate help, you can also chat with us online.
Instructors can also request support for their courses on the above topics. Learn more about Research Assistance in the library.
English Language Support
If English isn't your first language, we can help with
- Reading
- Writing
- Listening
- Pronunciation
- Communication
Learn more about English language support programs and services in the library.
Working with Data
Find & Collect Data
- Find the datasets you need for your assignment, research project, thesis, or dissertation
- Create your own survey using Qualtrics
GIS & Maps
- Find and analyze geospatial data
- Create maps using ArcGIS
Clean & Prepare Data
- Identify and fix errors and inconsistencies
- Sort, filter, and transform data from into usable formats
Data Analysis
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Analyze qualitative data (NVivo). Please note that appointments are currently unavailable for NVivo. Please refer to the Introduction to NVIVO learning resources for support.
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Analyze quantitative data (SPSS and RStudio). We currently support descriptive statistics and the following inferential statistics: Chi-square, correlations, t-tests, ANOVAs, and linear / logistic / ordinal / Poisson regression.
Data Visualization
- Create a chart, table, graph, or infographic
- We can provide helpful critiques of your visualizations
- Learn to use Tableau, Excel, Gephi, R, Voyant, and others
- Please note that appointments are currently unavailable for qualitative data visualization. Please consult the Tableau, Excel, Gephi and Voyant learning resources for support.
If you need help acquiring or installing software, visit the Computing and Communication Services (CCS) supported products page.
We support R, SPSS, and Nvivo. statistics, t-test, anova, regression, experimental design, R, RStudio
Studying, Time Management, and Presentation Skills
Studying and Time Management
Our appointments and coaching sessions support you in reaching your academic goals. You can meet once to address a specific concern or question or regularly throughout the semester.
- Plan and use your time effectively
- Control procrastination and perfectionism, and complete your assignments, thesis, or program on time
- Set goals and maintain motivation
- Prepare for many different types of exams, including multiple choice
- Read textbooks and scholarly articles more effectively
- Take better notes and study efficiently
Presentation Skills
- Enhance your presentation skills, including strategies for managing nervousness
- Practice your presentation and receive feedback from professional staff
- Design and present academic posters
Faculty and staff can also request instruction and training sessions on the above topics.
You can also book an appointment to discuss: Preparing for and writing exams, including multiple choice Reading and studying textbooks and scholarly articles Academic presentations, including poster presentations Working effectively in groups Listening and notetaking in lectures Memory and concentration
Scholarship
Systematic Reviews and Other Knowledge Syntheses
- Select an appropriate type of review
- Get started on a literature review, scoping review, or systematic review
- Refine a review topic
- Understand review methodologies and logistics
- Develop a search strategy by choosing databases, generating keywords, and using controlled vocabulary, operators, and search modifiers
Knowledge synthesis literature reviews reproducible methods gather synthesize research studies research question. Systematic reviews scoping reviews meta analysisPublishing & Author Support
Author Rights
- Ready to publish? We can help you keep your rights as authors and help you sort out the world of copyright, intellectual property, and author addenda
Share & Publish Your Research
- We can give you the inside track on publishing in traditional journals, open access publishing, and other publishing formats (social media, podcasts, etc.)
- Host an online open access journal
Preserve Your Research
- We provide support to help researchers meet funding requirements
- We help researchers prepare and deposit research outputs for preservation and sharing in:
- An appropriate selected repository
- A U of G repository (Atrium and University of Guelph Research Data Repositories)
Track Your Research Impact
- Create researcher identifiers such as ORCID and ResearcherID
- Analyze the impact of your published research
Open Educational Resources (OER)
- Find, evaluate, and curate openly licensed textbooks, media, modules, and other educational resources for integration into your class
- Migrate self-published materials into Pressbooks publishing software
Research Data Management
- Create a plan that describes how your research data will be collected, managed, and preserved throughout the research life cycle
Research Consultations, Donations, and Exhibits
Research Consultation
- Meet with an Archival & Special Collections specialist to discuss your class, project, or research
Exhibits
- Check out our Exhibition Policy
Donate Rare Books or Archival Materials
- Please feel free to review our donations policy and get in touch regarding the suitability of your deposit
Access Materials in Our Reading Room
- Register with us in advance if you are a first-time visitor.
- Book an appointment to visit the Reading Room
- We will follow up with you for a research consultation to help you identify the materials you’d like to see during your appointment
- If you already know what you’d like to see, you can request the items.
Library Accessibility Services
Library Accessibility Services (LAS) is for students registered with Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
We provide assistive technology access and instruction, accessible study space, and other services designed to help with reading, writing, note-taking, and studying.
Schedule an appointment to:
- Learn more about your technology options
- Receive training on, or troubleshoot issues with, a specific technology
- Get help with requesting alternative formats
- Chat about how LAS can support you
Book an appointment or contact us:
Email: las@uoguelph.ca
Learn more about how the Library supports accessibility for all users with disabilities.
In-Class Instruction
Want to book an in-class instruction session? Below are some of our most popular session topics. Don’t see what you’re looking for on the list? Contact us.
- Writing skills
- Academic writing
- Writing in the sciences
- Academic integrity
- Project management for writing projects
- English Language Support
- Learning and studying skills
- Presentation skills
- Critical and strategic reading
- Note-taking
- Building academic resilience
- Coping with failure and stress
- Effective group work and conflict management
- Study strategies
- Exam preparation
- Poster design
- Research skills
- Using Omni and other databases
- Narrowing a research topic
- Learning advanced search skills
- Getting started on a literature review, scoping review, or knowledge synthesis project
- Using Zotero
- Data skills
- Survey design
- Data analysis
- Data cleaning and preparation
- GIS and ArcGIS
- Data visualization
- Using Excel, Qualtrics, R, SAS, Python, and Tableau
- Support for researchers and authors
- Research data management
- Preserving, publishing, and sharing your research
- Open educational resources
- Digital scholarship
- Using Archival & Special Collections.
- Writing skills
Course Material and Reserve Services
Course Reserves (Ares) provides your students with convenient online access to a wide range of course materials, including e-books, book chapters, journal articles, streaming media, websites, and course notes, as well as physical copies of textbooks and other materials.
Book an appointment to meet with us for assistance with:
- Setting up courses and reading lists in the Course Reserve system (Ares).
- Reactivating course reserve lists from previous semesters.
- Requesting the purchase of new materials to be placed on course reserve.
- Requesting streaming media for your course(s).
- Importing Ares Course Reserve content into CourseLink.
- Submitting personal copies of items to be placed on course reserve.
- Obtaining permission or copyright clearance for course reserve materials.
- Any of your course reserve-related questions or concerns.
Learn more about ways we can assist you in our Instructor Guide to Course Reserves.
- Ask Chat is a collaborative service
- Ask Us Online Chat hours
- Contact Us