The session in detail
In the first part of this session we will consider approaches and techniques for effectively reading, absorbing, summarising and recording large amounts of academic literature.
You will be invited to share your own methods for tackling this common challenge. We will also discuss speed reading as a particular reading technique and learn more about what it involves.
In the second part of the session we invite you to look deeply at academic texts (particularly journal papers) rather than at the surface messages they are trying to disseminate. This goes beyond reading what the papers say, and examines what they do and what the papers mean.
We will also explore how this would resonate with researcher positionality. This requires the reader to not just read for information but with and through academic ‘ways of thinking’. How we do this will be modelled by evaluating papers from both the social sciences and humanities and at the end of this session you will be invited to evaluate a key/seminal paper of your own.
Key learning outcomes
- Assess techniques for effectively reading large amounts of material.
- Understand the difference between descriptive text and critical reading.
- Appreciate the purpose of critical thinking when reading.
- Improve your confidence and ability to critique academic literature.
Tutors
Sarah Frodsham is Co-Director of the Graduate School and Chair of Ethics at the Department of Continuing Education.
Alistair Beecher is Co-Director of the Graduate School and a history tutor at the Department for Continuing Education.
About our research skills training sessions
In 2024 we launched a trial series of research skills sessions open to postgraduate researchers external to the University and, due to the sucess of these, the sessions have been expanded for spring 2025.
Taking place in April 2025, each session is independent of each other and can be applied for separately, although a fee reduction of 20% is available for anyone applying for all five sessions (£300 instead of £375 if booked individually).
All sessions can be attended either in Oxford or online.
Other sessions on offer:
