Monday 3 June

1. I N F O R M A T I O N S E R V I C E S G R O U P
Fiona Brown and Sharon Boyd
The University of Edinburgh
Academic Study Skills for
Postgraduate Taught Students

2. Outline
• Context
• Online learning at the University of Edinburgh
• Library resources
• Development of Academic Study Skills for
Postgraduate Taught Students
• Feedback
• Next steps
• Over to you

3. Context
• Colleges at the University of Edinburgh (UoE)
• Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM)
• Science and Engineering
• Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• 70 Taught (Masters/Diploma/Certificate) online-
only programmes across UoE
• 44 online-only programmes in CMVM
• Student numbers in CMVM (excl. CPD)
• 2743 total taught postgraduate
• 2585 total online-only taught postgraduate
• 606 in veterinary medicine

4. Online learning at UoE
2004 – first online-only MSc in Medicine
2010 – 16 online-only programmes
2013 – 47 online-only programmes
2018 – 70 online-only programmes

5. Our resources
We have an ‘e-preference’ collections policy, online resources include…
o 600,000 + e-books
o 60,000 + e-journals
o 240 + general and subject-specific online bibliographic databases
o A range of electronic encyclopaedias, dictionaries and reference
resources, e.g. SAGE Research Methods
o Many subject-specific multimedia online resources, e.g. Henry Stewart
Talks, Anatomy Online and VetMed Resource
o Digitised heritage collections
o General online tools, e.g. Cite Them Right, EndNote Online
o Lynda.com - an online skills development service offering an extensive
library of high quality video courses in digital, technology, creative and
business skills

6. Our aim is to ensure
that students have
streamlined access to
Library resources and
services …
wherever they are.

7. Two new courses
• Pre-arrival “Welcome” course
• Academic Study Skills
– Sourcing Information
– Critical Reading
– Understanding Data
– Critical Writing
– Presentation Skills
– non-compulsory assessment: reflective
portfolio

9. We can connect you easily to what we have …
 With EASE – our reduced-sign-on service that provides quick and
easy access to various restricted applications and resources
 DiscoverEd
o a catalogue of what we have
o a discovery tool to help you find resources both at Edinburgh
and beyond
 E-reserve – electronic offprints for course readings
 Resource Lists – our electronic reading lists service
 Provision of scans from print holdings and Interlibrary ‘loans’
 Inter-Library Loans Service
o Free annual request allowance (with modest charge thereafter)
 Request a Book Service
o Suggest new purchases for the Library – the default is e-book
where available
… and easily get things for you that we don’t

11. Feedback
“That was a really good session [Sourcing
Information]. It's the first time I have taken part in a
collaborate online session and so it was great
experience to see how it works. It removes part of
the stress of starting my course in September.”

15. Feedback
“First and foremost, let me thank you for the great
course on 'Academic Study Skills for Postgraduate
Taught Students'. It was a great chance to enhance
our skills.”
“The bits I did participate, I found very useful and
wished I'd done the course [earlier]. Many thanks
to yourself and the other tutors.”

16. Feedback
“Overall I am glad I did this course when I did and found
it gave me a useful boost in the first couple of terms. I
know I will continue to go back over certain aspects of
the course to ensure I am on the right track.”
“I have been away from any academic work for over 20
years and a lot has changed since my undergraduate
days.”
“The course was very helpful, especially the discussion
on posters.”

17. Updates in response to feedback
• Welcome video
• Reduction in pre-induction live sessions
• Electronic resource list
• New sections, e.g. on making effective use of feedback
and reflective writing
• Collaboration with other services, e.g. Careers and
English Language Education, Institute for Academic
Development
• Sharing with colleagues
• Credit-bearing assessment and peer tutoring

18. Over to you …
Do you have similar experience with increases in PGT
student numbers and/or courses?
What tools and methods do you use to support your
students?
Any top tips? Dick Vet
Students at the
Clyde Street Vet
School, c.1900
© The University
of Edinburgh

19. Thank you …
Sharon Boyd
Lecturer in Distance Student Learning
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
The University of Edinburgh
Sharon.Boyd@ed.ac.uk
Fiona Brown
Academic Support Librarian for Veterinary Medicine and Biological
Sciences
Library and University Collections, Information Services Group
The University of Edinburgh
F.Brown@ed.ac.uk
Photograph of a Quagga © The University of Edinburgh

20. Spot the sheep?
All images are Copyright UoE (various licenses) or Pixabay (CC-0)