Workshop Catalogue

The Boren Scholarships fund summer language study for critical languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, and Swahili. Boren Awards are available to students of all proficiency levels who are committed to enhancing their language skills. Come learn the benefits of being funded by this language study scholarship.

Presented by: Cathlin Noonan, Research Coordinator for undergraduate students in The IDEA Center.

Brain-based learning is a strategy that is founded on students obtaining a basic understanding of how the brain is naturally designed to learn. The physical functions of the brain—i.e., how neurons connect to create neural networks, neuroplasticity, and information processing—are illuminated so that students can be empowered to create their own learning and study strategies. Students can also use brain-based learning strategies to stave off burnout, increase concentration, adapt study strategies to the level of learning needed for different academic tasks. Attendees will obtain a foundational understanding of brain-based learning.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) SPARK Program is a virtual initiative for U.S. undergraduate students to learn languages essential to America's engagement with the world. These awards fund virtual summer study in Arabic, Chinese and Russian for beginner-level language learners. Students learn through online classes and activities facilitated by native speakers at a host institution abroad. Come learn the benefits of being funded for this virtual language study scholarship.

Presented by: Cathlin Noonan, Research Coordinator for undergraduate students in The IDEA Center.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program provides opportunities for students to study languages and cultures essential to America's engagement with the world. These awards fund study abroad by U.S. undergraduate students to study in the following languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. Come learn the benefits of being funded for this language study scholarship.

Presented by: Cathlin Noonan, Research Coordinator for undergraduate students in The IDEA Center.

Attendees will obtain a basic understanding of the importance of research ethics, how to obtain your formal certifications as a Texas State student or employee, and important information regarding human and animal research. The second half of the workshop covers intellectual property policies created by the university and what rights researchers on campus hold regarding their creations.

The Gilman Scholarship enables students of limited financial means to study abroad, providing them with the skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity. To be eligible for the Gilman Program, applicants must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant during the time of application. The Gilman Scholarship helps students gain proficiency in diverse languages and cultures, skills which are critically important to academic and career development. Get information about this scholarship, find out if you are eligible to apply, and learn more about the campus application process.

Presented by: Cathlin Noonan, Research Coordinator for undergraduate students in The IDEA Center

Alyce Myers is a Regional Representative with Durham University (UK) based in Austin, TX. During this information session, she will explain the differences in the US vs. UK higher education system, the postgraduate application processes, funding opportunities, and life in the UK. Additionally, she will explain Durham-specific programs and requirements for all interested students.

How do you take an interest and create research questions? How do you know what things have already been researched before? Do you need to create something entirely novel to conduct research? Attendees will practice looking at researcher profiles and discover what topics that they may want to choose and how to pursue it.

Networking is a term that is casually thrown out in conversations with faculty and peers, but rarely ever explained. In this workshop we will discuss what exactly networking is, what it entails, and how it can affect your career. Additionally, attendees will have a chance to share their perceived apprehensions about networking and learn best practices for overcoming the struggle to reach out.

Mentorship can be vital for any student, but particularly for those who are engaging in research. In this session, attendees will discuss some of the fears or apprehensions they may have about approaching faculty members—especially those they have no previous engagement with—to be research mentors. Attendees will also practice using available resources to find faculty members to partner with and create example emails to enhance their communication skills when reaching out to faculty.

Research is rarely done independently, so it is important to understand the dynamics that exist between research peers and how to engage with one another in effective ways. This session will involve discussing prominent conflict resolution techniques, as well as helping attendees to identify common points of contention in research environments.

This workshop allows students to have a space to discuss their anxieties around speaking, while also learning psychology based best practices for managing anxiety, recalling information for a presentation, and other presentation skills.

Often times with research, our ideas come to us as vague "what if" scenarios. Other times we may have one very specific phenomenon that we want to research, but is it too specific? This session will discuss potential issues with having a topic that is too broad or too narrow. Attendees will be shown how the literature review and methods section can help regulate the size and direction of their research questions. Attendees will work in groups to help widen or narrow topics with each other, or work as a class to discuss how to do the same with example topics.

One of the best ways to learn how to conduct research is by reading about the research other people have conducted. However, navigating research articles can be frustrating. In this session we will discuss the different parts of research articles, their purposes, and how to engage with them. Additionally, attendees will learn how to utilize two systematized reading strategies—SQ3R and PILLAR—to assist with annotation, comprehension, and reflection.

Ever had a professor say "this paper is really good. You should submit it somewhere," and have absolutely no clue what that means? In this workshop we will discuss how to find an appropriate journal for your discipline and type of submission, what the journal submission process looks like, where to get assistance on campus with publishing, and what to expect once you have finally made a submission.

An introductory session on the basics of coding using Python.
Learn what Python is, what it can be used for and write your very first code.

Whether you intend to have a future in coding or not, you are invited to be part of this session.
No prior knowledge of coding is needed to be part of this session.

Please bring your laptop with the following installed:
A text editor, preferably Visual Studio Code
Python

Downloading Visual Studio Code:
On Windows: https://code.visualstudio.com/download
On MacOS: https://code.visualstudio.com/download

Downloading Python:
On Windows: https://www.python.org/downloads/
On MacOS: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3120/

Video assistance for installation:
Windows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iUJZEa2xP8
MacOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmFOI8GYz6E

For those looking to be part of the IDEA Center Research Experience, this ethics workshop will cover a variety of topics related to ethical research and creative expression across disciplines such as conflicts of interest, avoiding plagiarism, human and animal subjects, safe laboratory practices, peer review, data acquisition, research misconduct, and responsible authorship and publication. This workshop is a prerequisite for RES 3399.

This ethics workshop will cover a variety of topics related to ethical research and creative expression across disciplines such as conflicts of interest, avoiding plagiarism, human and animal subjects, safe laboratory practices, peer review, data acquisition, research misconduct, and responsible authorship and publication. 

This workshop is open to all, but also serves as a prerequisite for RES 3399.

Having an accurate self-concept is one of the most important factors for a successful researcher, as well as a successful student. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to give ourselves credit for the skills we possess and the talents we have spent years accumulating. In this session we will cover the importance of an accurate and healthy self-concept and the different types of social and academic capital we bring with us to the research setting (from Yusso and Tinto's work on student capital and persistence). Attendees will identify the types of capital and expertise they bring with them to their research experiences to construct a healthy self-concept. They will also discuss combating negative self-talk.

Learn the basics of creating and querying a MySQL database for your data collection needs.

This session is for MySQL novices.

Bring your laptop with MySQL and SQL Workbench already installed. Links to downloads below (copy/paste):
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/

Open to rising juniors, this scholarship provides two years of undergraduate support and summer internship opportunities for STEM students working in areas that support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. Come learn the benefits of being funded for this unique scholarship.

Presented by: Cathlin Noonan, Research Coordinator for undergraduate students in The IDEA Center.

Whether applying to graduate school or a job, letters of recommendation are a vital part of the application process. This session will cover how to request letters of recommendation, who to request them from, and research data on what matters most to include in letters of recommendation. Attendees will also discuss the best ways to help letter of recommendation writers portray the best version of themselves for the specific job or school that they are applying to.

This mandatory webinar is for prospective undergraduate applicants for the 2025 National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), for which applications are due in fall 2024. Find out about the application requirements, including application components, submission requirements, and deadlines. Attendees will also be given instructions for how to join the campus application process, including how to request access to the Canvas site and how to participate in the virtual application boot camp offered over the summer.

Current graduate students should contact Dr. Andrea Hilkovitz in The Graduate College at gcexternalfunds@txstate.edu for assistance with their applications to the NSG GRFP.

Before you embark on your research journey, you will need to submit your research protocols to either the Institutional Review Board (for research involving humans) or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (for research involving animals). Whether you expect any harms or risks will impact your participants, it is vital to obtain institutional approval over your work to protect yourself, your participants, as well as your institution from any undue burdens, harm, or appearance of impropriety. In this session we will highlight the basics of research ethics, the need for CITI training, and how to create/submit research protocols for approval. Attendees will fill out sample IRB/IACUC forms to get practice creating research protocols.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi annually awards Fellowships of $8,500 (54 awards), $20,000 (6 awards), and $35,000 (2 awards) to current and incoming first-year graduate student Society members pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees across all academic disciplines. Eligible Texas State University Phi Kappa Phi members must apply through the local TXST chapter. This workshop will provide prospective applicants with information about the 2024 competition, including eligibility, application instructions, and the TXST chapter deadline and review process.

Presented by: Cathlin Noonan, Research Coordinator for undergraduate students in The IDEA Center.

Creating the materials needed to present your research can sometimes be as daunting as conducting the research itself. In this workshop we will demystify the art of creating the perfect research poster for your poster sessions. Join us to learn how to get free to license photos, find free poster printing resources on campus, and what programs to use to create your posters and the appropriate dimensions needed.

Alkek has a wonderful assortment of resources for research that are available to students. Attendees will learn about the various ways they can conduct research through Alkek Library and about the research staff who are available to give them support.

Two types of research bias exists. Research bias can be found in the types of resources and media used to report findings or interpret articles for readers. And bias can also make its way into research as we collect data and conduct analysis for our own projects. Attendees will learn about how research bias can impact their literature review and theoretical frameworks, as well as how it can impact the results of their studies.

They key to a successful research project is using the appropriate research methodology. In this overview session, we will discuss data collection and analysis methods associated with some of the most common types of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. This will enable attendees to understand what approaches may be most appropriate to engage with their research questions and hypothesis for current and future projects.

So you have been accepted to present your work, now what? This session will cover the expectations of formal research presentations, as well as tips for how to improve your speaking and communication skills.

This workshop will be for undergraduate researchers interested in learning how to best market themselves for the workforce and for graduate school. During certain times of the week the IDEA Center will be open for walk ins and be a space for students to work on their research resumes, vitas, or LinkedIn profiles.

Self-efficacy—the confidence that you can complete a task—and motivation are linked in unique ways. Your self-efficacy can be influenced by how small or large a task is, while the same can be said about your motivation to complete your goals. This presentation will help students understand the science behind managing motivation and improving self-efficacy. Attendees will also be given the opportunity to understand what motivates them about being a student researcher, what their goals are, and how to create SMART goals.

Self-regulation is a category of skills related to monitoring and regulating your behavior, thinking, and emotions to be able to reach your goals. Although self-regulation is most often discussed regarding increasing student success, it can also be instrumental for increasing your success as a researcher. This session will cover areas of self-regulation (time management, self-talk, metacognitive strategies) and how they can affect research progress and relationships with co-researchers.

Stress and anxiety are a particularly common barrier for all researchers, but especially for those who are balancing student life and researcher life. This workshop presents a discussion of the science behind stress/anxiety and tools for managing them. The talk also guides attendees regarding what stressors they may encounter as student researchers. Additionally, attendees will work together to create a personal stress management plan.

How can good time management impact your experiences as a student researcher? This session discusses the four underlying causes of procrastination and foundational assumptions for good time management. Attendees will also work on creating research/action plans to promote better balance between their student and researcher duties.

Every student has their own set of characteristics that they bring with them to college each day. The same can be said for student researchers. Attendees of this session will learn how their own unique qualities can enhance their success as a researcher, as well as understand some of the qualities of a successful researcher based on motivation and self-regulatory theory.

An important part of being a researcher is sharing your findings and best practices. This session will cover the different types of professional presentations that researchers often encounter at conferences, finding/applying to conferences, and ways to help mitigate presentation anxiety. Attendees will also create a presentation preparation plan.

Literature Reviews are more than just busy work given to you in class. They serve a valuable function for research and creative projects. In this session we will discuss why literature reviews are vital to your research or projects, the best ways to start them, and how they form the basis for the entirety of your work.