On-Demand Workshops

Looking to build your skills on your own schedule? Our on-demand workshops are available to all ECU faculty, staff, and students. These focused, one-hour virtual sessions cover high-demand topics in research, data, and writing.

How It Works

• Browse Topics: Choose from a curated list of popular workshops below.
• Submit a Request: Use our simple form for each workshop to request a session.
• Instructor Review: Your request will be sent to the appropriate instructor. Approval is based on their availability during the semester.
• Schedule Directly: If approved, the instructor will contact you to arrange a time that works for you.

Notes

• All workshops are delivered virtually, and each session lasts up to one hour.
• Workshop frequency and audience size are determined by the instructor based on availability.
• If you have specific needs, such as a preferred time or a request for in-person delivery, please include them in the request form or contact us directly.

If you have any comments about a recent workshop you attended or a topic you’d love to see us cover in the future, please fill out our feedback or suggest a new workshop form.

List of Workshops

Research & Publication

Request a Research & Publication Session

Open Access Publishing for STEM/Health Sciences

Join us to explore practical strategies for STEM and health science scholars to publish their scholarly articles, data, and other research open access. Discover how open science can enhance scholarly communication and foster collaboration within the scientific community.

Finding Grants using the SPIN database and FDO

This session will introduce helpful tools to search for funding opportunities and will focus on using the SPIN funding database. Attendees will learn how to set up custom searches and funding alerts. This session will be helpful to anyone who is starting the search for possible funding sources.

Systematic Reviews: Getting Started with Your Review

Learn about methods for systematic and scoping reviews and the differences between the two methodologies. This session will also include a brief introduction to the Systematic Review Service at Laupus HS Library and what a librarian can do for you to assist with the research process. Resources will include a template to start a protocol for a review.

Systematic Reviews: Data Extraction Process

Are you conducting a systematic review or going to be? Learn best practices for evidence synthesis data extraction and how to create your form.

Systematic Reviews: Conducting Risk of Bias Assessment

Are you conducting a systematic review or going to be?  This class will cover the differences between risk of bias (RoB) assessment and critical appraisal. After the class you will be able to summarize the methodology for conducting risk of bias assessments in systematic reviews.

Grant & Research Writing

Request a Grant & Research Writing Session

Building Momentum: Writing Accountability Groups for Writing Success

Struggling to find time and motivation to write? Join us for a practical and energizing workshop on Writing Accountability Groups (WAGs). Learn how these structured, peer-supported groups can help you set goals, stay on track, and make consistent progress on your writing projects. We’ll explore different models of WAGs, share tips for launching and sustaining a group, and discuss how accountability can foster both productivity and community. Ideal for writers at any stage of a writing project looking to build momentum and maintain it.

Strategies for Boosting Writing Productivity

Want to write more with less stress? This interactive workshop offers practical strategies to increase your writing productivity through goal-setting, time management, and focus techniques. Learn how to set realistic writing goals, create effective writing plans, and use tools like the Pomodoro Technique to maintain momentum. We’ll also explore habits that support sustained progress and help you navigate common writing barriers. Whether you’re working on a manuscript, grant, or report, you’ll leave with a personalized plan to write more consistently and efficiently.

Plain Language Summaries: A Tool for Scientific Communication & Inclusivity

Plain Language Summaries (PLS) are incredibly effective science communication tools that allow researchers to reach a wider audience by summarizing their work in more inclusive and accessible ways. This presentation explores rhetorical aspects of these summaries along with specific strategies for thinking through the composition of an effective PLS. Participants will be asked to consider the meaning of ‘understandable language’ along with what it means to write for a public audience. Bring one of your own Abstracts and workshop it into a PLS!

Visual Design & Communication Practices for Research Posters

Creating an effective research poster requires more than just presenting data—it’s about clear, compelling communication. In this workshop, participants will explore the Three Laws of Professional Communication and apply key rhetorical principles to the design and delivery of research posters. We’ll review best practices for text content, graphic elements, and aesthetic features that enhance clarity and audience engagement. Participants will also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of three sample posters to sharpen their critical eye and gain practical takeaways for their own work. Ideal for researchers preparing posters for conferences or academic presentations.

Expert Blind Spots: Unpacking Implicit Writing Knowledge

As disciplinary experts, we often overlook the tacit knowledge we bring to writing tasks, knowledge our students may not share. This workshop explores expert blind spots and the challenges they pose for teaching writing in the disciplines. Participants will learn about the nature of expertise, examine examples of blind spots in writing instruction, and engage in hands-on activities such as Decoding the Disciplines and expert-novice interviews to unpack implicit expectations. You’ll leave with strategies for making disciplinary writing practices more visible and accessible to students at all levels.

A Rhetorical Approach to Grant Writing

Strong grant writing involves a well-planned message and appropriate communication strategies to deliver a message persuasively to a target audience. A rhetorical approach to grant writing allows writers to tailor messages that will effectively and persuasively resonate with funding sources. This workshop explores strategies for understanding your target audience, connecting your grants to cultural and institutional contexts, and evaluating the strength of your grant’s persuasiveness and overall effectiveness.

Critical Friends: Teaching Peer Review and Planning Effective Feedback Sessions

This workshop introduces faculty to the Critical Friends model of peer review, a collaborative approach designed to foster constructive, supportive feedback among colleagues. Participants will learn how to facilitate Critical Friends groups, including strategies for teaching effective feedback that is specific, actionable, and respectful. We will explore best practices for planning and structuring peer review events that create a safe environment for sharing works-in-progress and encouraging thoughtful dialogue. Ideal for health sciences faculty interested in building a culture of scholarly collaboration and improving writing through peer support.

Data Management & Sharing

Request a Data Management & Sharing Session

Creating a Data Management Plan (DMP)

Learn how to develop a strong data management plan for grant proposals. This workshop covers best practices, key components, and how to use the DMPTool to meet funder requirements, including NIH.

Best Practices for Data Management and Sharing

Gain practical strategies for managing and sharing your research data effectively. This workshop covers best practices that support FAIR principles at each stage of the data lifecycle and help ensure compliance with funder requirements.

Preserve and Share Your Data with Dataverse

Discover how to archive, publish, and share your research data using Dataverse. This workshop introduces core features of the platform and guides you through creating project spaces, uploading data, and enhancing the visibility and reproducibility of your work.

Data Collection

Request a Data Collection Session

REDCap Basics, Tips & Tricks

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, approved for HIPAA- and FERPA-use, web-based application for building and managing online surveys and databases.

REDCap Intermediate

Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a web-based survey tool approved for the collection or storage of non-sensitive data.

Statistical Analysis & RCT Design

Request a Statistical Analysis & RCT Design Session

Introduction To Menu-Driven Statistical Analysis Software Package: SPSS

SPSS is a menu-driven statistical package for the social sciences. This workshop is for people just getting started with SPSS. It will cover SPSS from the very beginning, including: (1) introduction of the SPSS interface and data layout; (2) types of measurement; (3) how to enter data in SPSS and import external data (including Excel data and CSV data) into SPSS; (4) variable coding; (5) how to code, recode, and compute variables; (6) how to merge two data files.

Introduction To Code-Driven Statistical Analysis Software Package: R

R is a free and open-source software package for computing and statistical analysis. It has tons of packages dealing with advanced and complex analysis specifically for different fields. Due to its flexibility in coding, R is now one of the most popular programs among statisticians and other researchers. This workshop will cover the basics of R package and programming as well as data description and statistical analysis including correlation and two-way tables with Chi-square test.

Meta-Analysis: Effect Sizes & Moderator Analysis Using SPSS and R

Meta-analysis is the statistical procedure for combining data from multiple independent studies. It is a quantitative approach and a synthesis of prior literature on a particular topic. This workshop will focus on a random effect model. Three examples will be presented: outcome variable is continuous, outcome variable is binary, and meta regression.

The ABCs of Randomized Controlled Trials: Essential Concepts for Clinical & Social Science Research

RCTs are the research design used in studying treatment effects in clinical research. The workshop will focus on the intervention research, how to design a RCT study, and how to analyze RCTs data.

Machine Learning Foundations: Logistic Regression for Binary Classification

The workshop will teach you how to analyze data using SPSS when you want to know if your studied dependent variable is predicted by two or more independent variables. Your dependent variable must be of a dichotomous nature.

Data Cleaning & Visualization

Request a Data Cleaning & Visualization Session

Data Cleaning with OpenRefine

OpenRefine is a powerful open-source tool for cleaning and transforming messy data. This hands-on workshop introduces its core features and demonstrates techniques for standardizing, filtering, and preparing data for analysis.

Data Visualization with Power BI

Get started with Power BI to turn your data into impactful, interactive visualizations. Learn how to import data, create charts, and build dashboards to support research storytelling.