ChatGPT for Academics

9 May 09:30

ChatGPT for Academics: A Practical Workshop on Thriving as a Researcher in the 21st Century

This one day workshop aims to equip researchers with the practical skills to leverage ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM), to help boost their efficiency and improve the quality of their research. The workshop will cover the following topics:

  • Understanding LLM models - the course will provide a brief overview of how large language models (LLM) work so participants can understand the tool they are using.
  • Sharing some Guiding Principles & Useful Phrasing - students will be provided with useful phrases and principles to help write clear prompts so that the output from ChatGPT best meets their needs.
  • Generating Ideas & Research Questions - the course will explore techniques to quickly formulate interesting research questions and supercharge their creative ideation phase.
  • Conducting a Literature Review - we will practise using ChatGPT to streamline the literature review process, including identifying relevant sources, summarising key findings, and building a strong foundation for the student’s own research.
  • Acing your methodology - we will learn how ChatGPT can assist us in evaluating research methods, analysing data collection techniques, and writing a clear and concise methodology chapter.
  • Perfecting your results chapter - We will learn how to produce the first draft of a research chapter from bullet point notes.
  • Producing Kick-Ass Content - We will explore how ChatGPT can be used to seamlessly turn research output into blog and LinkedIn posts, as well as grant applications.

This is a practical course aimed at increasing participants’ comfort with ChatGPT, giving them tips and tricks for effective usage, practising the variety of use cases within academic research and helping everyone along on their ChatGPT journey.

 

What this workshop does not cover

This workshop is aimed at students with little to medium familiarity with ChatGPT, rather than researchers aiming to use ChatGPT as the primary research tool for their study. We will not, for example, discuss how to utilise ChatGPT’s APIs or how you might use LLMs for direct analysis.

We also will spend minimal time discussing the complex ethical questions surrounding ChatGPT’s usage. Students will, however, be sent material beforehand that highlights the university’s policies on the usage of ChatGPT and other courses that offer guidance in these areas.
 

 

Please  bring a laptop to the class and create a ChatGPT account before the start of the class,  at www.chat.openai.com. Ideally, students would also make a Gemini account, at www.gemini.com, and a Perplexity.ai account at www.perplexity.ai.

To Book

Apply here

 

Our booking process

When your application is received, you will be emailed a link and then have 48 hours to complete a pre-workshop form requesting additional information. If you do not meet this deadline, your application will be cancelled. 

See our full Terms and Conditions below

 

If you have specific circumstances which may affect your engagement with this event, or your meeting our Terms and Conditions, please continue with your booking and contact us by email to discuss how we can support you: researcherdevelopment@socsci.ox.ac.uk

Researcher Development Terms and Conditions

In booking any training workshops, you agree that: 

 

COMMITMENT: application is not an expression of interest; it is a firm commitment. You will be available for the full duration of the course session(s); if you are not, please do not make a booking. You will not accept any subsequent meeting invitations that may fall during the given workshop times. 

PRE-WORK / HOMEWORK: if applicable, you will complete any given pre-work and/or homework as described on the workshop web listing, as it constitutes part of the workshop  

CANCELLATION: should your circumstances change, and you are not able to attend the full session(s). you will cancel giving at least 72-hours' notice, so we can offer the place to someone on the waiting list. 

ARRIVAL: you will join, or arrive at, the workshop 5 minutes before the advertised start time, to ensure a prompt start. 

LATE POLICY: you understand that the online room will be locked / workshop door will be closed 10 minutes after the event start time and late-comers will not be admitted. This is to preserve the integrity of the course for those who are present.  

ENGAGEMENT: you will give the session your undivided attention and engagement. You will not be able to do other tasks in parallel. If online, you will ensure that your environment and internet connection allow you to participate verbally and with video cameras on. These are interactive workshops, and it is not appropriate to attend from a silent or shared workspace. 

ATTENDANCE RECORD: you understand the Register will be taken in the last half-hour of the course, and anyone not present in the room at that point will be marked as non -attending (see below) 

FEEDBACK: you will contribute feedback afterwards, to help us understand how well the session met its intended aims, and facilitate our continuous improvement 

CONSEQUENCES OF NON-ATTENDANCE: you understand that any non-attendance  
a) is visible to departments and supervisors/PIs, and  
b) may result in any future bookings you’ve made within the same term being cancelled, and the place(s) offered to the waiting list.