Get Equipped! Build Your Skills with the Medical Center Library’s Spring 2026 Research Workshop Series, Beginning Feb. 12

The Medical Center Library will begin its Spring 2026 Research Workshop Series on Thursday, February 12.

Held on Zoom, the virtual seminars help students, faculty, and staff improve and expand their research skills and make more efficient use of library resources. The workshops are primarily concerned with research competencies in the health sciences, but the subjects are pertinent to researchers across a variety of disciplines. 

The Spring 2026 series will equip participants with practical techniques for a number of research skills, including developing research questions and search terms, finding and analyzing article abstracts, and conducting literature reviews. Sessions will also cover the basics of narrative reviews and key features and search strategies for commonly-used databases CINAHL (Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health) and PsycINFO. 

The workshops are free to attend and open to all UK students, faculty, staff, and affiliated researchers. Pre-registration is required to attend workshops. Attendees who have registered will be provided with a recording of the presentation. 

Find more details and register for the workshops below, and contact mclib@uky.edu with any questions.

Spring 2026 Series

The Spring 2026 workshops begin in mid-February and run to the end of March. Below, find a detailed description and registration link for each:

• CINAHL Essentials
  • Thursday, February 12
  • 12pm – 1pm
  • Zoom
  • This workshop introduces key features of CINAHL (Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health) for effective searching. Participants will learn how to build a search in CINAHL using features including CINAHL subject headings, field codes, limits, and other features.  
  • Register here.
     
• Mastering Effective Question and Search Term Development
  • Tuesday, February 24
  • 12pm – 1pm
  • Zoom
  • This workshop equips participants with key methods for developing precise questions and search terms. Attendees will learn practical techniques to enhance information retrieval to boost information retrieval, sharpen research accuracy, and achieve better outcomes when searching for literature. AI tools will be discussed.  
  • Register here.
     
• Reading a Research Paper: Tips & Tricks
  • Wednesday, March 4
  • 12pm – 1pm
  • Zoom
  • Finding and analyzing article abstracts is a core research skill. Being able to understand and utilize research is necessary for everyone working in the medical profession. This presentation will focus on the basic principles of reading a research paper, tricks for identifying study designs using abstracts, and common mistakes and misconceptions. 
  • Register here.
     
• PsycINFO Essentials
  • Thursday, March 12
  • 12pm – 1pm
  • Zoom
  • PsycINFO is a comprehensive database from the American Psychological Association (APA) that indexes literature in psychology and behavioral/social sciences. This workshop introduces key features of PsycINFO for effective searching. Participants will learn how to build a search in PsycINFO using features including subject terms, field codes, limits, and other features. 
  • Register here.
     
• How to do a Basic Literature Review
  • Thursday, March 26
  • 12pm - 1pm
  • Zoom
  • Literature reviews play an important role in medical literature. They are a required part of many dissertations, are often assigned as coursework, and can be published articles. The workshop teaches the key aspects and necessary steps of completing a basic literature review. It also discusses different kinds of literature reviews and their purposes.
  • Register here.
     
• Introduction to Narrative Reviews
  • Wednesday, April 1
  • 12pm - 1pm
  • Zoom
  • This workshop introduces narrative reviews as a method for summarizing and synthesizing scholarly literature. Participants will learn what defines a narrative review, when it is an appropriate approach, and how to complete one by identifying a topic, searching for relevant literature, organizing sources, and clearly presenting findings.
  • Register here.

The Reviews Are In

Past workshop participants have universally applauded their experience. In surveys following the workshops, 100% of participants who filled out the survey indicated that they had learned something new. 

“This was the clearest presentation of concrete steps for data management that I've ever seen,” commented one participant. Other commenters raved about the new techniques, tools, and resources they were able to add to their research repertoires.

Workshop contents met the expectations of 100% of participants who filled out the survey. 

Experience them for yourself – and catch up on what you’ve missed in prior years. The MCL has past workshop recordings and associated slides available for public view. Topics include:

• Introductory tutorials for tools, resources, and software used in health sciences research
• In-depth guidance and advanced search training for popular databases
• Extensive coverage of systematic reviews and other evidence synthesis projects

In the mood for more? Visit our Research Workshops & Tutorials page to find all of UK Libraries’ offerings, including our Digital Scholarship & Data Workshops & Events.