There is a lot going on in October!
Did you know?
1 in 5 Australians are affected by mental illness, yet many don’t seek help because of stigma.
We can all do something to help shed a more positive light on mental health.
Here are some links to the various events that have loads of helpful practical information for you or someone you know.
QUT Vintage Book Sale for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation
17 October, 12pm–3pm, Gardens Theatre Foyer, Gardens Point campus.
Hundreds of beautiful books will be available for purchase. All proceeds from the event will go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, to help provide books and literacy programs to remote communities.
Predatory publishing continues to be a trap for young players with more and more early career researchers falling victim. When this happens, not only do they effectively lose ownership and copyright of their hard work (with that the ability to publish it elsewhere), they often lose confidence, they can lose standing in their field, and they most certainly lose the potential for their research to be cited and shared with other researchers and future collaborators.
Looking for a publisher for your research should be a more of an experience like buying a new laptop or a car. Hopefully you don’t buy the first shiny thing you see. Hopefully you rely on people whose opinion you respect. Hopefully you check out the product reviews and comparison websites to see what your options are. Hopefully you don’t send a cash deposit after receiving a spam email from a car dealer.
Your diligence when looking for a potential publisher should likewise be seen as an investment in your future. Look to the journals the experts in your field are publishing in. Look to the journals your peers are publishing in. As an early career researcher, reputable journals will not send you email invitations to publish with them so don’t be tempted by vanity publishers. Don’t let your desperation for publication override your common sense.
Follow the Think Check Submit protocols. If you are still not certain, ask your faculty or liaison librarian to help you.
Predatory conferences, like predatory journals can also be difficult to spot, and without due diligence you can end up at a dodgy hotel, in a scary part of town, signing your authorship rights away and delivering a paper to six people, who will likely be the only people who ever hear about your research. You can check the Pivot database on the QUT Library’s databases page for legitimate calls for submissions for conference papers.
Australian Reading Hour
What is Australian Reading Hour? Australian Reading Hour is an initiative supported by the Australian Government, Better Reading and the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund to encourage all Australians across the country to pick up a book and read for one hour on your own or with your children. It is being driven by libraries all across Australia to promote the benefits of reading.
What are the benefits of reading? Well, it helps to increase literacy and numeracy skills and has a positive and significant effect on your work. Reading reduces stress by 68%, relieving stress more quickly than listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea, and we all know that tea fixes everything 😉. The more leisure books people read, the more literate they become and the more prosperous and equitable the society they live in becomes. Reading a gripping novel causes positive biological changes in the brain that can last for days. Who knew that indulging in your fave author or book genre could have a positive effect on society and yourself? When tested for empathy, readers of narrative fiction achieved significantly higher than other groups. With a bit more empathy, our world would be a more harmonious place to live.
Children who know adults who read for pleasure take it for granted that reading is valuable and reading is closely linked to increasing our understanding of our own identities. It was found by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research that reading to children six to seven days a week puts them almost a year ahead of those who are not being read to. So reading to children and encouraging them to read is setting them up for success in life. Isn’t that what every parent wants?
Sounds good. When is it? It’s on Thursday September 20 2018, and the hour and reading material are your choice. Find more information and to register your interest on their website, go to https://www.readinghour.org.au/.
I don’t have a book to read for leisure at the moment. Do QUT Libraries have anything? Yes! QUT Libraries have more than just your textbooks. There are great fiction novels in print and online, for adults and children. Check Quick Find today.
But I prefer non-fiction. That’s okay. QUT Libraries have that covered too. We have autobiographies, biographies, commentaries, self-help books plus a whole lot more. The choice is yours! 😊
Don’t forget, when searching in Quick Find, you can limit your results to books and ebooks only.
www.peerreviewweek.org
What is Peer Review Week?
This week focuses on the important place peer review has in scholarly communications and in maintaining scientific quality. This year’s theme is ‘diversity and inclusion in peer review’ and provides a chance for individuals, institutions, and organisations to spread the word that good peer review helps ensure quality and credibility in academic publications. For more information about this event, including online webinars, visit the Peer Review Week website.
What is the peer review process?
Peer review is the evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field. Scholarly journals use peer review as a quality-control mechanism. Consequently, articles published in a peer reviewed journal have higher status than articles published in journals which do not use peer review.
If you are not sure if a journal is peer reviewed, look at the section of the journal web page where information for authors is provided. Alternatively, search the Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory database by the name of the journal. If there is a referee jersey symbol (
) in the ‘Refereed’ column it means the journal is peer reviewed.
If you’re interested in being a peer reviewer, see Publons’ Peer Review Resources. By creating a Publons profile (e.g. Adrian Barnett’s profile) you can get credit for the reviews you’ve completed and attract the attention of journal editors looking for reviewers.
Looking for peer-reviewed journal articles in Quick Find?
You can search for articles in QUT Library’s Quick Find (just enter your search terms, tick the peer reviewed box and click search). You can also filter your results in Quick Find to show only peer reviewed. For more information or if you need help finding quality peer reviewed articles, contact QUT Library.
Keep calm and chill – we’ve got all the information you need to get your assignments done.
If you are looking for online resources to help with your assignments, then check out these pages from the digital workplace/HiQ:
If you prefer help in person you can book in to attend these Practical referencing workshops. You can also ‘drop in’ for Language and learning support where you can get assistance with assignment strategies and improving your writing.
Still not calm and need to chill quicker? Contact us either in person, chat online, phone or email us to get some help with your assignments here.
17 years ago, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger started Wikipedia and today, it’s one of the most popular websites in the world. It’s visited on average over 41 billion times a month! (Wikimedia Statistics 2018).
Are you one of those 41 billion visitors? Have you read something on Wikipedia and thought, ‘That’s not right! Someone should fix that’. You can be the one to ‘fix that’ and set the world right – learn how by attending a QUT Library Wikipedia Editing Workshop.
It’s a great opportunity for academics, HDR students and Research Support staff to engage with your research area using Wikipedia. In the workshop, you’ll practice writing for a general audience and contribute to Wikipedia by checking, verifying or adding information in your area of research or interest.
Join Wikipedia and make a profile before arriving, then put your editing skills into practice when you get here.
It’ll be held in QUT Library in conjunction with State Library of Queensland’s #QWiki Club.
3 September 12-1.30pm
QUT Kelvin Grove Campus, R306
Book in to the Wikipedia Editing Workshop
Would you like to brush up on your referencing skills?
In our Practical Referencing Workshops you will learn to identify the elements of a reference in some of the common resource types, and get a chance to put together references. APA and Harvard referencing styles will be demonstrated in these workshops. Before you attend, view the short Referencing Made Simple lesson which covers the basics of referencing.
Remember to check QUT cite|write for citing and referencing examples for the four QUT styles – APA, Harvard, Legal and Vancouver.
If you can’t find a specific referencing example on QUT cite|write, you can always build your own reference using parts from other examples. It’s important to be consistent.
If you have any questions about referencing, feel free to contact us.
The Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) runs from 10-19th August this year. 
For ten days, the Ekka brings together people from the country and city to celebrate agriculture.
Interested in learning more about agriculture, why not explore QUT Library’s collection?
Here are some resources you may like to check out…
Innovation, agricultural productivity and sustainability in Australia [ebook]
Looking for current research in this subject area? Try searching QUT ePrints!
QUT ePrints is an online collection of scholarly publications, higher degree theses and other research outputs produced by QUT staff and postgraduate students. All records can be accessed by the public and a large proportion include a free-to-read copy of the full-text.
QUT Library will be open on the Royal Queensland Show Public Holiday on Wednesday 15th August:
See our opening hours for more information.
QUT Murri-Ailan Way is proud to present Paperbark: First Nation Narratives with Dr Anita Heiss.
Dr Heiss is a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales and is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature.
A poet, satirist and social commentator, Dr Heiss will be speaking about her work and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pioneers in literature who have inspired her next Wednesday 8 August at QUT Kelvin Grove Library next week (SOLD OUT see below for waiting list email).
If you didn’t manage to get a ticket, we have a number of Dr Heiss’s books available to borrow from the QUT Library including:
Avoiding Mr Right (2008) Offered the professional opportunity of a lifetime, Peta leaves her coastal life and doting boyfriend James in Sydney for a 12 month stint in the ‘fashion capital of Australia’.
Am I black enough for you? (2012) Anita Heiss gives a first-hand account of her experiences as a woman with an Aboriginal mother and Austrian father, and explains the development of her activist consciousness. Read her story and ask: what does it take for someone to be black enough for you?
I’m not racist but– : a collection of social observations. (2017) 
This collection of social observations, thoughts and conversations will challenge the reader to consider issues of imposed and real Aboriginal identity, the process of reconciliation and issues around saying ‘sorry’, notions of ‘truth’ and integrity, biculturalism and invisible whiteness, entrenched racism and political correctness.
Please email: k.csatlos@qut.edu.au to go on to the waiting list for this event
