Advice and courses
The library offers counselling sessions and seminars on all topics related to your academic work. If you are interested in a consultation, please contact silke.egelhof@hs-aalen.de. Consultations can also be arranged via Zoom, for which the library offers a virtual consultation desk. Seminars on literature research, academic working (citing, etc.) or Citavi are provided by Studium Generale, among others.
Fit for the Subject Paper
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 60 minutes, max. 30 participants
After an introduction to the library and its services, a short tutorial on researching references and appropriate resources will follow.
Fit for the Library
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 30 minutes
During this tour of the library, participants will get to know the building and the most important services.
Fit for Project Work - Researching References
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 90 minutes
This session is designed for all students who have to write a project paper for the first time. Different kinds of scholarly literature will be introduced and where to find it will be explained, especially using the snowball system.
Fit for Project Work - Academic Working and Citation
Instructor: Ulrike Bretzger
Session length: 90 minutes
This course will focus on the elements of a scholarly paper. Direct and indirect citations will be discussed, as well as primary and secondary references. In addition, different citation styles will be presented.
Fit for Project Work - Citavi Basic Course
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 90 minutes
In the Citavi Basic Course, participants will learn different ways of how to import references into the Citavi project. They will learn how to organise the sources according to their future use and how to insert references and the bibliography into their paper using the Word Add-In.
Fit for the Thesis - Thematic bibliographic research in 5 steps
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 90 minutes
This session is designed for students of advanced levels or about to write their final thesis. Five steps will demonstrate how to identify meaningful search terms from the subject at hand, which types of publications are considered to be of high academic quality and where they can be found. Subsequently, search strategies (truncation, Boolean operators) will be discussed.
Fit for the thesis - How to avoid plagiarism by proper citation
Instructor: Ulrike Bretzger
Session length: 90 minutes
After a brief insight into good scientific practice, participants will learn about citable sources and how to substantiate them (footnote vs. short reference in the text). Direct and indirect citations will be discussed, advice will be given on academic writing style and on the information required in the bibliography.
Fit for the Thesis - Advanced Citavi Course
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 90 minutes
After a brief review of Citavi's importing capabilities, Citavi's assignment scheduling will be introduced. Subsequently, students will learn how to extract required information from available references using Citavi and how to structure this information in view of its future use. The citing of sources using the Word Add-In will be explored in greater depth.
Citavi Crash Course
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 180 minutes
This session combines the contents of the basic and advanced courses.
Crash course in academic working using Citavi and Word
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 180 minutes
This session also summarises the contents of the basic and advanced Citavi courses, underpinning the overall subject with information on the basics of academic working (proper citation, tips on writing style, elements of a scholarly paper).
Google & Fake News: Tips and tricks for successful Google searches
Instructor: Silke Egelhof
Session length: 90 minutes
Participants of this session will learn how Google works (index, ranking). They will also get tips on how to search using Google and they will be introduced to criteria helpful to determine the quality of web pages.
The courses listed above are offered in German within the scope of general studies.
How does, ...
- How you loan a book (German video)
- How you extend the loan period (German video)
- How you reserve a book (German video)
Escape the library with Actionbound: this introduction to the library in the manner of an Escape Room game can be played from outside the library building.
Discover the Aalen University Library with Actionbound: on this guided tour through the library building, the app helps you get to know the library's various services.