T5-C: Peer-Led Research Methods Workshop for First-Year Ph.D. Students

A team of experienced Ph.D. candidates developed and facilitated discussion in a semester-long weekly workshop that outlined basic research skills for a small cohort of first year doctoral students in Chemical Engineering. Session topics included professionalism, analyzing research articles, scientific writing mechanics, and designing presentation slides, among others. The peerled approach provided an informal classroom setting, which fostered interactivity and stimulated students’ willingness to participate in discussions. Incorporating such a workshop in other departments or universities could greatly benefit all fledgling researchers and their principal investigators by boosting the students’ productivity and research quality as they adapt to the process of doing research. Such a workshop also offers senior Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to improve their pedagogical methods