by Rob Penfold | Oct 3, 2025 | Events
👉 If you register then you will be sent a link to the recorded video to watch later at a more suitable times
👉 These are not run by ALIA or HLA
1️⃣ Open Science & Evidence Synthesis Thursday, October 23, 2025 @ 15:00 UTC/11 am EDT Register here
In this webinar, attendees will learn about the importance of Open Science principles in evidence synthesis and how adopting Open and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) workflows are vital for maintaining rigour in evidence synthesis. The session will cover both theory and practical advice, indicating the tradeoffs and cost implications of each component of Open Synthesis. We will discuss examples of good and bad practice, as well as becoming aware of tools to support open practices.
2️⃣ Framing the Research Question & Managing Search Volumes Monday, November 24, 2025 @ 16:00 UTC/11 am EST Register here
We’ll cover the importance of question framing in evidence synthesis as the foundational step in any review project. Attendees will learn about what types of questions can be answered with evidence synthesis and see examples of diverse types of questions. We will cover the theory of question formulation and practical examples of questions formulated for real-world review projects. We’ll discuss the practicalities of the implications of question framing – namely, the volume of evidence we then have to screen for relevance. The session will discuss how to manage this tradeoff of sensitivity (getting everything) versus specificity (staying manageable), and show examples of the time needed for different breadths and types of question.
3️⃣ Adaptive Approaches to Reviewing Evidence & Diverse Workflows Thursday, December 11, 2025 @ 16:00 UTC/11 am EST Register here
What happens if your review isn’t quite standard practice? How can you ensure you finish your review if time runs out? This webinar will focus on real-world application of evidence synthesis methodology best practice and give practical suggestions of ways to ensure you finish your review if resources, time or staff are limited. We will cover the nooks and crannies that lie between standard review types, not the traditional systematic review and meta-analysis but the more unconventional types of review – part-map, part framework. These often more exploratory methods are vital for maintaining rigour and allowing for ongoing work whilst still producing a high-quality, publishable output. We will cover what to do and what to call them. We will also cover practical ways in which you can plan for limitations in your workflows, ensuring you still have a rigorous product even if you run out of time.
About the Speaker
Neal Haddaway is an independent interdisciplinary researcher working in the field of environmental and social policy, but with a particular interest in agri-food supply chains. He has been working as an evidence synthesis methodologist since 2012 and has authored almost 200 publications, including methodology articles, systematic reviews, systematic maps and other forms of syntheses. He has contributed to best practice guidance for systematic reviews and maps. He has worked with the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence as Centre Director and Trustee, the Campbell Collaboration as Co-lead of the Climate Solutions Coordinating Group, and within the Cochrane Climate-Health Working Group. He established the Evidence Synthesis Hackathon and Evidence Synthesis and Meta-Analysis in R Conference, and has personally produced a suite of free online tools, including PRISMA2020 flowcharts and citationchaser. He has been teaching evidence synthesis methodology for 13 years and provides methods courses and training workshops across the world.
by Rob Penfold | Jul 9, 2025 | Events
📰 Description
Catchii is a web-based software for systematic review screening, developed here in Australia. It supports all stages of the screening process, from duplicate removal to data extraction, and includes features such as multi-user collaboration, advanced keyword highlighting and AI-assisted screening. Most importantly, Catchii is completely free to use, offering a viable alternative to paid tools while remaining comparable in functionality. This session will present Catchii’s features and demonstrate its use in systematic reviews. For more information: https://catchii.org
🗓️ When
Wednesday 23/7/25
1:00pm – 2:00pm AEST
🌍 Where
Online webinar Zoom – a link will be sent the day prior.
This event will be recorded and sent to attendees following the event.
💲 Cost
ALIA Members – Free. Another reason to consider HLA Membership
Non-Members – $22
📝 Register
Register | Additional Information
by Rob Penfold | May 30, 2025 | Events
We are pleased to let you know that registrations are now open for Research Support Community Day 2025, with the event program available to view here.
Research Support Community Day continues to remain a free, annual event that offers professional development and training for anyone involved in providing research support and related services. It is an opportunity to connect with colleagues, share ideas, and build your professional network. Holding the event online across 3 days ensures we can welcome participants and presenters from a range of Australasian and New Zealand time zones.
Find out more about our previous events and speakers from the Research Community Day YouTube channel.
Once again, we are grateful to Sage Publishing Asia-Pacific & Central Asia for their continued sponsorship of the event.
With the registration, there is an option to not attend but receive access to the recordings
👉 Note – this is not an HLA event
✅ A few presentations of possible interest:
- Systematic review Fun-damentals
- Full Text Seeker: A tool to assist with systematic reviews
- Safeguarding scholarly integrity: A novel approach to detecting predatory journals
- Generative AI training: Opt in or opt out?
by Rob Penfold | Apr 1, 2025 | Events
Event Description
In response to student and staff needs, librarians at Federation University created an Open Education Resource to introduce a complex topic in an easy to understand, step by step way. This lunchtime session will describe the process of creating the resource from inception to publication, and demonstrate the content, features and interactive elements of the resource.
Presenters
Erin Roga has a Masters of Information Management from the University of South Australia. Her minor thesis explored the impact of digital skills classes for first year nursing students. In 2022, she attended the Australian Evidence Based Practice Librarians’ Institute. Erin is a liaison librarian for the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at Federation University Australia, and supports students and academics in their teaching, learning and research, with a focus on training for conducting systematic and scoping reviews. She is interested in promoting the need for rigourous methodology and reporting of reviews. In her spare time, she loves to potter in her vegetable patch and hang out with her chicken friends, and is now learning to keep bees and cultivate mushrooms.
Dr. Karen Pruis obtained her PhD from Federation University Australia, and her qualitative thesis explored the lived experience of Chinese international students communicating in English while studying abroad. In 2023, she attended the Australian Evidence Based Practice Librarians’ Institute. Karen is a liaison librarian with the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at Federation University Australia with extensive experience in supporting students and researchers with evidenced-based literature searching. She loves to teach them how to construct a replicable search strategy for scoping and systematic reviews. Finally, Karen has two poodles named CoCo and Margaux who are her best friends and give her a lot of joy.
🕚 When
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
1.00pm – 2.00pm (Vic, NSW, Tas, ACT, QLD),
12:30pm – 1:30pm (SA, NT),
11am – 12:00pm (WA),
3pm – 4pm (NZ)
🌏 Where
Online webinar Zoom – a link will be sent the day prior.
💰 Cost
ALIA Members – FREE (One of 14 benefits of HLA ALIA membership)
Non-Members – $22
📝 Register
Register
by Rob Penfold | Nov 11, 2024 | Events
Several free webinars are available in this area in the first half of 2025
They are recorded so can be viewed on demand
The full list of Cochrane Live Learning events can be viewed here and if you scroll down then the archive of recorded webinars is available for viewing
The HLA Videos page may also be of interest
