Resources and support

Resources and support

RMIT offer a vast range of resources and support services for Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates to give you the best chance of success.

Your HDR support team

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The University provides academic supervision for all Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates to make sure you’re fully supported during research projects. Candidates are assigned at least two supervisors who are experts in a specific field. Learn more about supervisor relationships.

The School of Graduate Research supports research training at RMIT. This includes: 

  • Admissions 
  • Scholarships 
  • Research Training Services or RTS (administration and support throughout candidature) 
  • Submissions and examinations.

Contact the School of Graduate Research’s Research Training Services (RTS) team via Student Connect.

Each School has a HDR DA who provides support for HDR candidates. Talk to your HDR DA about any issues that can’t be resolved by your supervisory team. They can also help you get access to resources for conducting your research.

Contact your HDR Student Representative if you have suggestions for improvement or would like to raise issues of concern. They may be able to help improve the student experience for you and your peers. 

HDR Student Representatives also organise regular catch ups with their respective College to make sure the student experience is kept front of mind. 

Your HDR DA can provide you with contact details for your College and/or School representative.

Every month our Higher Degree by Research Representatives run an informal, drop-in session for RMIT’s offshore cohort. The drop-in sessions are held online via Teams. It’s a wonderful opportunity for offshore students to connect. 

If you would like to attend, complete the online Offshore Candidate Monthly Drop In Form (Microsoft Form) and the team will send you an invite. 

Platforms, tools and resources

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Systems you may use during your candidature include:

  • Researcher Portal – Collates all research project resources and information relevant to RMIT researchers into a single space. It’s designed to make research projects easier to conduct while providing an insight into how you can develop your academic career
  • Enrolment Online – Use Enrolment Online to manage your enrolment at RMIT at the start of your HDR and throughout your candidature
  • Canvas – Use Canvas to access course content and announcements, submit assignments, and receive grades and feedback
  • Student email
  • iThenticate – checks text similarity in research outputs including draft manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters and books, and draft theses prior to publication and/or HDR examination. It protects intellectual property while allowing researchers to identify potential errors in citation and attribution
    RMIT research staff, students and HDR candidates can access the service via this link: http://www.rmit.edu.au/iThenticate
    Need help using iThenticate? Check out iThenticate resources, turnitin's iThenticate user guides or turnitin's Support Centre
  • Qualtrics – Used to conduct and analyse online surveys. Log in to Qualtrics with your RMIT details.

Workstations and servers:

  • Standard workstations – Research staff requiring a standard Apple Mac or PC can order one from RMIT's GetIT store and bill it to their business unit.
  • Non-standard workstations – If you require a specialised workstation for research purposes, complete the special request form.
  • Physical server hosting or virtual machines – If you require a fully managed environment and database hosting for less than 6 months, contact IT Connect.
  • NeCTAR – A National Servers Program of virtual servers and platforms that support the Australian research community. For more information, visit the National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (NeCTAR) Project website.

Storage of research data must comply with all relevant RMIT policies and the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. For more information about research data and how to manage it, visit RMIT Library's Research Data Management Subject Guide.

What date do you need to store?

Storage solution

Key features

How to access

Store small to medium amounts of data. Cannot provide access to other researchers.

 

 

Your RMIT Home or H: drive
  • Password protected
  • One user access
  • Suitable for data sets up to 20GB
  • Backed-up.
  • Off campus access
  • You can retain the data here after your research project.

Already installed on staff and student computers by default.

Offsite access via mydrive.rmit.edu.au

Store small to medium amounts data. Can provide access to other researchers.

 

Set up an RMIT Shared drive
  • Password protected
  • You can assign access to your research team.
  • Suitable for data sets up to 20GB
  • Backed-up.
  • Off campus access
  • You can retain the data here after your research project.

Fill in the Shared Drive Access Request Form

Access organised within 3 weeks.

Off campus access via mydrive.rmit.edu.au

 

Store data sets via the University’s network provider, AARNet.

Can also be used to provide access to research collaborators.

 

CloudStor+
  • 100GB can be shared free of charge
  • More secure than Dropbox
  • Supported by the Australian government and linked with RMIT

 

Log on with your RMIT details.

Contact eResearch for advice.

 

Store research data and provide access to research collaborators.

 

Nectar
  • Supported by Australian government and linked with RMIT
  • You can retain the data here after your research project.
  • Secure cloud based system.

Contact eResearch to access Nectar.

Temporarily storing data when working offsite.

Laptop, removable disc, hard drive
  • Vulnerable to loss or damage
  • Should only be used as a temporary storage solution
  • No back up

Remember to back up this data at RMIT.

You can set up your laptop so that the data is backed up every time you log in at RMIT

Large, relatively static research data sets.

 

Large Scale Research Data Store
  • Accessible from RMIT servers and desktop machines
  • Multiple TB storage
  • You can assign access to your research team.
  • You can retain the data here after your research project.
  • Off campus access option.

To apply, complete the Research Data Storage Form. 

Access organised within 1-3 weeks.

 

Qualtrics is an advanced web-based application for building, distributing and analysing online surveys. Qualtrics is free for all RMIT students and staff. It is easy to use and makes developing sophisticated web surveys simple.

Data collected using Qualtrics is secure and the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee recommends Qualtrics for collecting privacy-sensitive surveys.

The School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences offers a Statistical Consulting Service to all Higher Degree by Research students. This consultancy service is supported by the School of Graduate Research.

Please note: this service is not currently available. Email research.ed@rmit.edu.au for more information.

If you need access to research resources throughout your candidature, contact your HDR Delegated Authority (HDR DA). Resources they can help you with include: 

  • labs or studio access 
  • desk or locker allocation 
  • Higher Degree by Research funding to cover research-related costs.

Learn about your Responsibilities as a Researcher here.

RMIT uses a lot of acronyms. Check out the glossary to discover common terms you may come across throughout your research career.

Study support

Study pods in the RMIT City Campus library.

RMIT Library

The RMIT Library offers a range of resources across campuses and online including a specialised research support team for HDR candidates.

Two students study together on campus.

PhD Up Program

The PhD Up program offers all HDR candidates a range of workshops, seminars and short courses to build research knowledge and skills.

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Learning Lab

The Learning Lab offers modules and resources that will familiarise candidates with functional skills that are crucial for HDR courses, including referencing, writing and research integrity.

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A simple guide to excellent research presentations (PDF)

This presentation and panel discussion outlines the important things that any researcher should and should not do when giving a presentation.

Further assistance

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Personal and wellbeing support

RMIT offers a vast range of student support services including counselling, study support, legal support and financial support.

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Information Technology (IT) support

IT Connect can assist with information technology requests, enquiries or issues.

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International students

Support and resources for international students studying with RMIT, including accommodation and health cover requirements.

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Candidate Action and Support Plan (CASP)

Sometimes HDR journeys aren’t smooth. A CASP is designed to help candidates get back on track by enabling tailored academic and wellbeing assistance.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

More information