By Yeo Eng Ling Lynn, Librarian, Collection Management & Strategies & Aaron Tay, Head, Data Services
If you are a researcher at SMU looking to sharpen your methods, streamline your workflow, or get more out of your systematic reviews — May 2026 is a month worth paying attention to. SMU Libraries has been quietly building its portfolio of research training platforms, and we have three updates to share: a new permanent subscription, a time-limited free trial, and two live webinars you won't want to miss.
📌 Summary: Your May 2026 Research Skills Training Calendar
| Platform | What's On | Date & Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sage Campus | Access available | Anytime — access today |
| Instats | Trial access to 350+ seminars | 4 May – 3 June 2026 |
| Instats | Webinar demo | 18 May, 3–4pm SGT |
| Covidence | Webinar demo (systematic review) | 28 May, 2pm SGT |
1. 📚 Sage Campus — Now a Permanent Subscription
Earlier this academic year, we highlighted a suite of self-learning platforms available through SMU Libraries — from LinkedIn Learning and https://smu.sg/datacamp to Udemy Business.
Back then, we ran a trial of Sage Campus, a curated library of self-paced courses built specifically for academic researchers. The feedback was clear — and we've now subscribed.
Sage Campus is a permanent addition to the SMU Libraries collection, with no limit on the number of accounts. Courses are academically rigorous and “rigorously reviewed for excellence”
- Information & Data Literacy — search strategies, source evaluation, data visualisation
- Research Skills — research design, ethics, presenting results
- Data Science — R, Python, quantitative text analysis
- Getting Published — manuscript preparation, navigating peer review, journal submission
Most of these courses are meant for beginner to intermediate level, ranging on average for 4-6 hours for short courses and up to 30 hours for long courses.
If you are postgraduate student just getting started or looking to fill a specific methods gap, Sage Campus offers a structured, credible alternative to general-purpose MOOCs.
🔗 Access: https://researchguides.smu.edu.sg/SageCampus (First-time users: click "Register" and sign up with your SMU email address.)
2. 🔬 Instats — PhD-Level Methods Training, Free Until 3 June 2026
For researchers who need something even more rigorous, Instats (Institute for Statistical and Data Science) operates at a different level entirely. SMU Libraries has secured a free trial from 6 May to 3 June 2026, giving all SMU researchers full access to its catalogue of 350+ on-demand seminars — at no cost.
What makes Instats stand out is its academic pedigree. Every seminar is taught by a practicing and often renown researcher, covering methods with rigor appropriate for the PhD level . Notably, SMU's own Professor Kenneth Benoit (Dean, School of Social Sciences) has contributed a workshop on AI-Powered Qualitative Analysis in R to the platform.
The catalogue spans multiple areas, here is just a sample of the courses offered.
Research Methods & Advanced Statistics
- Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) and Multilevel Causal Inference
- Social Network Analysis: From Basics to ERGM
- AI-Powered Qualitative Analysis in R
AI for Research Workflows
- Beyond ChatGPT: Using AI to Enhance Research Workflows
- Using AI for Text Analysis: An Introduction
- Tuning LLMs for Text Analysis
Qualitative & Mixed Methods
Software-specific training is also available in R, Python, Stata, SPSS, Mplus, and NVivo.
These courses usually cost an average of USD200 each to access! But for the duration of the trial, all the on-demand courses will be made fully available!
🔗 Access during trial: instats.org (Register with your SMU email address. Note: live-streamed seminars are not included in this trial.)
📅 Instats Live Demo — 18 May 2026, 3pm–4pm (SGT)
Not sure where to begin? Join the Instats Live Demo to see the platform in action and get your questions answered directly by the Instats team.
🗓 Date: 18 May 2026 | 🕒 Time: 3pm–4pm (Singapore Time)
🔗 Join via Zoom: https://smu-sg.zoom.us/j/93012976939?pwd=JYNY8WCbSbICswPKNeHZLL8TmoUWmH.1
Meeting ID: 930 1297 6939 | Passcode: 104471
💬 Your Feedback Matters
The free trial ends 3 June 2026. Whether or not we pursue a full institutional subscription depends on researcher demand. If you find the platform useful, please complete this short survey — it takes just two minutes and makes a real difference.
3. 🗂️ Covidence — Smarter Systematic Reviews, Live Webinar 28 May 2026
Covidence is the go-to platform for researchers conducting systematic reviews and evidence syntheses and due to requests from researchers, SMU will be going on a one year institution subscription in the coming semester.
Covidence streamlines the most time-intensive parts of the process — title/abstract screening, full-text review, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment — so your team can focus on the analysis rather than the administration.
If you have been putting off learning Covidence, or want to get more out of it for an ongoing project, this is your opportunity. Covidence is hosting a live webinar on 28 May 2026 at 2pm SGT, tailored for academic researchers.
🗓 Date: 28 May 2026 | 🕑 Time: 2pm (Singapore Time)
🔗 Join here: Webinar link
📌 Summary: Your May 2026 Research Skills Calendar
| Platform | What's On | Date & Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sage Campus | Access available | Anytime — access today |
| Instats | Trial access to 350+ seminars | 4 May – 3 June 2026 |
| Instats | Webinar demo | 18 May, 3–4pm SGT |
| Covidence | Webinar demo (systematic review) | 28 May, 2pm SGT |
Questions or want a personalised recommendation on which platform suits your research needs? Reach out to the Research & Data Services team at rds@smu.edu.sg.