The 11 Best Technology Tools for Researchers
Research is a meticulous, painstaking process. But thanks to the help of technology (https://www.bairesdev.com/insights/it-outsourcing-services/), the pain is lessened. No matter your field — whether it’s biology or computer science — there’s a tool out there to help you organize your notes, cite your sources, find important articles, connect with colleagues, and more.
Here’s a selection of 11 of the most useful ones.
1. Zotero
This free tool wants to be “your personal research assistant.” It’s a free-to-use citation manager that helps you collect, organize, keep track of, cite, and share your research. You can also sync your research across devices, as Zotero offers integrations with browsers and Word processors.
2. Scopus
The largest database of abstracts and citations of peer-reviewed research literature in the world, Scopus includes more than 36,000 titles. It covers subjects such as physical, life, social, and health sciences, with numerous publishers from around the world. It’s free to search for author profiles, as well as claim and update your own. Non-subscribers can also view journal rankings and metrics.
3. QuickCalcs
From GraphPad, QuickCalcs allows you to compute statistical analyses for a variety of data: categorical, continuous, statistical distributions, random numbers, and chemical and radiochemical. You’ll simply choose the category and type of calculator, enter the data, and view your results — all within your browser.
4. Zenodo
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique code consisting of letters, numbers, and special characters assigned to articles so that others can find them online. With Zenodo, you can receive a free DOI for your research, whether it’s a paper, article, essay, blog post, and nearly anything you can think of. Using it, you can share it with a thriving online community of researchers in all kinds of fields.
5. EndNote
EndNote is an all-in-one tool for managing your references and citations. You can share your references with teams and keep track of edits and changes, comb resources to find the right ones for you, and create and format bibliographies. The software is packed with other features, including automatic link and reference updating to keep your citations current.
6. ReadCube
Here’s a web, mobile, and desktop platform that will help you manage your research across your devices. You can find, read, and annotate materials and preserve your notes and lists on your phone, laptop, or whatever device you’re using.
7. ResearchGate
Along with offering free access to research in your field, ResearchGate enables you to connect with others in the scientific community. You can share your work and collaborate with others in the industry, as well as get feedback.
You’re also able to see statistics on the impact of your work and the audience it’s garnering, along with receiving alerts when your connections publish new work. It’s completely free to register, too.
8. Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a free search engine that indexes academic research across a wide array of disciplines and formats, including journals, books, articles, dissertations, and more. It’s free to use for everyone, whether you’re a student or simply a curious person. Some articles are also free to read, while others require a login — although you’ll still generally be able to read the abstract either way.
9. F100Prime
Find news and recommendations for articles you should read about work in your field. Along with receiving the recommendations, you’ll get a quick summary of why you should read them. You can also follow local experts and get alerts about the articles they recommend, as well as save searches and get notified when works matching your interests and criteria become available.
10. arXiv
Run by Cornell University, arXiv is a free, open-access repository of more than 1.5 million scholarly preprints that are accessible online. It covers fields including computer science, physics, economics, mathematics, statistics, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, and electrical engineering and systems science.
11. SJ Finder
Not only can you browse more than 30,000 accredited journals with existing research through SJ Finder, but you can also receive recommendations on journals that are best suited to publishing your own articles based on keywords in your paper’s title and abstract. The platform also helps you find a community, including labs, research partners, reviewers, and more.
Instant citations, connections with others in your field, access to peer-reviewed journal articles — what could be better? Research is grueling work, but with the help of these tools, you’ll streamline the process tenfold.
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