Library guides / Biblioteekgidse: Research Process: Useful tools for research

Useful tools for research

DISCLAIMER

Unless stated, Stellenbosch University has no affiliation with these software platforms and care should be given about what personal information you choose to share. Tools that are officially supported by the University will be indicated as such.

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For assistance on deciding which tools to use, visit the Framework for Governance of Personal Information website and complete the Online Privacy Impact Self-Assessment.

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Productivity:

	Freedom app: Freedom is an app and website blocker designed to improve focus and productivity. Use it to block apps on your phone, tablet or PC.
	1Focus: Block distracting apps and websites with 1Focus. Only compatible with Mac OS or iOS.
	IFTTT (If this, then that) IFTTT (if this, then that) is the easy, free way to get your apps and devices working together. The internet doesn't always play nice, but we're here to help.
	TinyWow TinyWow offers PDF, video, image and other online tools to make your life easier.

Planning:

Todoist:
Available on MAC and Android, as well as all web browsers as a plugin, Todoist allows you to manage tasks and projects from where ever you are.

Outliner:
Organise your thoughts, tasks and projects with Outliner. Create to do lists and track entire projects from anywhere.

Twobird

Trying to juggle conversations, tasks, and collaboration in different apps creates extra work. Twobird keeps everything in context and under control.

Conceptualisation:

	Coggle: An online tool for creating and sharing mind maps. Coggle works online in your browser, so there is nothing to install.
	Cmap: The IHMC CmapTools software empowers users to construct, navigate, share and criticise knowledge models represented as concept maps.
	Notability: Combine handwriting, photos and typing in a single note to bring your projects to life. Use a wide range of note-taking and sketching tools to capture every detail. You can even add and annotate PDFs in Notability.
	MindMeister: MindMeister is an online mind mapping tool that lets you capture, develop and share ideas visually through for brainstorming, note taking, project planning and tons of other creative tasks.
	Evernote: Evernote is an app designed for note taking, organizing, task management, and archiving. The app allows users to create notes, which can be text, drawings, photographs, or saved web content. Notes are stored in notebooks and can be tagged, annotated, edited, searched, given attachments, and exported.

Searching:

	Keenious Keenious is a tool that analyses your writing and shows you the most relevant research from millions of online publications, in seconds.
	Elicit Elicit is an AI tool to find 'seed articles' to mine for keywords/subject headings. When you enter a question, it returns alternate questions that can lead to further "seed" articles. Searching Features: Elicit uses language models to help you automate research workflows, like parts of literature review.
	SciSpace Do hours worth of reading and understanding in minutes Highlight confusing text, math, and tables to get a simple explanation Ask follow-up questions and get instant answers A new way to search and find relevant papers without specifying keywords
	Connected Papers Connected Papers is a unique, visual tool to help researchers and applied scientists find and explore papers relevant to their field of work.
	Dimensions Dimensions is a database that offers the most comprehensive collection of linked data in a single platform; from grants, publications, datasets and clinical trials to patents and policy documents. Because Dimensions maps the entire research lifecycle, you can follow research from funding through output to impact. It has transformed the way research is discovered, accessed and evaluated.
	EndNote Click (Formerly Kopernio) Access research papers in one click. Save time accessing full-text PDFs with the free EndNote Click browser plugin.
	SciA11y This is an experimental prototype created by Semantic Scholar. It provides access to 1.5M open access scientific documents in accessible HTML format. Our system uses machine learning techniques to extract the semantic content of scientific papers and formats it in HTML for easier reading. Because of our reliance on statistical machine learning techniques, some errors are inevitable.
	QuickSearch PDF Reader QuickSearch PDF Reader makes it fast and easy to find text in PDF documents. When you add a document, it is scanned in the background, so when you search, results are instant. As well as searching within a document, you can search across all your documents at once.
	EBSCO Host Ebscohost Mobile provides seamless accessto the Ebscohost interfaces via mobile devices without the downloading extra applications. An app is available for download if you prefer to work from the application.
	Duck Duck Go Duck Duck Go is an alternative search engine that does not track your searches. It emphasises privacy and does not filter results according to your search history.
	Wolfram Alpha More than a search engine, Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge engine that gives you access to facts and data and calculates answers across a range of topics.
	WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of 15,600 libraries in 107 countries that participate in the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. The subscribing member libraries collectively maintain WorldCat's database, the world's largest bibliographic database.

Reading:

	Pocket app Manage your reading with Pocket app. Don't have time to read that article? Want to watch video, but don't have time right away? Add it to Pocket. Pocket syncs across your devices so you can come back to your content whenever you want.
	Feedly A news aggregator application and RSS feed reader for various devices and web browsers. Stay up to date with the latest information in your field and keep track of your favourite publications all in one place.
	Instapaper A social bookmarking tool used to save web pages to read later, even when you are off line.
	LiquidText LiquidText moves beyond paper. It captures your reading, notes, highlights, annotations and observations just like paper; but goes further to reveal their connections: to source materials and each other in a way which documents and maps your project in a clear and shareable form.

Write up:

	MS Word (Officially supported by Stellenbosch University) Microsoft Word is a word processing software developed by Microsoft.
	Wordsweb A free English Dictionary and Thesaurus download for use in almost any Windows program, it offers a one click lookup for thousands of definitions and synonyms.
	Google Docs A free web-based office suite, Google Docs allows you to create, edit and collaborate on documents with others.
	iA Writer iA writer is a minimalist text editor, that keeps you focused on just writing. It consciously separates form and content, text and formatting.
	Scrivener Scrivener is a word-processing program and outliner designed for authors. Scrivener provides a management system for documents, notes and metadata.
	LaTeX A high-quality typesetting system; it includes features designed for the production of techinical and scientific documentation.
	Grammarly Grammarly is a free writing assistant that makes sure everything that you write is clear, effective and mistake free.
	Coffitivity Coffitivity creates the ambient sounds of a coffee shop to boost your productivity. Create that relaxing coffee shop experience where ever you are.
	Noisli Noisli is a background noise and color generator for working and relaxing. Online soothing ambient sounds like White noise, Rain and Coffee Shop.
	QuillBot This paraphrasing tool is designed to ensure you use the right words. With 2 free modes and 5 premium modes to choose from, QuillBot’s paraphraser can rephrase any text in a variety of different ways, guaranteeing you find the perfect language, tone, and style for any occasion. Just enter your text into the input box, and our AI will work with you to build the best paraphrase from the original piece of writing.

Referencing:

	Mendeley A free Reference Management and Academic Social Networking Tool that assists with managing your references, showcasing your work and connecting with other researchers worldwide.
	Zotero Zotero is free and open-source reference management software to manage bibliographic data and related research materials.
	ReciteWorks Recite checks that your in text citations match the reference list at the end of your work. First, Recite checks that the authors and dates in the body of your work match up with the references at the end. Then Recite tells you where it finds errors.
	EndNote Basic EndNote's free, limited online version of EndNote is perfect when you’re new to research and writing. But if your career will get a boost from the research you produce, you need a forward-looking reference manager – right from the start. It’s time to look beyond the basics.

DISCLAIMER

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Note taking:

	OneNote (Officially supported by Stellenbosch University) Microsoft OneNote is a computer program for free-form information gathering and multi-user collaboration. It gathers users' notes, drawings, screen clippings and audio commentaries. Part of the Office 365 student package.
	EverNote Evernote is a cross-platform app designed for note taking, organizing,and archiving. Organise your work and take notes whereever you are.
	Google Keep A note-taking service that works as easily as Google Docs. Google Keep offers a variety of tools for taking notes, including text, lists, images, and audio.
	Braintoss Don't forget a thing with Braintoss. Send a note, image or voice reminder to your inbox with one click. Capture your To-do's and empty your brain.
	Notion: Notion is a note-taking application with markdown support that also integrates tasks, wikis, and databases. The aim is to be an all-in-one workspace for note-taking, project management and task management.
	Otter Voice Notes Otter Voice notes is the smart note-taking and collaboration app that business people, students, and journalists use to get more value from meetings, calls, video conferences, interviews, lectures, and wherever important conversations happen. Record in real time, search, play edit and share from any device.
	RocketBook The RocketBook Smart Notebook instantly connects your notes, doodles and lists in the cloud with free smart notebook app.

Surveys:

Microsoft Forms

(Officially supported by Stellenbosch University)

Microsoft Forms is an online survey creator, part of Office 365. Easily create surveys and polls to collect customer feedback, measure employee satisfaction, and organize team events.

REDCap

(Officially supported by Stellenbosch University)

SU Research Support Services are pleased to announce the launch of Stellenbosch University’s Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) service.

SUNSurveys

(Officially supported by Stellenbosch University)

The web-based e-Survey service (SUNSurveys) is available to support academic staff and postgraduate students using online surveys for their academic research.

DISCLAIMER

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Data Clean-up:

	OpenRefine A free, open source, power tool for working with messy data.
	Trifacta Trifacta is a platform for exploring and preparing data for analysis that allows you to discover, wrangle and visualise data quickly.

Data Analysis:

	MS Excel (Officially supported by Stellenbosch University) Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications.
	R R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It compiles and runs on a wide variety of UNIX platforms, Windows and MAC. Can be used with R-studio.
	Atlas.ti Atlas.ti is a powerful workbench for the qualitative analysis of large bodies of textual, graphic, audio and video data. It offers a variety of sophisticated tools for accomplishing the tasks associated with any systematic approach to data.
	SPSS SPSS Statistics is a software package used for logical batched and non-batched statistical analysis. Available at IT Hub on request.
	Statistica Statistica is an advanced analytics software package. Available at IT Hub on request.

Visualisation:

	Tableau Public Tableau Public is free software that can allow anyone to connect to a spreadsheet or file and create interactive data visualizations for the web.
	Plot.ly Plotly created leading open source tools for composing, editing, and sharing interactive data visualisation on the web.
	Chart.js Simple, clean and engaging HTML5 based JavaScript charts. Chart.js is an easy way to create animated, interactive graphs.
	Smart Draw SmartDraw is a diagram tool used to make flowcharts, organization charts, mind maps, project charts, and other business visuals.
	PlantUML PlantUML is an open-source tool allowing users to create UML diagrams from a plain text language.
	Dedoose Dedoose is a web application for mixed methods research developed by academics from UCLA, with support from the William T. Grant Foundation, and is the successor to EthnoNotes. Dedoose is an alternative to other qualitative data analysis software, explicitly aimed at facilitating rigorous mixed methods research.

Sotware use:

Virtual Box
Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free and open-source hypervisor (virtual machine monitor) for x86 computers. If you need a specific environment for software use, Virtual Box can create it for you on your computer.

Collaboration:

	MS Teams (Officially supported by Stellenbosch University) The official collaboration software for Stellenbosch University.
	Slack app A collaboration tool that bring teams together in a single workspace. Slack is where work flows. It's where the people you need, the information you share, and the tools you use come together to get things done.
	Trello Trello is a web-based project management application that keeps track of everything. Work collaboratively and get more done.
	SciFlow Writing and publishing with impact. Write, improve and publish your work on a single research platform. SciFlow allows all co-authors to collaborate within one platform - without the e-mail and version chaos. References, figures, equations and tables are immediately available to all co-authors.
	Explain Everything: The interactive whiteboard platform where people share and learn without boundaries. Join from any device and collaborate both visually and audibly

DISCLAIMER

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Manage:

Stellenbosch University Library & Information Service
For more information on Managing your Research Data, please see the Library's Research Data Management page.

Store:

OneDrive (Officially supported by Stellenbosch University)
A file hosting service from Miscrosoft. Students at SUN receive a 5TB OneDrive for use during their studies. See SUN's IT page for more details.

MS Teams

(Officially supported by Stellenbosch University)

The official collaboration software for Stellenbosch University.

Preserve:

SunScholar
Theses are deposited on SUNScholar once you complete your degree. SUNScholar can also be used to archive articles, conference papers and other records for long term preservation.

SUNScholarData

SUNScholarData is an institutional research data repository which can be used for the registration, archival storage, sharing and dissemination of research data produced or collected in relation to research conducted under the auspices of Stellenbosch University.

SherpaRomeo
SHERPA RoMEO is an online resource that aggregates and analyses publisher open access policies from around the world and provides summaries of self-archiving permissions and conditions of rights given to authors on a journal-by-journal basis.

DISCLAIMER

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Presentations:

	MS PowerPoint (Officially supported by Stellenbosch University) Microsoft PowerPoint is a powerful slide show presentation program. It is a standard component of the company's Microsoft Office suite software, and is bundled together with Word, Excel, and other office productivity tools. The program uses slides to convey information rich in multimedia.
	Haiku Deck Presentation software and online presentation tool. Create fast beautiful presentations that inspire.
	Prezi Web based presentation software. Prezi uses motion, zoom and spatial relationships to bring your ideas to life
	Google Slides Create a new presentation and edit with others at the same time.
	Slido An audience interaction tool for meetings, events and conferences. It offers interactive Q&A, live polls and insights about your audience.

Posters, Graphics & Infographics:

	Canva Canva makes design simple for everyone. Create designs for web or print, blog graphics, presentations, coves, flyers, posters and much more.
	Venngage Venngage is an online tool for creating infographics, reports, and data visualisations. First, users choose a template or color scheme, then they can add text, change fonts, and add widgets, charts, and icons (among many other features).
	Easel.ly A simple web tool that enables anyone to create and share visuals with no design experience.
	PiktoChart Piktochart is a web-based infographic application which allows users without intensive experience as graphic designers to easily create professional-grade infographics using themed templates.
	Snappa Snappa makes it easy to create any type of online graphic. Create and publish images for social media, blogs etc.

Sharing:

	ResearchGate ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators.
	SSRN The Social Science Research Network is a website devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences and humanities.
	Academia.edu Academia.edu is a social networking website for academics. The platform can be used to share papers, monitor their impact, and follow the research in a particular field.
	Kudos A free platform for explaining your research in plain language, and managing how you communicate around it, so you can understand how to increase its impact.
	SlideShare A content sharing community for sharing of presentations and infographics.

Publish:

	Typeset.io Import MS Word documents and format your content automatically to 88000+ journals such as IEEE. More about Typeset
	Think Check Submit Think. Check. Submit. is a campaign to help researchers identify trusted journals for their research. It is a simple checklist that researchers can use to assess the credentials of a journal or publisher.
	Where to Publish Library Guide For more information about where to publish, have a look at the Library's Where to Publish Guide.

DISCLAIMER

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Evaluate:

For more information on Research Evaluation and measurement, please see the Stellenbosch Library and Information Services' Bibliometrics and Citation Analysis Library Guide.

For more information on improving your impact, please view this section on the current guide.

DISCLAIMER

For more information on how researchers can protect their personal information, view the USAf POPIA for Researchers guidelines .

Best apps for academics

Connected Researchers

DIRT: Digital Research Tools