Flickr user Nic McPhee
The research process involves putting sufficient time and effort into finding the right information and data, which is then collected, organized, and carefully selected. In the past, students had to spend countless hours, or even days, in school or public libraries trying to find the information that they needed. Today, however, everything can be found online, which makes the entire research process much easier and faster. With this in mind, we have put together a list of fantastic online research tools that can help students improve their process. Keep on reading for more.
Information Search and Collecting
Internet Public Library
A non-profit online library run by students and volunteer librarians where students can ask reference questions and get answers. It is no longer updated, but still represents a valuable source of information.
ISeek
iSeek is a search engine that is designed to help students with their research, and which currently indexes thousands of trusted scientific, university, and government resources. You can also add URLs you find useful.
InfoMine
University of Columbia, Riverside is also a great place to start your research. It provides you with constant access to their online library, and you can also contact their staff at selected hours if you have any further questions.
Academia
Academia is a social network for academics, where they can share their papers for free, and gain access to over 8 million other published papers in order to enhance their research process. Also good for monitoring paper impact.
Paperity
Paperity enables you to search over 1,000,000 full-text papers across a wide variety of different disciplines. The best thing about it is that its papers are completely free of charge for students.
ResearchGate
ResearchGate is a social network for students and scientists. They can publish and read papers, but also get answers to their questions, and find collaborators for their projects all over the world, since the community has over 10 million members.
World Digital Library
Run by the United States Library of Congress and UNESCO, this online library is your go-to source for content on different cultures. Especially useful if you are in need of non-western content.
InfoPlease
InfoPlease is a reliable source of information for students. It acts like an online encyclopedia, where all the content is written by experts.
Writing
EndNote
EndNote is designed to help you organize your research and create proper references and bibliographies. Especially useful when writing essays and when you need to keep your sources in check.
Todoist
Todoist allows you to manage your time better and keep an eye on all of the tasks in academic life. It can be used on over 10 platforms at the same time.
Write App
A great alternative to your standard text editors. It sports a clean and beautiful interface that will motivate you to write better.
EduGeeksClub
If you are struggling with your writing skills, or if you are short on time to write a great paper, EduGeeksClub can help you out. Their professional writers and editors will assist in writing a brilliant paper on any subject.
Write Check
This tool will check your paper for plagiarism, and it will also check your grammar, and provide the correct suggestions. You can also receive feedback from real writers in order to improve your writing style.
Thesis Statement Creator
This online wizard will help you put together your thesis statement. It does this by providing accurate examples through a step-by-step guide.
A Research Guide
Here you will find the most comprehensive writing guide for research papers with tons of tips. They also provide literature guides for the most popular books.
Purdue Owl
This probably the only resource you will ever need as far as writing is concerned. Find everything you need regarding grammar, writing, research, citations, and styles.
UnPlag
One of the most effective plagiarism-checking tools out there. Make sure that your papers are always as original as possible with this helpful tool.
Gliffy
Organizing your data into diagrams and flowcharts with your collaborators is incredibly simple with Gliffy. It works on both PC and Mac and can be integrated into Confluence, JIRA, or Google Drive.
Data Bank
DataBank is an analysis tool that can help you visualize your research. It does that by enabling you to CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTSs, charts, queries, diagrams, and even maps. You can organize, save, and share your research results, as well.
Reference Organization and Management
Mendeley
Mendeley does so many things, it’s hard to count them all. It is an online reference manager that allows you to create your own bibliographies, an academic social network, and a place for you to find collaborators for your projects.
CiteULike
CiteULike is a free referencing tool that not only allows you to store your references, but also finds new articles and papers, and check out what the others are reading at the same time. It can also suggest relevant papers for you automatically.
Citation Styles
If you are not sure what citation style to use, or if you don’t know what to do regarding a particular one, check out this tool.
Conclusion
Armed with these helpful tools and apps, you will be able to upgrade your research and writing skills, and ultimately, write better papers and improve your academic performance. Start today!
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