Tools I'm Using - Part 3

For those who are just now joining the conversation, this is the third in a series of tools I'm using in the pursuit of my Ph.D. Remember, my primary research computer is a Mac, so all of the tools below are Mac-friendly. If they also have a Windows version, are web-based, or have a mobile application, I've noted that in the cute little squiggly brackets {}.

Research tools

• Bookends Bookends has a very iTunes-like interface, which makes arranging and managing references quite easy. It's also extremely powerful - so much so that I've still not managed to learn all of the things that it can do. Integrates nicely with Google Scholar and PubMed resources to search for articles.
• Zotero [free] {Windows} Oh, how I love Zotero. It's a Firefox extension and automatically downloads citation information with a single click. Add the ability to attach files, take snapshots of web pages (since they have that tendency to change and move), take notes, and quickly and easily create bibliographies, and it's a real winner. The how-to videos on the Zotero site are fantastic, it's available in 30 languages (yeah, like I speak that many), and it's free and open-source. With the newest version, they've also included a social component, so you can work with others on the same project. Wow. There's only two other features I wish Zotero had:
  • the ability to access from other locations - perhaps in a desktop/web sync like Mendeley or Evernote Oooo... the new 2.0 beta offers this. Too exciting! Will let you know how this goes.
  • a separate "space" for notes. As they are, they're a bit cumbersome to navigate.
• Skim [free] If you want to interact with your PDFs like you do with physical print, Skim is the way to go. Highlight, annotate, draw circles... and have it read to you with Mac's built-in Speech. Searchable notes, my friends, searchable notes. Only wish - make an iPhone/iPod app so it could be used on the go as well.
• Mendeley [free] {Windows} PDF repository and social researching software. Also does some bibliography generation. The killer feature for me is that Mendeley automatically pulls reference data from the article - a huge boon when you're tracing a rabbit trail or some less well-known concept. As with all other bibliography generators, you'll want to make sure that the auto-extracted information is correct and formatted in a way that works with the style guide you're using. For me, this often means manually changing the case in titles from Title Case to Sentence case.
• Delicious [free] {web-based, iPhone app} I'm torn whether to put Delicious in Organization or Research. Delicious tracks all of my bookmarks and allows me access to them from whatever computer I'm using - that makes it an Organization tool. However, Delicious is also a social bookmarking service, allowing me to see what other people have saved as bookmarks for a particular term (tag) - that makes it a Research tool. You decide for yourself... I just call it darn useful.
• Google suite [free] {iPhone app} Keeping up with what's going on in the many areas of my interest is not easy. That's why I rely so heavily on RSS feeds to bring information to me. Having Google Reader just a couple of touches away on my iPod Touch means I can read what's new in AT, education, history... or lolcats... whenever I have just a few minutes and wi-fi access. It's a constant stream of information that I can dip into whenever I want.
• WikiTap [free] {iPhone app only} I'm reading some fairly difficult stuff these days (yes, "stuff" is a technical word). Despite my relatively large vocabulary, I'm constantly running into terms that I'm not entirely sure I grasp. That's where WikiTap comes in. If I keep my iPod next to what I'm reading, I can look up the term either quickly or in more depth without losing my train of thought.

Attentive readers will think, "Hmm. Why is she using three different reference management packages? Isn't that confusing?" Yes, it is, thank you for noticing. At this point, each provides a feature or two that the others don't have. As I continue to refine my own processes and what works for me, I'll probably pare this list down to one or two. That's the fun of working with new tools - finding out what either fits your own process or revolutionizes it to make you more efficient and efficacious. With Zotero's new version, I may actually be paring down sooner than I thought; but I'll have to play with it for a bit first. Onward!