#51 Smarter research starts here

Hey friends,

I got an email recently from a PhD candidate asking for help with a specific visualization.

I shared the steps to build a similar figure.

Then, I realized that 4 different tools were involved:

• a website to query and find relevant publications

• a software to save the metadata of these papers

• another software to format the required data in a specific format

• and another website to draw the visualization

Now, imagine doing this manually…

Possible. But much more time-consuming. And more frustrating.

Doing research without tools is like trying to build a house with your hands only.

Ask anyone doing research about what they do. We have so many things to handle:

• Search papers

• Find and Read papers

• Manage and format references

• Collect data

• Analyze data

• Create visualizations

• Collaborate with colleagues

• Write manuscripts

• Edit manuscripts

• Find journals to publish in

• Publish manuscripts

• Prepare presentations

• Share files or data with team members

• Manage emails

• Manage Project time and deliverables

• Etc…

That’s where research tools come in.

The goal is to save time, stay organized, and improve the quality of your work.

Now, not every tool is useful for every researcher.

A good starting point is to think about the tasks that take the most of your time.
Block 30min to do this exercise and list all your research tasks.
Then, check if any tool could help manage these tasks.

Many research institutions offer access to tools. Start with your library and see what is already available.

As we say “work smarter, not harder”.
Research tools are all about convenience.

So you can focus on what matters.

In the future, I plan to cover some of the tools out there with some tutorials.
So you can test them and see what works best for you.

If you feel that your research project is taking forever, check if some of these tools can save you hours of work

This is all for this week.

Let us know in the comments if you have other suggestions.

As always, if you need clarification or assistance with your research projects, feel free to reach out to me, and I will respond.

See you next Sunday!

Jamal