The Most Useful PhD Apps / Software That You Haven't Heard Of | Essential PhD Student Tools

Dr Amina Yonis
14 Dec 202212:27

TLDRThis video introduces a selection of lesser-known but highly useful apps and tools for PhD and master's students, emphasizing AI-based resources. Mendely is highlighted for referencing, Notion for organization, Scholar C for summarizing papers, Connected Papers for discovering literature, Paper Digest for quick summaries, Rightful and Paper Pal for writing enhancement, BioRender for scientific image creation, the Academic Phrase Bank by Manchester University for academic writing, and Canva for design needs. The presenter encourages exploration of these tools to streamline research and academic writing processes.

Takeaways

  • 📚 Mendeley is a referencing tool that integrates well with thesis and dissertation writing, allowing for easy management and insertion of citations.
  • 📅 Notion is a versatile platform for organizing various aspects of PhD work, such as meetings, schedules, lab records, and presentations, customizable to fit individual needs.
  • 🔍 Scholar C is a summarization tool that helps condense research papers into easily digestible summaries with key points and highlights.
  • 🔗 Connected Papers provides a visual overview of academic fields by generating graphs of similar papers, aiding in the discovery of new and relevant research.
  • 📈 Paper Digest offers quick summaries of research papers, enabling a rapid understanding of core ideas and content.
  • ✍️ Rightful is an AI-based writing assistant that helps improve academic writing by suggesting better word choices, editing, and correcting mistakes.
  • 🖋 Paper Pal is similar to Rightful, offering specific language suggestions and corrections in real-time within word documents for better academic writing.
  • 🎨 BioRender is a tool designed for scientists to create professional-quality academic images and illustrations, useful for presentations and posters.
  • 📜 Academic Phrasebank by Manchester University is a valuable resource offering a vast collection of academic phrases and structures to enhance writing coherence and academic tone.
  • 🎨 Canva is a versatile design tool that can be used for creating academic materials such as posters, presentations, and social media content, beyond the limitations of PowerPoint.

Q & A

  • What is the primary focus of the video?

    -The primary focus of the video is to summarize top apps, websites, and resources that can be useful for researchers, students, PhD students, and master's students.

  • Which referencing tool is recommended first in the video?

    -The first referencing tool recommended in the video is Mendeley, with EndNote and Zotero also mentioned as alternatives.

  • How does the video describe the functionality of Mendeley?

    -Mendeley is described as a tool that can be integrated into everyday tasks such as thesis writing, dissertation writing, and literature reviews. It allows users to save references and citations, and then use the word toolkit to insert them into their writing.

  • What is the main purpose of Notion as presented in the video?

    -Notion is presented as a versatile tool for keeping track of various aspects of a PhD student's work, such as meetings, schedules, lab records, presentations, and data. It can be personalized and accessed across different devices.

  • How does ScholarC assist in research?

    -ScholarC is a tool that helps summarize research papers and reading materials. It provides summary cards for articles and chapters, highlights key statements, and links to other referencing sources.

  • What does Connected Papers offer to researchers?

    -Connected Papers offers a visual representation of an academic field by building a graph of similar papers based on a key paper entered by the user. It helps identify papers that might have been missed and shows how they are connected.

  • How does Paper Digest help with research papers?

    -Paper Digest summarizes research papers, allowing users to grasp the core ideas in just three minutes. It provides summaries of the abstract, introduction, objectives, results, discussion, and more.

  • What are the main features of Rightful mentioned in the video?

    -Rightful is an AI-based writing tool that helps with writing, paraphrasing, copy editing, and more. It assists in replacing words for better clarity, spotting mistakes, and improving academic writing.

  • How does Paper Pal assist in academic writing?

    -Paper Pal provides specific language suggestions to help write better and faster. It rephrases confusing sentences, checks for structural or technical consistencies, and detects grammar issues. It also offers a plug-in for Word documents for real-time suggestions.

  • What is the main benefit of using BioRender for academic images?

    -BioRender allows users to generate professional scientific images, such as pathways and innovations, for presentations or posters. It offers pre-made icons and templates from over 30 fields of life sciences, making it easier to create detailed yet focused images.

  • How is the Academic Phrase Bank by Manchester University described in the video?

    -The Academic Phrase Bank is described as an invaluable resource containing a vast collection of academic phrases, terminology, sentence starters, and more. It helps in writing in a more cohesive, clear, and academically viable manner.

  • Why is Canva recommended for academic use in the video?

    -Canva is recommended for its versatility in designing posters, presentations, and other academic materials. It offers a wide range of icons, images, tools, and templates, making it a powerful alternative to PowerPoint for academic and research-related design needs.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Top Tools for Researchers and Students

The paragraph introduces a video summarizing the top applications, websites, and resources for individuals involved in research and academia, including PhD and master's students. The speaker acknowledges the abundance of free resources available, particularly those that facilitate referencing, summarizing papers, and enhancing writing processes. The first tool mentioned is a referencing software, Mendeley, which integrates with writing processes, allowing for easy citation management. The speaker also references a previous video for additional tool recommendations.

05:00

📝 Enhancing Academic Writing and Research

This paragraph delves into various tools designed to aid academic writing and research. Notion is highlighted as a versatile platform for organizing meetings, schedules, lab records, and presentations. ScholarC is introduced as a summarization tool for research papers, providing easy absorption and retention of course readings. Connected Papers is recommended for visualizing academic fields and discovering similar papers, aiding in identifying literature that may have been missed. Paper Digest offers quick summaries of research papers, while Rightful and Paper Pal are mentioned as AI-based writing assistants for paraphrase, copy editing, and grammar improvement.

10:02

🎨 Visualizing Data and Academic Phrase Bank

The speaker discusses tools for visualizing data and enhancing academic writing. By Render is praised for its ability to generate professional scientific images, allowing for the creation of custom diagrams and pathways. The Academic Phrase Bank by Manchester University is highly recommended as a comprehensive resource for academic phrasing, providing sentence starters and terminology for clear and cohesive writing. The paragraph concludes with a mention of Canva, a versatile design tool suitable for creating academic posters, presentations, and social media content, praised for its ease of use and customization options.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡PhD Student

A PhD student is a person who is enrolled in a doctoral program and is engaged in research to earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. In the video, the presenter discusses various tools and resources that are especially useful for PhD students, highlighting how these can aid in their research and academic work.

💡Research Tools

Research tools refer to software, websites, or resources that assist in the process of academic research. The video emphasizes the importance of such tools for researchers and students, providing examples like Mendeley for referencing and Scholar C for summarizing papers, which are crucial for managing and synthesizing information in research.

💡AI-Based Tools

AI-based tools are software applications that utilize artificial intelligence to perform tasks more efficiently. The video mentions that many of the recommended tools are AI-based, implying that they use machine learning or other AI technologies to enhance the user experience and productivity, such as in summarizing papers or assisting with writing.

💡Mendeley

Mendeley is a reference management software that helps researchers organize their research, compile bibliographies, and share and collaborate with other researchers. It is highlighted as a favorite tool in the video for its ability to integrate into various writing platforms and streamline the citation process.

💡Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace tool that allows users to take notes, manage projects, and track information. In the context of the video, it is presented as a powerful tool for PhD students to keep track of their research, meetings, schedules, and even share information with collaborators.

💡Scholar C

Scholar C is a tool mentioned in the video that helps users summarize and understand research papers more efficiently. It provides a summarization tool that uses summary cards to help researchers quickly grasp the key points of academic papers, which is particularly useful for managing the extensive reading load in academia.

💡Connected Papers

Connected Papers is a website that visualizes the relationship between different academic papers. By entering a paper of interest, it generates a graph of related works, helping researchers to discover new papers and understand the trends in their field. It is depicted as a valuable resource for exploring the academic landscape.

💡Paper Digest

Paper Digest is a service that summarizes research papers, allowing users to read and understand the core ideas of a paper in just a few minutes. It is presented as a time-saving tool that can help researchers to initially screen papers before deciding to delve deeper into them, which is beneficial for managing the vast amount of literature available.

💡Rightful

Rightful is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps with writing, paraphrasing, and copy-editing. It is highlighted in the video as a tool that can assist researchers in improving the quality of their academic writing by suggesting better word choices and correcting mistakes, which is essential for producing clear and effective scholarly work.

💡Paper Pal

Paper Pal is a writing tool similar to Rightful that provides specific language suggestions to help users write better and faster. It checks for grammar issues and offers rephrasing suggestions, which can be particularly helpful for non-native English speakers or those looking to refine their academic writing.

💡Render

Render is a tool for creating scientific images and diagrams, which is highly valued in the video for its ability to generate professional-looking academic visuals. It is appreciated for its user-friendly interface and the variety of templates and icons available, which can be used to illustrate complex concepts or data in a clear and engaging manner.

💡Academic Phrasebank

The Academic Phrasebank is a resource provided by the University of Manchester that offers a collection of academic phrases and terminology that can be used to structure and articulate scholarly writing. It is emphasized in the video for its utility in enhancing the coherence and academic tone of written work, making it a go-to resource for researchers and students.

💡Canva

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to create visual content such as posters, presentations, and social media graphics. In the context of the video, it is praised for its versatility and ease of use, offering a wide range of templates and design elements that can be utilized for academic purposes, such as designing presentations or creating visual aids for research.

Highlights

Introducing the top apps, websites, and resources for researchers, students, PhD, and master's students.

Mendeley as a referencing software that integrates into your writing process, allowing you to save and cite references directly.

Notion as a versatile tool for organizing your meetings, schedule, lab records, presentations, and data in a customizable interface.

Scholar C, a summarization tool that helps you easily absorb and retain information from research papers using summary cards and key highlights.

Connected Papers for visualizing the academic field and identifying papers similar to your research topic.

Paper Digest offers quick summaries of research papers, condensing the reading time while grasping the core ideas.

Rightful, an AI-based writing assistant that helps paraphrase, copy-edit, and improve the clarity of your academic writing.

Paper Pal provides specific language suggestions to enhance your writing speed and quality, with a plug-in for Word documents.

BioRender, a platform for creating professional scientific images and pathways, useful for presentations and posters.

The Academic Phrasebank by Manchester University, a vast resource for academic phrases, terminology, and sentence structures to refine your writing.

Canva, a versatile design tool for creating posters, presentations, and social media content beyond the limitations of PowerPoint.

The video provides a list of specialized, AI-based tools that can significantly aid in research and academic writing.

The presenter has curated these tools from their personal experience over the past three years, ensuring their relevance and usefulness.

Each tool is aimed at optimizing different aspects of the academic journey, from organization to writing, visualization, and presentation.

The video encourages exploration of these resources, suggesting that they can greatly benefit those in the research and academic community.

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