Are you looking for the right research tools online? Conducting research can be very time-intensive. Anyone who has ever done any form of research would understand exactly what I am talking about. To ensure your research meets the completion of the target time, you would need to organize your work schedule. This means that the process of collecting and organizing data must be one that is accurate and efficient yet timely. You would need a research tool to organize both your professional and personal life.
The word “research” is derived from a Middle French word translated as “to go about seeking”. This invariably means that the ‘four walls’ around research are to “obtain knowledge”, either by understanding new terms or ideas or by contributing to the existing information about issues. Simply put, research is the creative and systematic work done to widen our knowledge about humans, culture and society and also, to improve practice. Research involves the collection, organization, and analysis of data.
Choose the Right Research Tools Online
Table of Contents
In conducting research, there are 3 very important steps that should be taken. These steps are; Posing a question, Collecting and analyzing data to answer the question and Presenting an answer to the question; with the help of the data collected.
Every research must have a question, an objective. This is important because answering the question posed at the beginning of the research marks the end of the research. This brings us to the big question; how can you achieve your objectives or answer the questions your research possesses? I will tell you how.
How to find Interesting and useful research tools online?
Remember, collecting and analyzing data captures quality evidence that is targeted at answering all questions that have been posted. This means that data collection and analysis must be done carefully, in such a way that mistakes are avoided so that inferences can be drawn, and informed decisions made on what is considered to be factual. To do this, you would require the use of research tools.
A research tool is a device used to obtain, measure and analyze data from subjects around the research topic. The use of research tools is very important in research projects. Many types of research tools exist but, a different type of research require different research tools. The type of research tool used should be based on the type of study you are conducting; a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method study. Again, the research tool used should be one that gathers and analyzes specific information in order to proffer solutions to relevant questions and evaluate results.
Before we proceed further, I would like to point out that there is a difference between research tools and research techniques. While research tool is a device, instrument or an app used for the collection and analysis of data, research techniques are processes utilized in the collection of data or information for analysis in order to uncover new knowledge or create a better understanding of a topic. A research technique is a process or procedure that you follow. For example, the guidelines used in collecting data to ensure that the information is not unbiased.
Top 7 Online Research Tools for Digital Works
-
Trello
This tool is a useful and dynamic visual aid. It can access by every member of your research team; everybody on the team can see where they have made their individual contributions to the project and the level the project has gotten to by viewing the individual contributions as a whole. This online tool has a database of content ideas, research papers and publication of papers. Its user-friendliness allows every task to be moved about easily on the main project screen as need be.
-
-
Scanmarker
-
Scanmarker is a portable digital Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the reader. It is a hand-held device that allows you ‘read’ a page of printed text and then convert it into usable data. The Scanmarker is shaped like a pen, it uses the ‘nib’ of the pen as an optical scanner. It works by drawing a line on the printed text that you find useful. The device Scans the information on the printed text and converts it to text data that you can be copied into the laptop or smart device for easy manipulation. This is very useful in drawing information from books that are not available on the Internet. This enables you to accurately incorporate quotes of sentences or paragraphs for citation. Another important feature of the Scanmarker is that it allows you to translate from and into other languages.
-
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is an academic search engine that allows its users to search all types of academic writings; journals, white papers, research articles and seminars. The unique thing about Google scholar is that apart from giving its users access to academic papers, it also grants its users access to a good number of university repositories. This enables researchers to have a greater likelihood of finding something relaxant to their own research. Also, there is an alert feature on this engine.
When you set this alert, it will notify you when any new article or paper has been being released in your field. This ensures that your research remains in line with the trends and new development happening in your field. Another juicy part of this search engine is that it automatically displays citation numbers and the version of the paper you are reading. It also notifies you on other papers that have already cited the work you are consulting. This allows you to know if you are bringing up a new idea on the subject, or you are giving more insights into the existing trends. Google Scholar also alerts you when anybody cites your paper.
-
Scrivener
This application was originally intended as a tool for screenwriters and novelists. However, it has expanded its activities and is now used to add structure to a piece of finished writing. No matter how much information your writing holds, it wouldn’t matter if it is unreadable because it lacks structure. If you wish to set up your own template then you can, but the program comes complete with an extensive range of templates you can use.
-
Plagiarism checker
This enables you to check the originality of your work. Plagiarism is a terrible offence in writing, and you wouldn’t want your research work to be seen as a copycat of someone else’s. When you are done writing a research paper, it is important you run it through a plagiarism checker that will scan and determine if there is any duplicate content present in your write up; It does this by highlighting sentences or paragraphs that are duplicate. If any plagiarism is detected, you would need to cite those works or rewrite your work in a way that is unique to you.
-
Citation tool
A citation manager or tool enables you to store all your citations in a searchable database. It also helps keep your research organized, format your citations and references in a much-preferred style; format your footnotes or endnotes automatically in the style that fits your style of referencing (Harvard, Vancouver or Chicago) and format your bibliography by automatically Inserting references into a Word document. The citation tool also generates citation where necessary.
-
Grammar checker
This is a program, or part of a program, that verifies a written text for grammatical correctness. For example, using a paraphrasing tool to rewrite your article comes with numerous grammatical errors and this tool will fix your grammar in a clear and detailed manner, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
Qualities of a Good Research Tool
The qualities of a good research tool are –
- Validity: Means the degree to which a test or measuring tool measures what it intends to measure. There are 4 types of validity; content validity, concurrent validity, predictive validity and construct validity.
- Reliability: This measures the extent to which a research tool is dependable, consistent and stable. There are different methods to test the reliability of a research tool.
- Usability: This means the degree to which a research tool can be satisfactorily used without waste of time, money and effect. The factors that determine the usability of a research tool are – the base of administration, the base of scoring, ease of interpretation and application, low cost and proper mechanical makeup.
Final words:
Generally speaking, a good research tool minimizes bias and maximizes the reliability of the data collected and analyzed. The tool which gives the least experimental error is said to be the best tool in conducting research. A research tool which provides maximum information and opportunity to consider different aspects of research is preferable. Stay tuned for more marketing tools updates online at the easiest to your inbox via Quintdaily.
