Research papers are a major component of academic life. From high school to graduate studies, most students will have to write numerous papers requiring research into various topics. While researching and writing papers has long involved hours spent in the library and late nights at a desk, technology has now provided some helpful research paper writing apps to assist students. These apps can help with organizing research, collaborating with others, avoiding plagiarism, and more. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top research paper writing apps available today.
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize research, collaborate with others, and easily cite sources. With Mendeley, you can easily import papers from databases and websites with just one click. It will automatically generate citations and bibliographies in various styles like APA, MLA, Chicago, and more. You can also easily share papers and notes with other researchers through private groups. The desktop and web versions sync seamlessly so your work is accessible anywhere.
Zotero is another extremely popular free citation management tool. Like Mendeley, it allows you to save, organize, and annotate research sources, as well as easily generate bibliographies. A few unique features include the ability to directly save citations from library databases and Google Scholar into your Zotero library. You can also capture citations from web pages with just one click using the Zotero Firefox browser extension. Its integration with word processors like Google Docs and Microsoft Word makesciting and bibliographies a breeze.
Evernote is a very versatile note-taking app that can be effectively utilized for research paper writing. With Evernote, you can save PDFs, web pages, photos, audio clips, and any other type of note or source for your paper in one digital notebook organized by tags. You can easily search and retrieve all your research with powerful web, text, and meta search capabilities within the app. It also allows you to collaborate in real-time with classmates or co-authors by sharing notebooks. Evernote is available for all major devices as well.
Quip is a unique collaboration platform specifically designed for team projects and writing. Perfect for group research papers, it allows simultaneous editing of documents in real-time. You can add other collaborators, comment on changes, and maintain version history of your documents. Quip also offers formatted text, tables, diagrams, embedded files and media right in the document. You can invite other Quip users to join ongoing discussions through direct messaging within documents as well.
Grammarly is a useful writing assistance app focused on catching and correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, style consistency, and plagiarism issues. It integrates directly into word processors and browsers to check your writing. Grammarly also provides detailed reports on word choice suggestions and flagged issues. Their premium version performed an in-depth plagiarism check by comparing against billions of web pages and academic papers. Grammarly ensures your paper is clear of unintentional plagiarism before submission.
Workflowy is a simple yet powerful productivity tool designed around lists and nested outlines. While not specifically designed for research papers, it allows you to efficiently organize, structure and map out your work. Start with a broad topic outline then easily add sub-points, tasks, ideas, notes, links and more in a flexible nested list structure. You can quickly rearrange items up and down within the outline as your paper progresses. It syncs seamlessly across devices so you can work from anywhere. Workflowy helps keep your research organized throughout the writing process.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides comprise Google’s free, web-based office suite perfect for collaborative writing and research support. Google Docs allows multiple co-authors to simultaneously edit, comment on and discuss a research paper in real-time. You can also integrate online research sources, images, and citations into the paper itself with links. Spreadsheets and presentations can be used to organize references, outline arguments, create graphs and charts, or illustrate key findings. Advanced features like suggest mode help avoid document conflicts during simultaneous editing. For students on limited budgets, this free collaboration solution is unbeatable.
There are so many helpful digital tools available today to boost research and writing efficiency. While online searching remains essential, research paper writing apps consolidate sources and notes, facilitate collaboration, ensure proper citation and formatting, and catch issues early through editing assistance. Used strategically throughout the research and writing process, these apps can save countless hours and help produce higher quality, well-organized papers. Choose options that best support individual work styles and needs for any research paper task.