Top 5 Apps for PhD Students | PhD Vlog

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Any killer apps I’ve missed? Or alternatives I should check out? Would love to hear your thoughts!

[@johnny8dljuneau]

Hi Tom, thanks again for another great video. From a previous video of yours I see your workflow utilises Mendeley for initial review of papers (highlighting / Evernote note taking method). How do you integrate your ever-growing Mendeley references database with Scrivener? For example, Word has the Mendeley plugin so you can add any references and your bibliography direct in. Is there are similar way that you integrate Mendeley into Scrivener? If not, how do you embed your refs/ bibliography into it? Cheers, John

[@johnny8dljuneau]

Ah. Endnote..... sell out! (Joke)!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Hey John, I’ve recently switched over to EndNote. All I need to do is copy and paste a reference from the EndNote window over into Scrivener and it copies over as a citation in curly brackets {}. Then, when I want to print or send to someone, I just export it to Word briefly where EndNote will automatically turn those curly bracketed citations into references of a format of your choosing!

[@emmaworthington1609]

Hi Tom, thanks for this. I've switched from Endnote to Bear, and have started using Things3 and Toggl because of your video. Another killer app is TextExtender - like an autocomplete but completely cross-app. If you write the same words or phrases again and again (or mis-spell the same things), it's brilliant. It also prompts you if it spots you re-writing things. The other thing I've started using is Zapier, which automates tasks across apps. E.g, I create a task on a Trello board, and 3 Zaps a) replicate that task as a TODO in Things, b) add an issue in GitHub, and c) add a Time Entry in Toggl. Only downside is you can only add 5 Zaps for free, but as a PhD student I can cope with that, although it would be nice if they had a student-friendly payment option.

[@mirieh00]

In my field, we use only Latex for writing. Overleaf is really great latex option as you can easily collaborate with others. Latex is a bit tricky to learn at first but the citation management and writing equations is super easy. You don’t have to worry about the format either as overleaf has default layouts you can use and your documents look always professional.

[@vth6628]

As a hobbyist, I can wholeheartedly support using Zotero as a citation software. It features a web browser add on that basically allows you to add almost everything (even KZbin videos!) to your citation library at a click of a button. The software also automatically adds some of the metadata (the author(s), the date of publication, the publisher, etc.) into the citation information box, saving you from having to fill them out manually. And, not unlike Mendeley, it also supports saving pdf files attached with the academic article into your hard drive and allows you to take notes and highlight key information within that file. Zotero is also the only citation software (that I know of) to have Google Docs integration, perfect for anyone looking to collaborate with other people. And of course, Zotero can easily do the same thing that you demonstrated using Endnote, that being the ability to generate plain text citations for you to paste wherever you please. (A sidenote: Zotero also features add-ons, one of which includes the Sci-Hub extension, which automatically fetches pdf files of paywalled articles so long as they include a DOI. A total lifesaver if your university happens to not have a very robust library).

[@sharulhafiz6312]

Mendeley do have saving pdf to the local folder, but I can't find a way to make Zotero do that.

[@pritamd47]

@@sharulhafiz6312 Have a look at the Zotfile plugin. This is what I use to sync all my documents to my onedrive storage. Works like a charm. Link: zotfile.com/

[@sparklewell]

Agreed, I showed students how to use Zotero and it really is great citation software.

[@whitepouch0904]

Is it free and no hidden charges?

[@vth6628]

@@whitepouch0904 I have used it extensively for one of my papers and yes, there are no major features that are locked behind paywalls. I believe the only thing you can pay for in Zotero is extra storage for online syncing, and even that has a wide range of alternatives.

[@graniapower8194]

Thanks Tom! Just started my PhD and came back to this video after watching your channel for a couple years. Sooooo incredibly helpful for getting me organized from the start. Thanks a million!

[@carlosbornes]

Really really good video. I think you should keep this type of videos. One app that I believe is a must have for every PhD that is not a native English speaker is Grammarly the paid version is really really good for correcting my English and also gives you suggestions and explains you why something is wrong. I know you're a native speaker but take a look at the free version

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Cheers Carlos! Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see a video about. Grammarly is a good shout actually. I have the free version which I occasionally find useful although it’s not always a huge amount better than the built-in spellchecker on things. Glad it’s been useful for you though!

[@The1SuperAtheist]

I'm not a PhD student. I'm actually a high school drop out but I like to learn so I thought I'd check out your channel. Looks interesting enough

[@EduDetective]

Hi Tom, Thanks for sharing your tips - they're great! One app that I found really helpful in my first year was Twitter. So many of the academics whose papers I had read were active tweeters and I found it a really useful way to keep up to date with all the latest happenings in sociology and education. On a slightly different note I've just started a vlog myself and I think your vids are a great example of how to do it well! Any tips you can provide would be much appreciated

[@aditigupta3199]

Thank Tom, I've been loving your videos recently! Keep up the good work :)

[@karimelbana8672]

Hi Tom, thanks for the useful video. After 1.5 years now, did you change your mind about any of them? or starte using something new?

[@slepoir27]

Hello Tom, i have recently started masters course, and i am happy that i found your channel. I have to read a lot and make notes and assimilate the information. I definitely need to use contemporary technology to facilitate my efforts. Thanks

[@lucianodapaixaogime2623]

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ldpgime_lucho.linksaver

[@slepoir27]

@@lucianodapaixaogime2623 thank you!

[@kishorpanthee2673]

Very impressive. It would be better if you mention or write one by one apps important for PhD.

[@jaishreeprasad2115]

Thank you! really useful video for phd!!

[@lucianodapaixaogime2623]

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ldpgime_lucho.linksaver

[@NovelNovelist]

I love Scrivener. I've used it for about four years now though, and I never knew a unit/doc was called a "Scrivening." Interesting.

[@lucianodapaixaogime2623]

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ldpgime_lucho.linksaver

[@Anna-hj7vh]

Hi, I've just started working with Scrivener - that's really great, thanks for the suggestion! But I've got one question: did I understand well you use Endnotes (earlier Mendeley) to cite? I found only that feature for Libre Office and Word, so how to cite with Scrivener? And one more: what version do you prefer: on-line or desktop? They differ significantly.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Using EndNote with Scrivener involves using versions of the citations which use curly brackets. You can then convert them into proper citations in Word later. So it's not quite as flashy as the CWYW function in Word etc but I actually find it a little easier.

[@andiantopatak]

amazing video. people from EFL country can learn the content of your video and the pronunciation.

[@aysenuronaran726]

I use Adobe Reader to read and highlight or take notes on pdfs, it also syncs easily through all my devices, and it's free. Is there a better free app that would allow me to do editing but also uses a cloud?

[@vdc-1375]

Google notes does the hashtag thing and is free.

[@rouvyrlo9132]

Hi SIr impressive presentation - Could you provide some input for APA 7 for Phd research? 2) What would be the most helpful program for formating according to APA 7 -esp for spacing, font, citation based on the rigid APA 7 format - Appreciate your valuable input on this earnest information seeking TQ

[@origarmy6667]

Can you check out and review Taskade next? 🤩

[@OAVT27]

So, does any reference manager works with Scrivener 3 as a plug-in for in text citations? If not, then I think Scrivener will be not that useful and I have to switch to Word app. Still not sure about Pages app for Mac!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Yes, EndNote works lovely and I believe Zotero can too. You do have to briefly export it to Word to compile the Bibliography but it makes it super, super easy to do that. Haha, yeah, even as a dedicated Mac user, I’d steer well clear of Pages!

[@zapy422]

Check out Google keep Autohotkey Google calendar A clipboard manager Refnwrite

[@aymanhimself]

Love the smile !!

[@richardbenitez7803]

Plymouth! So you are buddy of diver Tom Daley whose channel speaks fondly of this city?

[@zerogravity5052]

Hi , thanks for sharing ! i want to collect some parts of previous researches so fast to write litreture review and instead of taking note or copy paste .... what application can help me arrange information soon to paraphrase it and writing a new paper? i appreciate your responses

[@yt.abhibhav]

No app but sticky notes are working really good

[@abdullahyassin9722]

Thank you, this was useful :)

[@nurehh2271]

Thank you!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

No worries, thanks for watching!

[@ethiopia5644]

Thanks

[@MichaelMcKenna1963]

Scrivener for Chromebook

[@JosephFabs]

Thank you for this :)

[@georgehenderson-walshe1592]

Mathematicians all use basically the same purpose made tools, which I think is unique

[@aatiya19]

alteranateto Bear?

[@SamirVIE]

Very helpful - thanks a lot! Would be great if you could explain endnote a bit more. Especially the plaintext citation feature - where you can add citation references afterwards via word.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

In most text editors, if you simply copy the reference from EndNote (ctrl-c or cmd-c) and then paste into your text editor, it will give you the plaintext citation.

[@SamirVIE]

@@Tom_Nicholas Thanks a lot!!! I got it! - I also switched also form mendelay to Endnote because of exactly that feature! THANKS!

[@rahulbhattacharjee9194]

But these are not free.

[@JesslyCasamayor]

Hi, I am from Peru.

[@DrPreetiSahu]

Feedly for literature search

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Ooooh, interesting. Hadn't come across Feedly before but will take a look!

[@dorafulify]

Ur so respectful and sweet 😍

[@ranasamir]

Notion

[@keynahkareem7879]

thanks for sharing...you have a pair of beautiful eyes.. ;)

[@amritaanshsrivastava3176]

your chin is shiny