Reg Erhardt Library, SAIT Polytechnic. Learn how to effectively organize, record, store, and back up the valuable information generated in your research process. Tools such as data management plans, Evernote, Scrivener, and Google Drive will be reviewed.
2. Where Do I Start?
Make a Plan
Use the Right Tools
Manage Your Time & Your Team
3. Why Make A Plan?
Reusing and sharing
data is more efficient
and effective
Research funding
agencies are
requiring researchers
to freely share and
preserve data
4. Make A Plan
Data Management Plan: Elements
- Types of data that will be produced or collected
- Standards (metadata) and tools for managing files
- Access and sharing plans
- Privacy, security, and IP rights requirements
- Archiving, storage, and preservation plans
5. Make A Plan
Data Management Plan: Further Information
- University of Alberta: Open Source Tools List
- University of Guelph Libraries: Training Modules
- University of Minnesota: Example Plans
6. Use the Right Tools
Choose simple software
Choose software your colleagues use
Choose software that syncs your data
7. Use the Right Tools
To Do List: Wunderlist
Note-taking: Evernote
Bookmarking: Pocket
8. Use the Right Tools
Writing/ Office Suite
- OpenOffice
- NeoOffice
- LibreOffice
Formatting/ Content
- Scrivener
9. Use the Right Tools
File Backup/ sharing
- Dropbox
- Papers
- Google Drive
11. Manage Your Time & Your Team
Project/ Team Management
- Asana
- Trello
- Ganttr
- Evernote
12. Manage Your Time & Your Team
Other tools to explore
- Mind mapping
- Polls & quiz generators
- Presentation software
- Scheduling
Georgia Tech Library, Productivity
Tools for Graduate Students page
Basileiad Library,
Tech Toys for Faculty guide
13. What Do I Do Next?
Learn how search online resources effectively
Manage your references with citation software
Contact a friendly Librarian
Learn how to effectively organize, record, store, and back up the valuable information generated in your research process. Tools such as data management plans, Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Docs will be reviewed.
Make a plan about how to manage what you gather AND what you produce
Use the right tools to manage your data/information: organize, record, store, and back up.
Use other tools to manage yourself
From: University of Guelph Libraries: http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/get-assistance/maps-gis-data/data-management (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
From Canadian Community of Practice for Research Data Management in Libraries:
http://data-carl-abrc.ca/project-arc/project-arc-national-resource-for-data-management-planning/support-for-delivery-of-data-management-plans/
“The level of detail required to outline the plan will vary depending on the nature of the research being undertaken. Researchers experienced in applying for ethics board approvals will be familiar with some components of a data management plan.”
Effectively organize, record, store, and back up.
So simple you could use it in a gazillion different ways.
This makes your life easier when you need to share files or when you don’t know how to do something and need to ask for help.
Back up across multiple devices and the cloud
Julio Peironcely (2013). 10 Software Tools For More PhD Productivity And Less Headaches. Retrieved from http://www.nextscientist.com/phd-productivity-software/
Wunderlist: Free on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows and the Web. Synced. notes, notifications/due dates/reminders/ Share!
Evernote: Free on multiple platforms (tablet, phone, computer). Clips text from web also includes audio recorder. Share!
Pocket: Free. Save articles, videos, images, text, links. Save directly from your browser or from apps like Twitter, Flipboard. Read offline
I assume everyone has used/seen Google products.
Other Options
OpenOffice: Free. Linux, Microsoft, Mac. Word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, databases. Granddaddy of them all.
NeoOffice: Mac Only.
LibreOffice. Linux, Microsoft, Mac. Word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, databases
Scrivener is different – “content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents”
-Show Scrivener website descriptions
Dropbox: Free (up to 2GB), synced across platforms (Mac, Windows, Android, Linux, iPhone) . Holds large files and collections (photos, videos. music). Encrypted & file recovery. The most common tool so many people are on it & easy to share files
Papers :Cost ($80). synced across platforms (web, Mac, Windows, iPhone). Focus is only on documents, managing references.
Google Drive: Free (up to 15GB) “Cloud storage” optimized for tablet and phone. Intergrated with other Google products (docs, sheets, slides, forms). Nifty “scan” feature – Drive for Android (so phone based. Take a picture and Drive stores the image as PDF.
“When your to-do list becomes a monster, and an item next to a checkbox will actually take a long time and multiple people to complete, you need more than a checklist to keep track of it. What you really have is a project, and you need a tool designed to manage them. “
Setting and juggling tasks, maintaining schedules, keeping track of project documentation
Asana: Free for less than 15 users. Asana is a hybrid task and project manager. Android, windows, and Mac. Add details to tasks like links, comments, and tags. Upload attachments.
Trello: Free. Windows, Mac, Android. Post-it note like design. Drag-and-drop cards into columns. Comment, add notes, assign to individuals.
Ganttr: Free cloud-based software. Integrated into Google, imports into Microsoft Project. Includes GANTT charts but no online collaboration features.
And don’t forget EverNote! Create groupings of notes (notebook) digitize handwritten docs to load into software. Lots of add-ons. More info available at
http://lifehacker.com/5989980/ive-been-using-evernote-all-wrong-heres-why-its-actually-amazing
Mind mapping: mindmeister
Polls: surveymonkey.com
Presentations: Prezi
Scheduling: doodle
Sale pitch for 2 additional workshops:
Cite it Right: Introduction to Citation Management (Zotero & Mendeley)
Advanced Research Skills- Internet & Library
Learn how to effectively organize, record, store, and back up the valuable information generated in your research process. Tools such as data management plans, Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Docs will be reviewed.