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Items here have been featured on the "News & Notes" section of the Graduate School Writer's Nexus.
Researchers: Online Tools to Get Excited About
- You know you're writing a thesis or dissertation when...
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... you get excited about research and citation management tools. Here are two resources you may not have discovered yet.
- OneSearch:
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Do you know the children's story, "Seven at One Blow"? It's about getting more done with less effort, and the Library's OneSearch brings that concept to online academic research.
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With OneSearch's Basic Search, for example, you can look for articles in subject-related groups of databases such as Web of Science, MLA, ERIC, and Historical Abstracts, all at one time. Didn't find what you needed in one group? Just click a button and switch to another group of databases--or another or another.... You may be surprised at what you find and how quickly you find it. Requires UMN ID and password.
- Zotero:
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Zotero is a free, very easy to use Web-based program for collecting citations and formatting bibliographies. Find a book or article or other material in the Libraries' catalog, a database such as Worldcat, or in many other places on the Web; with a click of your mouse, you can download the citation to Zotero, which keeps track of it for you. Later you can use Zotero to add the citation to a Microsoft Word or Open Office document. And you don't need a special class to learn how to use Zotero: it's quite easy to get up and running. (Not affiliated with or supported by UMN.)
There's Still Time: Spring Workshops
Signs of Spring: Graduate School Professional Development Workshops Are Here!
Mystified by the dissertation process? Get some clarity by participating in "Demystifying the Dissertation Process," one of several Professional Development workshops offered by the Graduate School this spring.
Help for Researchers: The Libraries Announce Their Spring Workshop Schedule
The Libraries' spring workshop schedule has a lot to offer dissertation and thesis writers, including Grant Funding for Graduate Students and several workshops on Writing in the Health Sciences.
Tips & Resources
Dissertating from a Distance: More Online Resources
If you're dissertating from a distance or you just need some inspiration or ideas in the middle of the night (or day), you might find these free online resources helpful:
Hot Tips from Down South on Dissertation Writing
Baby, it's cold outside, so we have turned to warmer climes for some inspiration: the UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center's handout on dissertations offers many practical and encouraging suggestions for dissertation writers. Among their other resources, they also have an excellent guide for writing groups. (Be aware that some of the information provided applies only to UNC students.)
Practical Advice to Start the New Year
No matter what your field, you may find useful information in this article published in the American Historical Association's online journal, Preview: "Practical Advice for Writing Your Dissertation, Book, or Article," by Liena Vayzman.
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