Utilise these online tools to improve your academic writing skill
Oct 11, 2023 |
12 Mins Read
In the current digital age, academic writing has undoubtedly been transformed from what it once was. The internet has brought a new era of convenience and efficiency for students and scholars alike. Academic writing is a writing style that demands a clear tone and formal language, finding the balance between the two can be challenging. As a result, online academic writing tools have emerged, offering resources and assistance to streamline the writing and citation processes. In this blog, we explore online tools that can help you conquer academic writing challenges, boost your productivity, and elevate the quality of your scholarly work.
Writing Tools
The chosen writing platform can impact the quality of an academic essay, however, this is dependent on personal preferences. A well-known universally adopted writing platform is Microsoft Word, which is very versatile and caters to a variety of writing projects. Platforms specifically geared towards academic writing usually host citation managers and other formatting specialities. Listed below are a few writing platforms that Zendy recommends.
| Platform | Benefits |
| Microsoft Word | A versatile tool that is user-friendly, provides formatting options, collaboration and sharing tools, citation features, templates, spell and grammar check, and auto-save. |
| LaTeX | Most used by academics as the platform is designed to smoothly manage heavy files including data in the form of text, visuals and equations. Provides writers with professional typesetting tools to easily meet institutional or journal requirements easily. |
| LibreOffice | LibreOffice Writer provides an array of writing tools ranging from advanced formatting options to spell-checking, in terms of academic writing, this can be a good platform to conduct final touches on an academic paper. |
| Scrivener | For academic writers, Scrivener is best used as a note-making tool as it efficiently stores and organizes all the notes, sources and citations. |
| Google Docs | Google Docs works best for researchers who are collaborating on an academic paper, it conveniently tracks everybody’s contributions ensuring equal participation and smooth workflow. |
| Dropbox Paper | Dropbox paper can be considered a slightly advanced version of Google Docs as the platform is designed to assign tasks, organize documents and create to-do lists to ensure researchers collaborate efficiently. |
Citation Management Tools
In academic writing, referencing and citations are arguably the most time-consuming tasks. Online citation tools are designed to generate accurate citations and curate specifically formatted referencing lists to ensure productivity in research. Citation managers generate both in-text citations and list versions to ensure the source is being used correctly to avoid plagiarism, furthermore, some citation tools also evaluate sources and rule out or alert the writer about the non-academic ones. Listed below are a few citation management tools that Zendy recommends.
| Platform | Benefits |
| Zotero | Zotero is an efficient citation management tool that generates citations by dragging the link of the source to a dropbox. A unique feature is that Zotero also allows academic writers to annotate PDFs on the app to highlight key concepts within a research paper. |
| Mendeley | generates citations and bibliographies of multiple mediums and allows users to collaborate with other researchers online. |
| EndNote | EndNote is a great way to organise citations by research paper. It hosts interesting features such as PDF annotation and allows users to generate citations from over 7000 referencing styles. This platform also allows researchers to share reference lists with other authorised collaborators. |
| Paperpile | Paperpile allows users to access their libraries across multiple devices and also functions as a plug-in to collaborate on Google Docs. It also secures bibliographies as it is a cloud-based reference manager. |
| RefWorks | RefWorks allows users to simply share citations and documents with other collaborators and efficiently manages multiple formats, including webpages. |
Grammar and Spell-Check Tools
In academic writing, it is important to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors and that all sentences are structured in a formal and objective manner. The core of academic writing is to clearly and accurately convey information and findings, any grammatical or spelling errors have the potential to misinform readers. Listed below are a few grammar and spell-check tools that Zendy recommends.
| Platform | Benefits |
| Grammarly | Grammarly is a universal plug-in that enhances clarity and readability while also highlighting errors. This platform can be optimized to cater to any writing platform and tone. Allowing researchers to work on different projects error-free |
| ProWritingAid | This tool assesses an array of writing mistakes like sentences that interrupt the flow, word choices, consistency of tense usage, and readability. |
| MS Word Spelling and Grammar Checker | Efficient for writers who primarily utilise MS Word, as it is an efficient tool that saves time in the proofreading stage. |
Plagiarism Detecting Tools
To be a credible academic, your record must be free of plagiarism as it can quickly taint your career and reputation. Plagiarism detectors ensure that all the content in a research paper is original and cited correctly, some detectors also evaluate how credible a source is and if it can be utilised in an academic paper and then highlight the problem areas. Regularly using plagiarism detectors helps researchers adhere to ethical guidelines to disseminate credible academic research. Listed below are two plagiarism detectors that Zendy recommends.
| Platform | Benefits |
| Turnitin | This platform educates students on identifying and crediting other authors’ works, using appropriate referencing techniques, and detecting plagiarised parts for students to efficiently paraphrase. |
| Copyscape | Copyscape helps identify plagiarism and the exact source from where content has been plagiarised, this helps students understand the context of the information while correcting the plagiarism. |
In the fast-paced world of academia, where the pursuit of excellence is paramount, these online tools have proven to be indispensable for students and scholars alike. From harnessing the power of plagiarism detection to ensuring impeccable grammar and streamlining the tedious task of citation management, these digital aids have transformed our approach to academic writing. As we conclude our exploration of these tools, it's worth noting that while they provide invaluable assistance, they are no substitute for the core skills of critical thinking, research, and writing. Instead, they serve as enablers, freeing up time and mental bandwidth, and allowing us to focus on the true essence of scholarship: the pursuit of knowledge and the articulation of innovative ideas.
Use Zendy to conduct your research through quality scholarly papers and easily consume the content with our AI-based summarisation and keyphrase highlighting features.
Online Research Tools You Need to Know About in 2024
When we think about research tools, the first thing that comes to our mind is laboratory equipment, survey questionnaires, traditional statistical software, interviews, and more. But in 2024, things are changing. More online tools are being integrated into the research process, and they can save you a lot of time. After reading this blog, you’ll be introduced to some of the latest tools used in research in 2024, some of which you might not have encountered before. If you’re just starting your research or are unsure where to begin, these research tools can help you get started and make your work easier. Brainstorming Tools Defining a clear scientific topic has always been the challenging part of the research process. Even with a deep understanding of the field, researchers cannot stop asking themselves, “Do I provide a real solution?” That’s why brainstorming is such an important step, as it helps you go from Zero to One. Here’s a list of research tools used in brainstorming to help you set up your topics and make sure it’s unique and relevant. Miro Miro is an online platform for you and your colleagues to gather every idea in one place. It gives you plenty of templates such as mind maps, bubble maps, or even tree maps with sticky notes that will help you pull out your thoughts from your mind right in front of your eyes. This easy and simple online tool used in research will save you hours of thinking inside your head. MindMeister What makes MindMeister unique and suitable for research tools is that it has the user interface of what a researcher's mind needs, especially in the phase of choosing a topic. You and your team can use MindMeister on the go with a native mobile application for both Android and iOS.Benefits? ToolFree Plan FeaturesMiro3 editable boards, templates, 100+ integrationsMindMeisterUp to 3 mind maps, unlimited collaborators and mobile apps. The bottom line is to always start with a broad field and gradually narrow your focus to recent trends and challenges to address a problem and its potential solution until you find a relevant and unique question to answer. Literature Search & Access Tools Now, after a long day of brainstorming, you finally have your next research topic in hand. It’s time to conduct and structure a literature review to set the stage for your research question. In the past, researchers would travel to universities and libraries to access academic resources. With the arrival of the internet, they began to search online across many websites. Now, there are millions of research papers available online. Despite the increased accessibility, the need for a one-stop shop for peer-reviewed academic papers has become essential. These research tools have been designed to provide access to millions of articles in one place, while also offering features to help you organise them efficiently. Zendy With over 40 million research papers on a wide range of topics used by over 600,000 researchers worldwide, Zendy is one of the top 10 open access library databases that offer much more than just an online database for academic resources. Its simple, easy-to-use interface and powerful search filters make it one of the most efficient research tools available. This allows you to quickly find the articles you need, organise your sources and build a solid foundation for your research, saving you both time and money during the literature review stage. With Zendy, you have three options: Zendy Open – The free plan gives access to open-access articles. Zend Plan gives you unlimited AI research tools, including ZAIA, AI Summarise, Insights, PDF Analysis, and Keyphrase Highlight. Zendy Plus – Full access to paywalled articles along with unlimited usage of AI tools. Google Scholar Google Scholar is one of the most widely used research tools today. It’s a free tool that allows researchers to easily search through millions of academic articles, theses, books, and conference papers across various disciplines. In 2024, it continues to be an essential tool for students, professionals and researchers who need quick access to high-quality, peer-reviewed materials. While Google Scholar may not have the same in-depth organisational tools as other research tools, its ability to provide access to a vast amount of information with minimal effort makes it a go-to option for many researchers. Reference and Citation Management Tools Organising large amounts of data, sharing findings with colleagues, managing complex citations and references, and, of course, keeping up with deadlines, these tasks can be time-consuming and feel overwhelming. However, tools used in research like Zotero and Paperpile can help take care of all these details. These research tools make managing your project a lot easier, allowing you to focus on what really matters without getting weighed down by the small stuff. Instead of having documents and notes scattered all over the place, tools used in research like Zotero and Paperpile keep everything in one spot, so it’s easy to find what you need, saving time and reducing mistakes. Zotero Zotero is one of the great research tools for organising your project. It automatically grabs citation details from websites and academic databases, and you can attach PDFs, notes and other files to each reference, so everything stays in one place. Zotero allows you to organise your research into collections and tags, making it easier to find what you need later. It also integrates with Word and Google Docs to add citations and create bibliographies while you write. Plus, it syncs across devices, so you can access your research anytime, anywhere. It's a simple way to stay organised and keep everything in one spot. Paperpile If you’re looking for research tools that integrate easily with Google’s ecosystem, Paperpile is the best choice. It’s specifically built for Google apps! You can organise, find and collect, download and sync, annotate, share, and cite in Google Docs. With its clean interface and integration with Google, Paperpile is a great choice for anyone looking to simplify research management. It’s straightforward, user-friendly and saves lots of hours. Data Collection and Survey Tools Not so long ago, researchers often gathered data based on assumptions and possibilities within a small circle of interest, which wasn’t always accurate. Today, with the help of advanced research tools, you can collect and analyse data more precisely from a broader range of samples online. Jotform I’ve tried Jotform, and in just 1:57 minutes, I created an account and built a form with basic questions (name, age, location, background, etc.) using its drag-and-drop feature. It’s incredibly easy and fast to use. In addition, Jotform offers many features, such as adding collaboration and integration with various project management software. It is a great tool used in research to simplify data collection. Google Forms You may have noticed what makes Google's tools on top is their straightforward, fast, free and most of all, their simplicity. This simplicity is what makes Google stand out. Google Forms, for example, allows you to create extensive questionnaires and surveys that are easy for your target audience to use and comprehend. Its integration with other Google tools, like Google Sheets, makes it easy to manage and analyse responses all in one place. For researchers looking for research tools to gather data, Google Forms offers an effortless option for collecting valuable data. Project Management and Collaboration The right project management and collaboration research tools can make it much easier to stay on top of everything. Notion and Trello are two popular choices among researchers, and they are reliable options that can help you bring structure to your research management with less effort. Notion Notion is a one-stop workspace, combining notes, project management, and databases in one place. You can set up a hub for your research, keep notes, track references, and collaborate with others in real time, adapting it to fit the specific needs of your project. Trello Sometimes, seeing tasks laid out visually makes organising projects a lot easier. Trello is a simple research tool that does just that. It allows you to arrange tasks on boards and lists and view them in either calendar or timeline formats. With Trello, you can sort out to-do lists, create channels for different topics, assign tasks to team members, set deadlines and check your project’s overall progress, all while working together with your colleagues in real time. You will find Trello helpful for managing literature reviews, tracking data collection, and collaborating on research tasks. Academic Writing and Editing While these research tools are helpful, they shouldn’t do all the work for you. They’re best used as a way to clean up your writing, not to create it. The main ideas and structure of your research should come from you, with the tools stepping in to help with the fine details. Let’s take a look at some of the best writing tools used in research that can help you improve your academic writing and make your research easier to read and understand. Grammarly A very practical writing assistant tool offers more than 400 features, including grammar checks, vocabulary improvement suggestions, plagiarism detection, citation recommendations and more. What makes Grammarly really useful is how easy it is to use. You can install it as an extension on your browser or use it in its standalone app, and it works across different platforms, from your computer to your phone. Paperpal Academic writing isn’t just about getting the facts right, it’s about presenting ideas clearly so they’re easy to understand. Most research tools, like spelling and grammar checkers, can help fix basic mistakes, but they’re often not designed for research-level writing. This is where Paperpal really shines. Paperpal is built to support the unique needs of researchers and students. It doesn’t just spot typos; it helps you refine your language, follow academic standards, and structure your paper for better readability. For example, when writing a research paper, Paperpal can suggest improvements that make complex ideas easier to follow and help you use the right tone for a professional audience. With Paperpal, your research writing will meet the standards journals are looking for. This makes it a valuable addition to the tools used in research. In Conclusion 2024 is proving to be an exciting time for the academic industry. Today, researchers have access to an impressive range of research tools, starting with brainstorming platforms to citation managers, academic writing assistants and project management software that make every stage of research more efficient and effective. The right tools used in research can help you focus on what matters most.
Research Better: 6 Best AI Tools for Research Efficiency
The increased usage of AI tools has sparked many conversations in the world of academia, which inspired the innovation of AI tools for research. The integration of technology in academia has brought innovation that introduced digital libraries, plagiarism trackers and grammar-checking softwares, this changed the way researchers write and discover academic literature. In recent years, the academic sphere has witnessed the rapid growth and implementation of AI, which we believe can be leveraged to create efficiency in research. As an AI-powered research library, Zendy provides key tools like summarisation and keyphrase highlighting to streamline the process of literature review, we also developed and launched ZAIA, the AI research assistant. These tools have been designed to create efficiency in research, which allows researchers to invest significant time in data analysis and their primary research. With the growing integration of AI products, we believe in the ethical use of AI in the world of research while also harnessing the innovative technology to streamline research processes amongst students and researchers alike. According to a study that looked at the usage of AI amongst students, it was found that every fourth student (25.2%) uses AI-based tools frequently, while almost half of the students (47.8%) use AI-based tools occasionally. Slightly more than a third of the students (36.6%) do not use AI-based tools at all. In this blog, we recommend the 6 best AI-driven tools to assist you with annotating, citing and more! 1. ZAIA AI Assistant for Research ZAIA is a domain-specific LLM designed to assist researchers in understanding essential research concepts and finding relevant papers. This tool enhances the efficiency of the literature review process, providing answers backed by millions of academic research papers. 2. Semantic Scholar Housing over 200 million papers from all fields of science, this tool generates a comprehensive summary of an academic paper, including the area of study the research addressed and its overall impact on the discipline. 3. Paperguide Paperguide is an all in one AI workspace for researchers to conduct literature reviews, understand and extract data from scientific papers, collaborate, manage and write research. 4. Tableau This tool generates date visualisation and analytical tools for businesses and researchers. The platform is equipped with Einstein AI which is driven by machine learning and delivers predictions and recommendations within Tableau workflows to assist with efficient decision-making. 5. Scite.ai This is a well-rounded citation tool that provides context to citations by clearly stating whether an academic paper supports or contrasts the cited claim. This helps researchers save time having to read lengthy papers and quickly determine whether the citation is relevant to their research. 6. Consensus AI This tool annotates insights about research papers using AI. It produces “study snapshots” to condense lengthy research papers by mentioning study aims, variables, and findings. The platform also provides credible responses backed by academic papers to queries, by presenting research papers that both support and contrast the query, allowing users to browse through objective responses. Limitations of AI Tools While AI tools are effective in streamlining research processes, they raise ethical concerns and can impact research integrity if misused. AI raises ethical issues including data privacy, algorithm bias and misuse of AI. However, due to the increasing usage of AI tools, policies are developing quickly to ensure the technology is adequately regulated. Tips for Using AI Tools in Research Follow these recommendations to ensure ethical AI usage: Always fact-check content generated by AI tools Do not write academic articles using AI tools. Instead, use these tools to edit and structure original research content. Do not use AI tools to generate references, instead use it to manage and store the references. Use AI tools that produce accurate results. Incorporate your own voice and style of written content as much as possible. In conclusion, AI is a resourceful innovation in academic research when used ethically. The correct and responsible usage of AI can create immeasurable efficiency in research processes, and aid in citation management, resource annotation, data visualization, literature discoverability and summarisation.Discover a comprehensive suite of AI-driven tools like summarisation, keyphrase highlighting and ZAIA - AI assistant for research on Zendy now.
23 Reflections to Recap Zendy's 2023 Journey
Welcome to Zendy’s annual recap, where we reflect on another year of milestones. The ever-evolving landscape of scholarly communication this year was anything but stagnant, dominated by themes of openness, integrity, inclusion, and innovation. As we reflect on 2023, we're proud to have welcomed new publishers, attended events, celebrated milestones with our users, and released some really great features to continue to support our users on their research and learning journey. How we enhanced our user experience We developed and launched ZAIA Our most anticipated and exciting feature launch this year was ZAIA - Zendy's AI assistant. Ask any question, and ZAIA will analyse millions of researchers papers to give you credible answers backed by references. If you haven't already, log in to your Zendy account and put ZAIA to the test! We launched Zendy Plus globally We launched our global subscription plan at Frankfurt Book Fair 2023! The plan allows students, researchers and professionals globally to access scholarly material from leading publishers for the monthly price of a single research paper. This was a key milestone for us as our previous Zendy Plus plan was limited to several countries. Having an affordable and equitable access model strengthens our mission to remove the barriers to scholarly literature. Keyphrase Highlighting We released an AI-powered keyphrase highlighting tool. Instead of having multiple tabs open, looking for definitions and further research on a concept, Zendy highlights keyphrases in just one click to allow readers to grasp key research concepts quickly. Summarisation We also released an AI-powered summarisation tool. This tool summarises lengthy research papers into a concise paragraph on demand. This significantly helps readers save time during literature review. Reading Lists Earlier this year, we launched a reading list feature. Reading lists can be used to organise and categorise research papers according to projects, subject areas or whichever method the reader finds simplest to navigate through. New UI coming soon The team has been working on a brand new UI to transform the user journey on Zendy. Zendy will reveal a new fresh look very soon, with additional personalisation features to further enhance the discovery of scholarly literature. Milestones we marked with our users Welcomed over 400,000 readers We’re proud to support over 400,000 readers from 200 countries and territories on Zendy! We thank our valued community for their consistent support. The trust of our community fuels our mission to keep striving for a world where equal access to research is a reality. Over a 6 million searches & 2.5 million downloads We have seen over 6 million keywords searched on the platform. Searches ranging from the neural networks, to enteric bacteria, and social impact - we’re proud to support a diverse community of students, researchers, and professionals. We marked over 2.5 million downloads on Zendy! As we continue to work with new publishers, we look forward to bringing an even better selection of content to our readers. We exhibited, presented, and attended many events! Presented at Charleston Hub 2023 Our Partner Relations Manager, Sara Crowley Vigneau presented at Charleston Hub in partnership with IGI Global. The presentation titled ‘On the Open Road: The story of an OA publication through the stakeholder journey’ looked at the journey of a publication through the eyes of each custodian. Exhibited at STEP 2023 Earlier this year, our team exhibited Zendy at STEP 2023. Showcasing our Zendy alongside various startups inspired the team to learn from other tech products in the Middle Eastern region. Sponsored and presented at the Forum for Open Research MENA We were proud to sponsor the Forum of Open Research MENA, which is an event that highlights and advances open access initiatives in the Arab region. Our head of technology, Rodrigo Pinto, presented his insightful research paper titled, "Leveraging Big Data and Machine Learning to Enhance Open Data Quality: Insights for Developing Regions." Exhibited at Frankfurt Book Fair It was a pleasure to exhibit and connect with new and existing partners at Frankfurt Book fair 2023. We hosted a launch event at this year's fair, showcasing our Zendy Plus global subscription offering. Thanks to all who attended! Presented at the MENA Panel Our co-founder, Kamran Kardan spoke at The MENA panel titled, “AI wrote this abstract: The Impact of AI on higher education and academic research.” The discussion touched on the impact of AI on higher education, dissecting how it affects teaching, learning and ethical guidelines. Attended London Book Fair We attended the London Book Fair earlier this year. Our team met with many of our partners and other key leaders in scholarly communication. We look forward to exhibiting at next year’s fair. Exhibited at UKSG 2023 We also exhibited at our first UKSG conference this year. It was a really great experience connecting with and learning from some of the best minds in our global knowledge community. Joint Webinar with InTechOpen We partnered with InTechOpen to host a joint webinar titled, “Emerging Technologies - Partnering for Accessibility, Discoverability and a Sustainable Future.” Zendy’s Head of Marketing, Monica Chinsami, presented on the panel alongside Prof Tatiana Morosuk, Editorial Board Member of IntechOpen's Green Energy and Environmental Technology (GEET) journal, and Dr Jo Havemann, Co-founder of AfricArXiv. We welcomed new partners IEEE In September, we integrated IEEE’s open access research content. This partnership has brought significant technological research across various areas of study, like aerospace, robotics and more on Zendy. IT Governance In June, we partnered with IT Governance, which is a leading publisher of books on information technology, cybersecurity and governance. IGI Global We partnered with IGI Global, a leading publisher focused on research across different specialisms under the vast umbrella of Science. This partnership saw the addition of leading e-journals as well as book content across subject areas including Business & Management; Scientific, Technical, Medical (STM); and Education. Bristol University Press We also signed an agreement with Bristol University Press. BUP is well known for producing scholarship that advances theory, knowledge and learning within and beyond academia. InTechOpen We also welcomed IntechOpen to our partner community. InTechOpen specialises in journals and books in the fields of Medicine, Technology and Science. A couple of things we published Published SDG Report This year, we published an SDG report in partnership with Knowledge E. This comprehensive report helps us keep track of our efforts in accelerating the aims of the UN’s publishers compact. With a focus on SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Zendy progresses to ensure that academic research is accessible to everyone everywhere. An analysis of OER’s on Research Information Our co-founder, Kamran Kardan, wrote a piece on the future of Open Educational Resources and how the industry is preparing for them. In summary, with the uncapped potential of responsible AI, the future looks bright and full of innovative opportunities to positively impact societal progress. We look forward to continuing our journey together in 2024, and we thank you for your unwavering support. ol { margin-top: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0 !important; } ol li { margin-left: 2rem !important; } p { word-break: initial !important; }