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Ed #8 | 10 tools to make your research better
Find ⏵ Organise ⏵ Analyse information better with these awesome apps.
Aman Sharma
March 03, 2024
We spend a lot of time researching. Most of this time is easily spent on finding > organising > analysing research. In this issue, we will explore 10 powerful apps and services that can help enhance your research process. Whether you need help finding relevant information, organizing your notes and documents, analyzing data, or presenting your findings, these tools cover a wide range of needs. We'll introduce each tool and explain how it can improve different aspects of research. By the end of this newsletter, you'll be equipped with a robust toolkit to streamline your studies and take your work to the next level. Let's get started with our first tool to aid information discovery.
Jump section
🔍 Find
This is like if ChatGPT and Google had a baby. This tools contains the latest model just as a search engine but also gives you a direct answer using LLM. Perplexity AI can enhance your research process in several key ways:
Broad Information Access: Quickly provides access to a wide range of data and perspectives.
Time Efficiency: Saves time by offering immediate answers and summaries.
Simplifies Complexities: Makes understanding complex concepts easier.
Generates Ideas: Helps uncover new insights and angles for research.
Writing Assistance: Offers help with writing and editing to improve output quality.
Identifies Research Gaps: Aids in discovering unexplored areas within your topic.
Arc Search
Arc Search is the fastest way to search, and the cleanest way to browse. Here are the ways it helps you do research better.
Browses for you. For any search, tapping Browse for Me will scour the web, read multiple pages, and build you the perfect tab - already a fan favorite.
Clears the clutter. Auto-archives old tabs, and blocks ads, trackers, and all banners (even GDPR!)
Gets you there faster. Always opens with the keyboard up so yo can start searching in fewer taps.
Keeps distractions at bay. Offers a clean and clear Reader Mode.
Stays out of the way. Arc Search's minimal design tints itself to match your websites perfectly.
Access any blocked website.
Archive.today can significantly enhance research by providing snapshots of web pages, ensuring access to content that might otherwise change or disappear. It also helps you access content behind the paywall. This is particularly useful for:
Preserving Content: Captures and stores web page snapshots for future reference, ensuring access even if the original page changes or is taken down.
Citing Sources: Offers a reliable way to cite web content in academic work, as the content is preserved in its cited form.
Accessing Offline: Allows viewing of saved content without needing an internet connection, useful for research in areas with limited connectivity.
Paid content: Access any paid content for free from website like medium or substack.
Try 👉🏻 Archive.ph
📚 Organise
Miro enhances research by streamlining the organization and analysis of information. Here's how it helps:
Structured Information: Organizes research data into structured formats like mind maps and flowcharts.
Centralized Documentation: Keeps all research notes and documents in one accessible location.
Tagging and Categorization: Enables easy sorting and retrieval of research through tagging.
Visual Analysis: Facilitates the visual analysis of data and findings.
Feedback and Revision: Allows for easy gathering of feedback and collaborative revision.
Logseq is great for adding links and building Knowledge Graph.
Logseq helps improve research through its powerful note-taking and knowledge management system with elegant simplicity. Here is how it helps in research:
Bi-directional Linking: Connects ideas and notes with bi-directional links for deeper insight.
Outlining and Organization: Facilitates the structuring of information in a hierarchical manner.
Markdown Support: Enables easy formatting and organization of notes.
Task Management: Integrates task management for research milestones and deadlines.
Raindrop is the perfect tool to manage your bookmarks to find them later.
Raindrop.io enhances research by offering a comprehensive bookmarking tool that organizes and manages online resources effectively. Here's how it aids research:
Categorization: Enables the organization of bookmarks into collections for easy retrieval.
Cross-Device Access: Offers seamless access to your bookmarks from any device.
Content Preview: Provides previews of bookmarked pages for quick reference.
Collaboration: Allows for sharing collections with others, facilitating collaborative research.
Notion enhances research by providing a versatile platform for organizing and managing information, which is augmented by features like infinite nested pages. This allows for:
Deep Structuring: Organize information hierarchically within pages and sub-pages, enabling detailed compartmentalization of research topics.
Dynamic Linking: Link between pages for easy navigation and connection of related concepts.
Flexible Workspace: Adapt and customize pages to suit evolving research needs, from simple notes to complex databases.
Collaborative Editing: Work with team members in shared spaces, promoting synergy and innovation.
Infinite nested pages particularly help in breaking down complex topics into manageable, interconnected sections, facilitating a more organized and in-depth exploration of research subjects.
🧭 Analyse / Present
Find or run any prompt on any page with Ask feature of Arc max.
Arc Browser, especially with its Max feature, significantly enhances the research process by incorporating AI-driven tools and functionalities for efficient information retrieval and organization. Here are key ways it can aid your research:
Instant Information Access: "Ask on Page" allows you to query any webpage for specific information, streamlining the process of finding relevant data without extensive browsing or reading.
Efficient Preview of Links: With "5-Second Previews", quickly hover over links to get a summary of the webpage content, enabling faster assessment of a source's relevance to your research.
Organized Workspace: "Tidy Tabs" automatically organizes open tabs, reducing clutter and making it easier to manage multiple sources and documents simultaneously.
Beautiful.ai streamlines research presentations by automating design and ensuring consistency, making your findings stand out:
Smart Design Automation: Automatically formats your content on slides, saving time on design.
Prebuilt Chart templates: Instead of drawing things by hand, beautiful automatically convert them into informative visualisation.
Brand Alignment: Maintains brand consistency across all slides with customizable themes.
AI-Powered Assistance: DesignerBot creates, designs, and refines slides quickly, enhancing productivity.
These features enable you to focus more on your research content and less on presentation design complexities. For exploring these functionalities, Beautiful.ai offers detailed guides and examples on their website.
My favourite data tools so far. Airtable is like excel on steroids. It enhances research management and presentation by offering a versatile platform for data organization and team collaboration:
Centralized Data Storage: Simplifies data collection and organization in one place.
Flexible Views: Provides customizable views for tailored data analysis and presentation.
Team Collaboration: Facilitates easy sharing and real-time updates with team members.
Airtable streamlines the way research data is managed, analyzed, and shared, making it more efficient and effective.
In conclusion, we have highlighted 10 useful tools that can help boost your research capabilities in a variety of ways. Whether you need assistance with discovery, organization, analysis or presentation, these apps offer features tailored to different research needs. By leveraging the right combination of tools, you can streamline your workflow and maximize productivity. I hope this toolkit inspires you to explore new methods and technologies to take your work to greater heights. As always, feel free to share any other research resources you have found helpful. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to connecting with you in the next issue!
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