Reading & Writing
This page is intended for graduate students in Yoo Lab.
Literature Search and Management
Researchers read a lot to stay current with new studies and to be knowledgeable about their specific or broader disciplines. A literature search reveals how much and what we already know, allowing us to identify gaps and needs in our limited knowledge. Querying the vast literature is often a big task. Fortunately, there are search engines developed specifically for researchers. As a researcher and a reader, it is also important to start building a literature database using a citation management app. I would recommend using the following tools for searching and managing literature:
Web of Science: Web of Science is an online index of journal articles from the physical and life sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Library resources are available for Web of Science users.
Research Rabbit: Try Research Rabbit if you want to see how papers are linked by citations and find key papers. I am a big fan of it. You might be interested in this short article about other similar services: Matthews, D. Drowning in the Literature? These Smart Software Tools Can Help. Nature 2021, 597 (7874), 141–142. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02346-4.
Google Scholar: Google Scholar is a powerful search engine for academic and non-academic articles. The university library provides a helpful guide on using Google Scholar.
Zotero: Library resources are available for Zotero users.
Writing Tools
Most of us use Microsoft Word. However, you might want to use LaTeX if you enjoy writing with the goal of producing a more visually appealing document. Recently, Markdown's popularity has increased as more researchers seek seamless workflow in their text writing, data visualization, and analysis. Both LaTeX and Markdown produce txt files, which can be archived for a long time because their file sizes are much smaller, and the utility of txt files won't be affected by any proprietary word processing software.
As a speaker of English as a second language, I still believe that my English writing could be much better. But I can check my grammar, make corrections, and rephrase sentences thanks to a few excellent apps. A brief overview of those apps can be found here: Katsnelson, A. Poor English Skills? New AIs Help Researchers to Write Better. Nature 2022, 609 (7925), 208–209. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02767-9.
I have been happy with Grammarly and Quillbot.