Resources
Conducting high-quality research today requires more than just good ideas—it also relies on the smart use of digital tools that support every stage of the research process. To help researchers, especially those engaging with the GRIT game experience, we’ve compiled a selection of recommended tools. These are aligned with the ResearchComp Framework, which defines seven key competence areas for researchers working across disciplines.
- Helps you perform a specific research-related task more effectively
- Has been reviewed and selected for its accessibility, relevance, and ease of use
- Comes with a short explanation of what it does and why it matters
Managing Research Tools
Using digital platforms and software to organise your literature, manage your data, and support transparent research workflows. Reference managers and open repositories are the backbone of transparent scholarship. They help you collect literature systematically, generate citations accurately, and share data in line with FAIR principles. Getting comfortable with one (or more) of these platforms early in a project prevents duplication, streamlines collaboration, and satisfies funder or journal open-science requirements.
Zotero
Zotero is a free, open-source reference manager that helps you collect, organise, and cite research sources. It works as a browser extension and connects to Word or LibreOffice, making it easier to manage bibliographies and generate citations in the correct format. Ideal for students, early-career researchers, and interdisciplinary projects.
Mendeley
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network. It allows you to save and annotate PDFs, sync your library across devices, and collaborate with colleagues through shared folders. It’s especially useful for researchers working in teams or across institutions.
EndNote
EndNote is a professional-grade reference management tool, often used in institutions that require complex citation styles or access to the Web of Science database. It helps organise large libraries of references and offers advanced formatting and de-duplication features.
Zenodo
Zenodo is a trusted open-access repository developed by CERN. It lets you upload and share datasets, code, publications, or other research materials—and gives you a permanent DOI for each item. A great tool for open science and meeting funder requirements for data sharing.
Open Science Framework (OSF)
OSF is a free platform that helps you manage your entire research project—from planning and data collection to sharing final results. You can preregister studies, store data, and invite collaborators, all in one place. It supports transparency and good research practices.
FigShare
FigShare is a platform where researchers can upload, store, and share figures, datasets, presentations, and other outputs. It assigns DOIs and tracks engagement, making it useful for sharing work that may not be published in traditional formats.
Doing Research
Tools that support the process of planning, conducting, and documenting your research—from data collection to version control and collaborative writing. Good ideas alone are rarely enough: today’s projects require structured planning, reproducible workflows, and disciplined version control. The tools below help you capture ideas early, turn them into code or text, and keep every step transparent—from your first notebook entry to the final dataset.
Notion
Notion is a flexible digital workspace that helps researchers structure their ideas, tasks, reading lists, and project timelines in one place. Its customisable pages and databases make it useful for planning research workflows, managing field notes, or even designing literature reviews.
Obsidian
Obsidian is a note-taking app designed for knowledge management. It uses plain-text Markdown files and allows you to build a “second brain” through linked thinking. Many researchers use it for research diaries, conceptual maps, or theory development.
Overleaf
Overleaf is a collaborative online LaTeX editor for writing academic papers, theses, and technical reports. It’s especially useful for disciplines where precise formatting and mathematical typesetting are required. Enables real-time editing and version control.
Jupyter Notebooks
Jupyter is an open-source tool widely used for data science, computational research, and reproducible workflows. It allows you to mix code, outputs, and text in one document—ideal for data analysis, modelling, and transparency.
GitHub
GitHub is a version control and collaboration platform for code and data. Researchers can store their scripts, collaborate with co-authors, track changes, and make their work openly accessible. Particularly useful for computational research, but increasingly relevant across fields.
Trello
Trello is a project management tool based on the Kanban system. It can be used by research teams to track tasks, deadlines, and project progress using boards and cards. Helpful for collaborative research, lab teams, or PhD supervisors coordinating multiple projects.
DMPonline
DMPonline helps you create data management plans that comply with institutional or funder requirements (e.g. Horizon Europe). It guides you through the steps of describing how you will collect, store, and share data in your project.
Interacting with Others
Tools that support collaboration, knowledge exchange, and communication with peers, partners, and the public. Research thrives on conversation—across departments, disciplines, and continents. Robust communication platforms and scholarly networks extend your reach, speed up feedback, and amplify the impact of your findings.
Slack
Slack is a messaging platform that supports organised discussions across teams and projects. Researchers use it to coordinate remote collaborations, share quick updates, and keep discussions in one searchable place. Channels can be topic-specific or cross-disciplinary.
Microsoft Teams
A widely used platform for remote meetings, file sharing, and project management. It integrates well with Office 365 and allows research teams to hold virtual meetings, share documents, and manage ongoing communication in one hub.
Zoom
Video conferencing tool used for virtual meetings, interviews, webinars, and international collaborations. Especially important for global research projects or remote fieldwork coordination.
ResearchGate
A social networking site specifically for researchers. It allows you to share publications, ask and answer questions, follow other scholars, and track metrics. It's a good way to increase visibility and foster peer-to-peer dialogue.
Academia.edu
An online platform for sharing research papers and connecting with fellow academics. Though less structured than ResearchGate, it supports building an online research identity and increasing reach.
ORCID
ORCID provides researchers with a unique digital identifier that distinguishes them from others. It links your research outputs across systems and is now required by most major journals and funders. Essential for visibility, consistency, and credibility.
Google Meet
Lightweight video conferencing integrated into Google Workspace. Useful for one-on-one or team meetings, especially when using Google Docs/Calendar for collaborative scheduling.
Thinking and Reasoning
Tools that support critical thinking, ethical reflection, argument development, and decision-making in complex research environments. Critical thinking depends on tracing ideas, weighing evidence, and spotting weak links in arguments. The tools below help you map concepts, interrogate citations, and surface hidden patterns—skills at the heart of rigorous inquiry.
MindMeister
MindMeister is a mind-mapping tool that helps researchers visualise concepts, connections, and hypotheses. Useful for organising literature, designing theoretical frameworks, or brainstorming during proposal writing.
Connected Papers
This tool creates a visual graph of academic papers related to a chosen article, helping researchers understand the development of a research topic. It’s ideal for identifying conceptual trends and refining your research positioning.
Scite
Scite enhances traditional citation tracking by showing how papers have been cited—supportively, neutrally, or critically. It enables a deeper understanding of the context and quality of citations. Useful for literature review and source evaluation.
Elicit
Elicit is an AI-powered research assistant that helps you find relevant literature, extract key information from articles, and build structured evidence tables. It supports reasoning and transparency, especially for systematic reviews and proposal writing.
Perusall
A collaborative reading platform where researchers can annotate and discuss academic texts together. Supports deep reading, shared reflection, and collective understanding—especially useful for PhD seminars or interdisciplinary teams.
Zotero Tags & Notes
Beyond reference management, Zotero's tagging and note-taking features allow for building structured reflections, argument maps, or thematic categories during literature analysis. Supports reasoning and synthesis processes.
Self-Management
Tools that help researchers manage their time, track progress, maintain wellbeing, and stay aligned with long-term goals throughout the research journey. Long projects test endurance. Managing focus, energy, and wellbeing is essential to maintain high-quality output without burnout. The apps below foster productive habits, track progress, and support mental resilience.
Toggl Track
Toggl is a simple time-tracking tool that helps researchers understand how they spend their time. It supports reflective practice and can improve work-life balance, especially in independent or remote research contexts.
RescueTime
RescueTime runs in the background and tracks how you spend time on your computer. It provides analytics and alerts to help you stay focused and reduce distractions—particularly valuable during writing or data analysis phases.
Forest
A mobile app that promotes focused work sessions by “growing” a virtual tree for every block of uninterrupted time. It adds a motivational and visual aspect to Pomodoro-style work methods, and also contributes to real-world tree planting.
Headspace
A popular app for guided meditation and stress management. Researchers can use it to improve mental focus, reduce anxiety during intense periods (e.g., grant deadlines), and support long-term cognitive health.
Notion (Goal Templates)
Notion isn’t just for note-taking; with its template library, you can set personal goals, reflect weekly, and break long-term research objectives into small, trackable tasks. Customisable dashboards support self-leadership.
Habitica
A gamified habit-tracking app where users “level up” by completing daily goals and building routines. It brings a playful, rewarding approach to time and task management—particularly helpful for early-career researchers.
OpenDoodles & Gratitude Tools
While not productivity tools per se, using visual prompts (e.g., OpenDoodles) or digital gratitude journals can support creativity, mood regulation, and perspective—essential elements of sustainable research practice.