Writing & Research Tools: Tools

When starting a research project, it is helpful to have a strategy for organizing your sources and taking notes about them as you develop your project. Be sure to check out our Citation Styles guide for additional resources about how to cite your sources correctly in your final project.

The video (1:43) below describes three specific tools for creating citations and organizing your sources: Zotero, Mendeley, and Microsoft Word.

Evernote - A note-taking application that lets users take text-based notes as well as upload a variety of files including documents, images, web clips, and audio. Options are available for private or shared notebooks that are accessible from any of your devices using cloud storage.

Read: 6 ways students can use Evernote

Read: Using Evernote - Quick Start Guide 

OneNote - A Microsoft Office product that is similar to Evernote in design. Users can take individual notes and upload a variety of files, such as documents, images, web clips, and audio files. Notes can also be shared for multi-user collaborations. Most of your content is stored on a single device with limited free cloud storage space.

Read: OneDrive and OneNote Accounts for Students at UCSB 

Trello - A project management and organization tool that lets you share your research plan with others. Organize research and ideas using boards, lists, and cards, attaching pictures, files, and links along the way. 

View: Trello Welcome Board 

PearlTrees - Create a  collection of the research materials and organize them into visual blocks with accompanying text. Sources can be uploaded as PDFs, Word documents, photos, weblinks, and more. Please note, collections creating using a free account are publicly viewable.