I’ve been doing a lot of academic and organizational research the last few years and, frankly, I’ve often been frustrated by the lack of convergence between the physical and digital research tools. As someone who works comfortably with modern social media and online tools, plodding through real world libraries and even online databases of academic journals can feel very slow and inefficient. I have become spoiled by Google and instant access to just about any information… except the stuff that’s holed up in many academic publications and libraries.
As the “digital convergence” continues along its path, I see more opportunities for researchers online. If you’ve ever “felt my pain,” this blog’s for you. I wanted to share some of the resources I and other colleagues have found to be most effective for combining the research process with the speed and accessibility of modern global connectivity and tools. Some are targeted specifically at researchers, but many are general purpose tools that have significant advantages when applied to the research process.
Click the + at the end of each branch of the mind map below to reveal more information. If you have other resources that have been invaluable to your own research process, drop me a line and tell me why I should include it in this map. Hopefully we will make life just a little easier for researchers everywhere.
http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/public_map_shell/39513233/research-tools
* Special thanks to Marilyn Price-Mitchell for contributing to this map.
