Top 15 Apps for Researchers
We know that academic researchers and PhD scientists are always on the lookout for tools and resources that can help them be more productive and efficient in their work. There now exist a plethora of apps for various tasks available that can help make work easier and more streamlined. Krishgen’s technical team has put together a list of the top fifteen Apps we find most useful:
1. Mendeley:
Mendeley is a reference manager that allows users to organize and keep track of the research articles they have read. It is particularly useful for those who need to keep track of their reading list and citations for their research papers. You can also use one of several other reference managers now available online.
2. DeepDyve:
DeepDyve is a research paper rental service that allows you to rent and access full-text articles for a limited time. It provides an affordable option for accessing papers that may not be available through traditional databases or subscriptions.
3. RefME:
RefME is a reference manager that allows you to quickly and easily generate citations for your research papers. It supports over 7,000 different citation styles, making it an ideal tool for scientists. No more need to manually format each of your many references.
4. Trello:
Keeping track activities and on-going experiments accurately is essential to optimizing your productivity. Trello is user-friendly app wherein you can create work boards for different projects and populate them with tasks. You can also assign deadlines and keep updating ongoing progress. Work boards can be shared with all team members, thereby smoothening collaborative working.
5. Lab-Archives:
LabArchives is a web-based application that acts as a digital lab notebook, helping you keep your work and notes organized to improve productivity in your labs. You can access LabArchives to make notes, store images and data, and use the search feature for simple access to all of your material. There are many other electronic lab notebooks also available online that are designed to increase productivity and efficiency in research labs, simplifying the process of organizing and locating data. Find the one that works best for your lab specifically. Other such platforms are Benchling and Labguru.
6. FlowJo:
A flow cytometry data analysis software, FlowJo allows researchers to analyse and visualise flow cytometry experiments. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for gating, population analysis and result interpretations.
7. SciNapse:
An AI powered search platform, Scinapse assists researchers in finding relevant scientific articles. It uses machine learning algorithms to analyse millions of research papers, helping researchers discover articles that might otherwise have been missed.
8. BenchSci:
BenchSci is a free platform for academic scientists that uses AI to help find the antibody you need for your research. Enter the protein target and BenchSci will review thousands of publications and websites to help you choose the antibody you need for the application you need it for!
9. R-Discovery:
A free app that empowers you to save time wading through a sea of academic research papers by finding the articles that are most relevant to your work and emails them to you every day. R Discovery offers customized research reading, that is, once you set up your areas of interest, the app for research papers finds the top 3 reads and presents them in the form of a daily feed. Powered by AI, it learns reading interests and finds matching relevant papers.
10. TypeSet:
Typeset is a web-based application that was created to help researchers write, collaborate, format and submit research papers for publication. Typeset allows you to upload your work to their platform, and use their AI to reformat your research and submissions to meet the publication requirements of various journal and conference organizers. Typeset works seamlessly with reference management software like Mendeley, Zotero, Paperpile and more. It allows you to choose from over 45,000 verified journal formats and export your work to Word, LaTex and PDF formats.
11. Quartzy:
Quartzy is the application you need for lab management. Keeping track of orders, deliveries and stock is challenging, especially nowadays with longer lead times for product deliveries, but Quartzy streamlines the entire process. All in Quartzy, your lab members can request, approve and manage orders, making sure the lab is always fully stocked to keep your research going.
12. SnapGene:
SnapGene is the go-to application for viewing and annotating DNA sequences. SnapGene helps you design cloning procedures, visualize your work, and can automatically record your workflow. With over 2,700 plasmid files that you can download and the SnapGene viewer for visualizing and sharing, you’ll love this application for your work.
13. ConnectedPapers:
Connected Papers is a unique visual tool that helps you visualize and explore the literature with powerful graphics . Enter the paper of your choice and Connected Papers will generate a connected web of similar papers in the field. Connected Papers is the ideal tool for helping you make sure you haven’t missed a paper and can even help you create a comprehensive bibliography.
14. BioRender:
Bio-render is a web-based illustration tool to help users create professional science figures in minutes. Their library has over 30,000 pre-made icons across a wide variety of disciplines, and is ideal for creating schematics, graphical abstracts and figures to help you communicate your research to reviewers, colleagues and the public.
15. GraphPad Prism:
GraphPad Prism is an immensely popular desktop app for comprehensive data analysis and graphing. It offers statistical analysis tools, curve fitting capabilities, and advanced graph customisation options, making it ideal for analysis.
Already using GraphPad Prism? Check out our advanced tips and make the most of your research analysis software
Additionally, there are several comprehensive lab management solutions that you could use to better optimise your workflow and research. For example, LabSuit and other such CRMs offer inventory management solutions, equipment and reagent tracking, experiment planning and more.
Have suggestions for other Apps that you think have helped change your productivity in the lab? Tell us in the comments.
