Academic

Around 10 years ago, I wrote a tutorial on using Zotero with Scrivener through the RTF/ODF plugin. This method was fiddly, but ultimately produced live Zotero citations in a Word or LibreOffice document. Unfortunately, since the launch of Zotero 7, this method no longer works. In my previous post, I described a simple Zotero-Scrivener workflow, using the RTF Scan tool. Here, I’ll explain why the more complicated method is no longer working and outline some other alternatives. ...

Although being a 21st-century researcher has its challenges, we are at least blessed with some excellent tools. Scrivener and Zotero are two of the best. This dream team makes it much easier to plan and draft your writing, then add citations and bibliographies in the right format. Unfortunately, the two tools aren’t directly integrated. This means finding workarounds and making compromises. In a pair of blog posts, I’ll explain two approaches - one simple, one more complicated - so you can decide what’s right for you. ...

Here are the resources for my workshop on Planning the Final Year of Your PhD. 🎤 You can also hear me talking about avoiding burnout on the PhD Life Raft podcast. Books 📚 The Literature Review by Diana Ridley The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research by Gordon Rugg & Marian Petre How to Write a Thesis by Rowena Murray Websites 🕸️ The PhD Life Raft - Useful resources for doctoral researchers, including an excellent podcast. The Thesis Whisperer - Hundreds of thoughtful posts on every aspect of being a doctoral researcher. Thinkwell - Planners and templates for managing your PhD. Resources 🧭 Potential Viva Questions Choosing Your PhD Examiner How to Map Your Thesis or Book Creating a Minimum Viable Thesis Preparing for an Online Viva How to Write a Thesis Abstract Who Do You Include in Your Thesis Acknowledgements? Worksheets 📝 Completion Checklist - A systematic approach to deciding whether you're ready to submit your thesis (PDF). Editing Audit - Template for tracking the editing stage. Writing Audit - Template for tracking the writing stage.

Here are the resources for my workshop on Streamlining Your Writing with AI. AI Books 📚 Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans by Melanie Mitchell The Alignment Problem: How Can Artificial Intelligence Learn Human Values? by Brian Christian Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman Journal Articles Visani Scozzi, Monica, Stephann Makri, and Pranava Madhyastha, ‘“Although Powerful, It’s Not Infallible”: Investigating Academic Researchers’ Verification Challenges with LLMs’, Proceedings of the 2026 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval (New York, NY, USA), CHIIR ’26, 22 March 2026, pp. 73–83, doi:10.1145/3786304.3787865 Apps 💻 AudioPen Claude NotebookLM Resources 🧭 Using NotebookLM for Academic Research MacWhisper: a Privacy-Focused Tool for Transcribing Audio Streamline Your Notetaking with Readwise Capturing Research Notes With AudioPen How to Automatically Sync AudioPen Notes with Obsidian Websites 🕸️ The Algorithmic Bridge - Alberto Romero's thought pieces on the wider implications of AI. Cate Denial - Professor Cate Denial's comprehensive list of resources discussing the problems with GenAI. Emily Bender - Linguist and AI sceptic One Useful Thing - Ethan Mollicks's pragmatic but enthusiastic views of AI, with an emphasis on Higher Education. Margaret Mitchell - AI research scientist and ethicist. Courses 👩🏽‍🏫 AI for Everyone Generative AI for Everyone Writing Books 📚 Detox Your Writing: Strategies for Doctoral Researchers by Pat Thomson & Barbara Kamler Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks by Wendy Belcher Writing for Social Scientists by Howard S. Becker Stylish Academic Writing by Helen Sword Writing Science by Joshua Schimel Resources 🧭 Using the OCAR Structure for Academic Writing How to Use Zotero with Scrivener Time Tracking for Researchers: Improve Your Project Management with Data-Driven Planning Improve Your Flow with Reverse Outlining To Write More, You Need Less Time How to Defeat Your Inner Critic and Keep Writing Overcoming Procrastination and Staying Motivated: Three Strategies for Getting on with your Writing Overcoming Page Fright: Three Techniques for Planning a Piece of Academic Writing How to Become a Healthy Academic Writer Websites 🕸️ Academic Phrasebank - This extensive resource includes examples to help you understand the mechanics of academic writing. Explorations of Style - Rachael Cayley's thoughtful blog about all aspects of academic writing.

When I run project management workshops, there’s always one problem that everyone struggles with: how on earth do you estimate the time needed for each task? Most of us either overlook the complexities of an apparently straightforward activity, or simply forget that it always takes much longer than we imagine. As researchers, we vow to devise a better data-driven solution, but that’ll be for the next project. Time Tracking One of the best solutions I’ve discovered is time tracking. Working on freelance projects, I sometimes need to track billable hours for clients. With time tracking tools like Toggl, you record the start and end time for activities so you can generate reports on exactly how long you spent on that project. Within the project, you use tags or labels to track specific activities, such as emails, meetings, or researching. I use Toggl1 because it’s easy record everything with the desktop timer, which also supports the Pomodoro Technique. Alternatives include Clockify and RescueTime. ...

Here are the resources for my workshop on Project Managing Your Research. Books 📚 How to Lead Smart People by Arun Singh & Mike Mister Making Work Visible by Dominica DeGrandis Slow Productivity by Cal Newport Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just 5 Days by Jake Knapp The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington Words that Change Minds by Shelle Rose Charvet Apps 💻 Toggl Focus Toggl Track Trello Resources 🧭 Managing Your Energy Budget A Catastrophist's Guide to Backing Up a Mac Time Tracking for Researchers: Improve Your Project Management with Data-Driven Planning Risk Assessment Matrix The Eisenhower Matrix The Human Function Curve

The Risk Assessment Matrix is a fundamental (but scary) tool for evaluating and prioritising project risks based on two dimensions: Vertical Axis - Probability: How likely is this event to occur? Horizontal Axis - Impact: If this event does occur, how severe would the consequences be? Or, how much disruption would it cause? The Risk Assessment Matrix As project manager, part of your job is to consider the potential risks and in which quadrant they belong. It’s helpful to already have a breakdown of your project deliverables and tasks before you start. ...

How many times do we make a note to “Work on project”? It’s no wonder we feel overwhelmed and start diligently responding to email instead. Six months later, we’ve got a gold star for responsiveness but have missed that important milestone. Answering emails won’t get you the research funding or the promotion. The answer is to breakdown that project into smaller, actionable tasks. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) helps you define the total scope of a project by breaking it down from the highest level (the project itself) to the lowest level (individual tasks that can be assigned and tracked). ...

Here are the recommended resources for my workshop on Planning and Structuring Your Literature Review. Books 📚 Writing for Social Scientists by Howard S. Becker How to Write a Thesis by Rowena Murray The Literature Review by Diana Ridley The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research by Gordon Rugg & Marian Petre Writing Science by Joshua Schimel Stylish Academic Writing by Helen Sword Detox Your Writing: Strategies for Doctoral Researchers by Pat Thomson & Barbara Kamler Succeeding with Your Doctorate by Wellington et al Websites 🕸️ The Thesis Whisperer The Academic Phrasebank Videos 📺 James Hayton PhD ...

The PhD viva is a crucial milestone that determines your doctoral success, yet many candidates approach it with a lot of anxiety and not enough preparation. This comprehensive workshop demystifies the viva process and equips you with practical strategies to perform confidently on the day. You’ll learn how to prepare systematically in the months leading up to your viva, from re-reading your thesis strategically to anticipating examiner questions. Through interactive discussions and proven techniques, you’ll develop the skills to articulate your research clearly and defend your work without becoming defensive. ...