TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS IN RESEARCH
Dr. Sindhu V Jose,
Assistant Professor of English,
Sona College of Arts and Science,
Salem
Abstract:
Technology has completely
changed the way research is done. Research is a step by step process. One has
to collect the data, gather information, analyse it, learn thoroughly, citing
references, before going for publication the article should be free from
plagiarism. Few decades ago, research was a long process. The researcher should
visit various libraries to collect materials. But today the researchers have
access to a variety of tools for collecting, analysing, and sharing data
easier, faster, and more accurate. From artificial intelligence (AI) to cloud
computing and reference management software, these tools have become essential
to modern research. This paper explores some of the most impactful
technological tools, and how they simplify the research process, the challenges
of adopting them, and what the future holds for research technology.
Keywords: Data Collection Tools, Online Survey,
Management Software, Publication, Plagiarism Detection Tools
Introduction
What is Research? An article should introduce a problem
or create a problem in the form of a question. Solving the problems or to find
answers for the question is Research. Before the advancement of technology, the
researchers depend on the guide or manual methods to collect and analysedata,
which consumed the time and the researchers are tend to make mistakes. The rise
of digital tools and technology has made things drastically changed.
Now in the modern technical era, the researchers can be
able to use AI-driven analysis, cloud-based collaboration platforms, and
automation to make their work more effective and precise. These tools not only
save time but also help researchers to handle large-scale data in a comfortable
manner. This paper looks at some of the key tools that have become essential in
research, breaking them down into four main categories: data collection, data
management, plagiarism detection, and publication.
Data Collection
and Management Tools
Good research starts with good data, and modern
technology has made collecting and managing data easier than ever. By using
some online survey and data collection tools the researchers can collect data.
The scholars gather information through Surveys, interviews, and web scraping.
Google Forms – A
simple, free tool for creating surveys and collecting responses in real time.
Google Forms is a free online form builder app that offers all the features of
one who is in need to create a simple poll or dynamic survey. In the Google
Forms, the surveyor or the researcher can add different types of question types
(objective or short form), use logic form, customize the form to match one’s
brandingand so on. Once the form is submitted, the data can be gathered in an
excel or a word format.
SurveyMonkey– This
is one of the more advanced survey tools that provides deeper insights and
analytics. In the fast-moving trendy world, all are in haste to make decisions
quickly and confidently. Survey Monkey, the fast and intuitive platform
empowers people with the insights and provides answers to more than 20 million
questions every day. It also helps organizations of all sizes, build products,
create winning marketing strategies, delight their customers, and cultivate an
involved and happy personnel.
Qualtrics – The
more powerful platform that is used in academic and business research for
gathering detailed survey data. Impact can be recognised based on the
performance and results, not on politics. Qualtrics strive to learn and grow,
so they are direct and translucent with each other in addition, they also
openly share their goals, strengths and improvement areas.
Web Scraping Tools (BeautifulSoup&Scrapy) – With the aid of these tools researchers can extract
large amounts of data from websites that paves the way to gather information
from online sources.Scrapy is a comprehensive web scraping framework, perfect
for large-scale data extraction projects and offers built-in support for
crawling, whereas Beautiful Soup is a analyzing library best suited for
smaller, more straightforward scraping tasks without the built-in crawling
capabilities.Scrapy excels in speed and efficiency for extensive scraping
operations, and Beautiful Soup shines in simplicity and ease of use for quick
tasks.
Data Management
Software
After collecting data, researchers need to organize and
analyse it. Some of the most popular tools for data management include:
Microsoft Excel & Google Sheets – Both are great for organizing and performing basic
analysis on data. Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet software known for its
collaboration, while Microsoft Excel is desktop software that manages large
data sets and complex computations. The management softwares are well-known and
can help in many facades of business, like forecasting future performance,
calculating taxes or revenues, aiding in payroll functions, and creating
charts. Together, the Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel give users the ability
to create and manage spreadsheets.
SPSS, R, and Python
– Advanced statistical tools that help researchers to analyse complex datasets
are SPSS Statistics, R and Python. SPSS Statistics excels in scalable
statistical analysis, aiding in data preparation, analysis and visualization. R
is recognized for its speed and performance in machine learning, while Python
is known for its rich libraries for automation and web scraping.
Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) – Electronic Lab Notebooks are secure digital notebooks
that help researchers to keep track of their experiments and data. The
laboratory notebook is one of the most basic and essential tools for research
and development, from initial experimentation to product realization. Though it
is used for simple data recording or as legally significant evidence,
laboratory notebooks are pervasive and essential to research science.
Reference
Management Software
Keeping track of sources and citations can be a hassle,
but reference management tools help simplify the process:
Zotero – A
free and open-source reference management tool. Zotero as an
open-accessreference management tool, supports as one’s personal research
assistant and it helps to collect, organize, cite, and share the research
sources. It also allows the researcher to save references from library
catalogues, research databases, and the Web.
He or she can add PDFs, images, audio and video files, snapshots of web
pages, and even inscribe annotations and attach them to the citation. Vast
major citation styles are used here and it is more helpful for the researchers
to create bibliographies too.
EndNote – A
most widely used commercial software for managing references.EndNote can helpto
store, organize and manage references including tables, charts/figures, images,
and PDFs in one place.One can import or search for references from many
databases and other online resources, like PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase,
Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost databases, Ovid databases, and Google
Scholar, etc. Create group sets, groups, and colour tags to categorize and
organize your references. One can share the library or select group with other
researchers from the desktop or online version with up to hundred people. It
also helps to find a matching journal to submit one’s paper to publish.
BibTeX –
Commonly used in LaTeX for managing bibliographies in research papers. BibTeX
is reference management software for configuring lists of references. The
BibTeX tool is stereotypically used together with the LaTeX document
preparation system. The purpose of BibTeX is to make it easy to cite sources in
a dependable manner, by separating bibliographic information from the
presentation of this information.
Publishing and
Plagiarism Detection Tools
After completing research, the next step is to write and
publish the findings. Various tools help researchers to write in the better
format and ensure its originality.
Writing and Formatting Tools
Writing clear and professional research papers is
important, and these tools can help:
LaTeX – The go-to tool
for formatting scientific and technical papers. LaTeX is a high-quality
typesetting system; it includes features considered for the production of
technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the
communication and publication of scientific documents.
Grammarly – An
AI-powered tool that helps to improve grammar and writing style. To enhance
grammar, style, and clarity in writing, Grammarly is built with the digital
workflow—and security—in mind.
AI-enabled English communication assistance works impeccably across
platforms and devices, including more than 500,000 applications and websites.
Grammarly Free is designed to improve and refines everyday writing so that
anyone can write with confidence.
Hemingway Editor –
Helps in making writing clearer and more succinct. Simplify and clarify one’s
writing in fraction of seconds. Hemingway Editor saves time with instant
suggestions to rewrite wordy sentences, weak phrases, and passive voice.
Plagiarism and
Similarity Detection
To maintain academic integrity, researchers use
plagiarism detection tools to ensure their work is original:
Turnitin – A
widely used plagiarism checker in academic writing. Turnitin is an originality
checking and plagiarism prevention service that checks thewriting for citation
mistakes or inappropriate copying. While submitting the paper, Turnitin
compares it to text in its massive database of student work, websites, books,
articles, etc.
iThenticate – The
tool used by publishers and researchers to detect plagiarism. The trusted
partnership with Crossref gives iThenticate access to an unparalleled database
of high-quality scholarly content. It is combined into the top publishers’
workflows. IEEE, Nature Springer, Wiley, and thousands more trust iThenticate
to identify cliched work. For authors, using the same software as their
preferred publisher to check for plagiarism gives a higher level of confidence
and could, ultimately, enhancement the chances of acceptance.
Copyscape – An
online tool for identifying duplicate content. Copyscape is an online
plagiarism detection resolution. Copyscape's products brag millions of website
owners worldwide to check the uniqueness of their new content, thwart duplicate
content, and search for copies of existing content online.
Plagscan –
Plagscan helps to ensure the originality of academic work. Your Plagiarism
Checker. It also checks the genuineness of a text within a couple of clunks.
This Plagiarism Detection software works with all common file formats. ThePlagScan
Report is malleable to all requirements. As a printable PDF-file or to
collaborate with others in an interactive browser report – PlagScanwill be able
to do it.
Challenges and Future Trends
Though technology has made research easier, one cannot
cope it up without challenges. Some of the biggest issues’ that researchers
face is: Data Privacy, Ethical Concerns and Accessibility Barriers. Data
Privacy is ensuring that the sensitive research data is safe and secure. It is
otherwise known as Information Privacy. This privacy is classically associated
with the proper handling of personal data or personal identifiable information,
other valuable or confidential data. AI-driven research and data collection
give rise to ethical questions. Ethical considerations in research are a set of
principles that guide one’s research designs and practices. Scientists and
researchers must always stick to a certain code of conduct while collecting
data from the people. The last one is Accessibility Barriers. Some research
tools can be exclusive, making unreachable to the researchers in developing
countries. In Future, one can presume more AI -driven research tools with
better data security and more automation in the research process. The
progresses will continue to shape the upcoming research with quicker, precise
and more reachable to everyone.
Conclusion
Technology has completely transformed research, making it
easier, faster, and more accurate. From collecting and analysing data to
collaborating with other researchers and publishing findings, modern tools have
improved every stage of the research process. As technology continues to
advance, AI and automation will play an even bigger role in shaping the future
of research, opening up new possibilities and challenges for researchers around
the world.
Works Cited
Copyscape. https://www.trustradius.com/products/copyscape/reviews
Google Drive: https://www.google.com/drive/
Google Forms: https://www.google.com/forms/about/.
Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.com/
IBM SPSS: https://www.ibm.com/analytics/spss-statistics-software.
Ithenticate. https://www.ithenticate.com/
Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/.
Plagscan: https://www.plagscan.com/en/.
Research Ethics:
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/research-ethics/.
Turnitin: https://www.turnitin.com/
Zotero: https://libguides.cmich.edu/Zotero