Research Thing 17 : Visualisation tools

In research, data in difference formats is usually needed to illustrate and represent visually the information that supports certain arguments or facts. Although I have not heard of or explored data visualisation tools before, I think such tools would be very useful to display data in a way that is visually appealing and makes information processing a lot easier for the audience / readers.

Research Thing 16: Mapping tools

I have yet to explore and understand mapping tools. I can see their use, especially for historical purposes (like HistoryPin) and also to tag photos with the location for future reference. It would be useful in some research disciplines like History, Geography and the Sciences.This is not a Thing I am completely familiar with (I have only heard of HistoryPin before) and it is not as useful to me as other Research Things. I liaise with the School of Education - in a curriculum and pedagogical setting for research output, how can mapping tools be used? If anyone has any suggestions to offer me, I am willing to explore mapping tools further.

Research Thing 15: managing research data

I and some of my colleagues at my campus have had questions from academics regarding organising data files using naming conventions. It is very important, from the start, to name and label data in a way that makes it easily retrievable when needed. Apart from organising the files in a logical order and with metadata, storing the digital data in a secure way is crucial. I learnt about CloudStor in a previous lesson, which is a useful tool for storing data in the cloud. I have more to learn about this area of research and how we, as librarians, can use our organisational skills and expertise, to assist or advise researchers about naming conventions for their data files and storage options.

Research Thing 14: Reference management tools

I predominantly use and have expertise in EndNote as ACU subscribes to this. Once a user sets up and learns the basics of EndNote, I can assist them also in building their skills to tailor EndNote to meet their research needs. It is an excellent program, but if you want to collaborate, not so easy, unless you use EndNote Online. The desktop version, however, is more powerful and I prefer this version (as long as you back up a compressed version of your library to a USB or the cloud like Dropbox).

RefWorks I have yet to grasp. I have issues installing the Write'n'Cite plugin and this was also difficult when assisting a student on his Mac laptop. It was frustrating. I am much more competent with EndNote.

I have experimented with both Zotero and Mendeley. I have the Zotero browser extension in my Firefox browser, but I haven't used it enough to know the benefits. Also, I had completed the first two parts of a three part Mendeley Librarian Certification program offered by Elsevier. The beauty of Mendeley is the collaborative aspect, where you can create a private group and share papers, and work on a project (like a publication) with others. There are also public groups where you can share citations, and I like that social networking aspect of Mendeley. I had two academics from ACU ask me if there are any tools to use for sharing references and creating a paper with a peer from another university as they worked on a publication. At the time I only knew of EndNote and it wasn't the best for collaboration. If only I knew more about Mendeley to provide information to these researchers back then so a more informative decision could be made.

Each reference management tool has its strengths and weaknesses. It is a matter of assessing your needs before you start on your project (eg. is it individual or collaborative) and making a call on which tool is most appropriate to use from the start.