▪ Give yourself plenty of time! You should finish writing well before the deadline so that you can do a thorough job of proofreading and editing.
▪ Some people find that using a single dedicated area for writing (like a study carrel or even their dorm room desk) helps them focus.
▪ Don’t get too bogged down with writing in a specific order during your drafting phase. If you find the introduction is tripping you up, move on to a different section and come back later.
▪ Buy or borrow a style guide for the format you’re required to use. Web resources are often great, but they aren’t infallible or exhaustive.
▪ Utilize the university’s resources! Anyone could benefit from a session at the NGU Writing Center. Appointments are preferred.
▪ Just like you wouldn’t want someone to use your work without crediting you, copyright law ensures authors’ rights of ownership are protected. Learning what you can and can’t do when writing your thesis will protect you from plagiarism and even legal trouble. This Copyright Overview from Rutgers University will prove valuable in making sure you’re following copyright law.
Notre Dame Remix- Learn to create digital media projects of all types with these step-by-step guides. Note that the guides are written for the Notre Dame university community; outside viewers are not granted access to the software discussed.
Openverse- Formerly Creative Commons Search, Openverse allows users to search for images, audio, and more for use and remix under Creative Commons licenses.
Adobe Creative Cloud Express- With many features free to use, this online and mobile design app can create professional and attractive graphs, charts, and videos (among other options) for use in your thesis.
Canva- Another online design app, Canva has many free elements and can also create graphs, charts, and videos as well as logos and presentations.
GIMP- Short for Gnu Image Manipulation Program, GIMP is a free, open-source image editor that is a popular alternative to Photoshop and Lightroom, which require subscription fees. Check out their tutorials to get started.
Pixlr- An online resource with free and premium levels, there are actually two options to pick from—Pixlr X and Pixlr E. Pixlr X is ideal for design projects, and Pixlr E is a photo editor alternative to Photoshop.
Audacity- This downloadable music editing software is free, open-source, and crossplatform. The site includes a manual, FAQs, and a forum to help new users get the most from the resource.
Garage Band-This music creation studio app is free and used by professionals. It is only available for Apple products. Visit the Apple or Apple App Store for the version made for your device.
Cakewalk- This is a well-regarded alternative to Garage Band for those using PC/Windows. Like Garage Band, it is free.
DaVinci Resolve- Need video editing software and can’t afford expensive software? DaVinci Resolve is free yet powerful, and your videos won’t be branded with a watermark. Be sure to not confuse this product with its paid version, DaVinci Resolve Studio.
▪ MyNoise: Need noise to concentrate but your music is too distracting? This site offers numerous white and ambient noise options, many of them free.
▪ One Tab: Reduce the number of tabs you have open without losing the pages with this Chrome browser extension.
▪ Pomodoro Timer: Remind yourself to get up, stretch, and take a breath occasionally with this productivity timer.
▪ OWL at Purdue: Thorough and easy to understand, this guide will help you with writing basics, formatting, and citation.
▪ Cold Turkey: Find yourself distracted by your phone or other websites while you’re supposed to be working? Cold Turkey can "block anything from specific websites and applications to the entire internet with a few exceptions."
Duke University’s Center for Data and Visualization Sciences- This site is full of guides and resources for data science, data visualization, and mapping & Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Some resources may be restricted to use by the Duke University community.
QGIS- This mapping software is free and open-source, an alternative to the paid ArcGIS Pro.
An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to QGIS– This YouTube video from GeoDelta Labs is long but thorough.
Apache Superset- This cloud-based application is a powerful, free alternative to Tableau, an industry leader in data visualization.
Selected Tools for Data Visualization- Curated by professionals, this list has both paid and open-source resources.
Visualizing Data’s List of Resources- This large list has options for data handling, mapping, programming, and more. Resources include paid and free products.
OpenRefine- Formerly Google Refine, this open-source data cleaning tool will aid in getting messy data ready for visualization software.
Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics- Free to use, this virtual lab also offers case studies and demonstrations. It requires a browser that has Java compatibility, so visit it in Safari or Firefox.
When you work with data, it is essential you have a plan for managing that data. Doing so keeps the data secure, protects your integrity as a researcher, and increases the validity, legacy, and longevity of your work. We’ve gathered some resources for responsible data control.
DMPTool – This resource aids in writing appropriate data management plans.
Checklist for Data Management Plan – This list of questions published in conjunction with North Carolina State University Libraries will help you make sure you’re ready to create your data management plan.