Author Archives: Michael

I got a few compliments on my dissertation slide deck. I used the below to create the graphics. As I was putting the deck together, I would think of the concept each slide was trying to convey. I would then type those keywords in the search bar of the services below and more often than not, I would find a graphic I was able to modify for my needs.

Infograpia
https://infograpia.com/
Infographic templates
$49 one time for lifetime access

Slidequest
https://theslidequest.com/
Unlimited slides and infographics
$49.99 one time for lifetime access

And when I couldn’t find the graphic I needed, I could always create one using the below.

Lucidchart
https://www.lucidchart.com/
Diagramming application for building flowcharts and mockups
Free

Computer: Macbook Pro

• I had this computer since 2013 and it worked really well.  It is probably because I maxed out the specs at the time.  I didn’t see the need to buy anything new for this.

Word Processor and Outliner: Scrivener

• I created content in sections that could be managed and moved around independently. Each section had an area for notes. I was able to put the assignment template and rubric here so I could reference it as I was writing.
• I assembled sections like notecards on a storyboard.  I could keep thought fragments as stand-alone items until I could either find a place for them to be added, or save them for something else.  I could then build paragraphs and pages from these fragments.
• I was able to keep reference material available in the same environment. I had 40 documents in Word, Powerpoint, and PDF that I used to build my dissertation proposal. This kept it all in one place and kept me from having to open up multiple tables in multiple programs. I was able to search through key words to find words and phrases I needed to put into the main document.
• This was one of the last pieces of software I installed, and I wish I had done it earlier. I used this to put my dissertation proposal together, but I could have used it to put a lot of my other assignments together too.
• $41.65 one time
• https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

Grammar and Spell Checker: Grammarly Premium

• This was so much more that just that.  It was more like an AI writing assistant.  I tended to get repetitive and bleary-eyed when writing under deadline.  This app checked for grammar, tense, clarity and made appropriate recommendations.  You can use this as a standalone product or as an add-on to Word.  I usually write in Word first and then check and use Grammarly there before transferring it all to Scrivener.
• $11.66 / month
• https://www.grammarly.com/plans

Tablet: iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

• This was the first model that had the Apple Pencil.  It was about 3 years old and it also worked well.

Note Taking: Notability for the iPad

• This program was great for taking notes and it felt like I was writing on paper.  It saved me from using too much paper.
• It had a wide array of options to use colored pens and markers 
• I would merely take a picture of the presentation on my screen and annotate it using the program
• If I took notes on paper, I would just take a picture of it and include it in the program
• $8.99
• https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notability/id360593530

Pocket Notepads: Ampad Mini Notepad, Narrow Ruled, 50 Sheets, White, 3″ x 5″

• I kept this in my pocket at all times.  You need to be able to capture ideas whenever they pop up
• $4.74 one time
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011KGD43W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Note Taking: Aqua Notes Water Proof Note Pad

• And they can pop up anywhere.

• This waterproof notepad allowed me to take notes whenever inspiration hit.
• $24.99 one time
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KPSECLK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Computer: Macbook Pro

• I had this computer since 2013 and it worked really well.  It is probably because I maxed out the specs at the time.  I didn’t see the need to buy anything new for this.

Cloud Storage: Dropbox 2TB Individual Account

• There is a lot of material to manage in a doctoral program so it is best to keep organized from the beginning.  It is not unusual to have to read 5-10 journal articles a week. Each of these could be 20+ pages each.  
• You want to keep them all.
• My program has 12 week quarters all year round and I was taking 2 classes per quarter.
• In Dropbox, I created a folder for each class.
  • I then created 12 sub-folders for each week of class, labelled “Week 01, Week 02… Week 12”
  • I also created a folder for “Classwork” which included syllabi etc.

• I converted as much as I could to PDF so I could store them all here.
• I linked Dropbox to every computer I worked on, as well as to my iPhone and iPad so I could access all my files from anywhere.
• $9.99 / month (yearly subscription)
• https://www.dropbox.com/plans?trigger=nr

Google Scholar

• As much as I love my university library, the database search engine function is archaic and requires you to use specific terms. This uses Google’s search engine technology to find articles. 
• General Use
  • After I find articles I like, I check to see if they are peer reviewed using Ulrichsweb (see below) and then click through using to Kopernio (also below) download them. 
• For Literature Review

• In Atlas.ti, I looked for codes that tagged bibliography items
• I then copied and pasted them to Google Scholar
• I then imported the article citations to Mendeley
  • Settings for this

• Click on hamburger menu, settings, Bibliography menu, Show like to import citations into “RefMan”
• This creates an “Import into RefMan” link option at the bottom of articles.
• When I find a research article I like, I click on that link and it will import into Mendeley
• Free
• https://scholar.google.com/

Ulrichsweb

• This uses your university credentials to help verify that research articles come from peer reviewed (refereed) sources. The icon even looks like a referee uniform.
• Free
• http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com/login

Kopernio

• This is a browser plug-in for Chrome that uses your university credentials to simplify access to full research article PDF’s.
• I then add them to a class folder or temp folder in dropbox
• I then add it to Mendeley
• Free
• https://kopernio.com/

Ebook to PDF Convertor: Epubor Ultimate and Epubor-kcr-converter

• I live in a small apartment and I don’t have a lot of room for books.
• That takes Kindle Ebooks and converts them into PDFs so that I could
  • Read and annotate them on my iPad (see below)
  • Include them in my Citation Manager (see below)
  • Listen to them on my iPhone (see below)
• $29.99 one time
• https://www.epubor.com/ultimate.html
• $14.99 one time
• https://www.epubor.com/kcr-converter.html

Reference and Citation Manager: Mendeley

• I used this to store reference information for every article, book and website I came across.
• I created a folder structure that mirrored what was in my cloud storage. 
• I then linked the articles from Dropbox to the folders in Mendeley.
• The PDF documents could then be so seen here and searched within the program itself.
• For things that could not be put into PDF format like books and websites, I also created a reference citation.
• As I wrote, I would search through the entire database using key words
• I would then skim through the articles it would serve up for relevancy.
• I would use the Word add-in to drop the reference into the body of my writing.
• I would finally add the reference to the end of my document.
• For Literature Review
  • I looked up articles in Google Scholar
  • I then added the references (if not the whole PDF) to Mendeley

• Free
• https://www.mendeley.com/?interaction_required=true

Tablet: iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

• This was the first model that had the Apple Pencil.  It was about 3 years old and it also worked well.

Reading and Annotating: iAnnotate for the iPad

• As mentioned above, there is a LOT of reading in a doctoral program.  I started out printing every article out until I realized after the first week that I printed out over 100 pages.  This was going to be unsustainable for the long haul and I needed another solution.
• I had a new iPad with a pen so I decided to try reading and highlighting PDF’s electronically.  This worked out really well.  
• iAnnotate connected to my Dropbox account seamlessly.
• When I needed to read something, I just called it up from the app.  
• The PDF’s were clear.  The pen felt natural had options to highlight and annotate.
• I was able to search through the document using key words.
• When I was finished, I closed the document.  Any annotations were saved along with the PDF back to Dropbox which also synced to Mendeley.
• $9.99 one time
• https://apps.apple.com/us/app/iannotate-4-read-markup-share/id1093924230

Phone: iPhone

• I did not buy a new phone just for this.  I just used what I had.

Speed Reading without Annotating: Voice Dream Reader for the iPhone

• Again, there is a LOT of reading in a doctoral program.
• I didn’t have a lot of time to read, but I was also commuting 2 hours a day for work.
• Voice Dream takes PDF’s and reads them around via voice recognition software.
• It didn’t sound as robotic as you would think and after playing around, I found an Australian accent that really gibed with me.   
• I was able to change the read back speed to a fairly high rate and would be able to “read” and get the gist of a 20 page article in an hour.
• If you think about it, this amounts to 40 pages a day or 200 pages a week.
• I would then jot down notes after my drive and skim through the articles if I didn’t have time to do a proper read.
• $9.99
• https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voice-dream-reader/id496177674

Post-it Tabs: Post-it Tabs Value Pack, Assorted Primary Colors, Durable, Writable, Reposition-able

• These were great for literally keeping tabs on important sections on books
• $9.02 one time
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008OX041K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Colored Pens: Sharpie 1802225 Pen, Fine Point, Assorted Colors, 6-Count

• In a program like this, you do a lot of manual note-taking.  It was good having a number of different colors to emphasize different thoughts 
• $10.34 one time
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LU2QA6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Highlighters: Sharpie 27145 Pocket Highlighters, Chisel Tip, Assorted Colors, 12-Count

• Like the above, itt was good to have a lot of colors to emphasize different types of ideas 
• $7.26 one time
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BA5WMI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1