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Free Software

The software on this page can really help you when writing your dissertation. All these programs are quick, consistent and forget nothing. It's all third-party software, so the ownership, credit and responsibility for the software remains with their creators! Should you find a dead link, please .

ScholarsAid Library. One of the most arduous repetitive tasks that faces writers of dissertations is the need to have citations consistently referenced according to a particular style, and to make a bibliography in that same style. ScholarsAid is a bibliographical data manager that will do both for you. You will need to register after thirty days, but it's free. If you have very advanced requirements or are planning a career in academics, there is also a commercial version available with additional features.

WordWeb Dictionary. This dictionary integrates itself into your word processor and is very useful for finding strict dictionary definitions, pronunciations and the like. If you need more information on any particular word, it will also do a web search for you. There is also a heavier duty, commercial version available.

Statpages.org is a very useful website with all kinds of free online statistical calculators and statistical software.

Weft QDA is a textual data analysis tool. If you are doing a qualitative study, check it out, you may well find it useful.

Thinking Man's Thesaurus (this is a download link, about 789 KB). You may want to find a synonym for a word that you feel you are using too often. If that's the case, a good thesaurus on your computer is an enormous help. They're also great idea generators.

Zotero is another excellent free reference manager, this time with a twist. It works online, as part of your web browser, and if you go to a web page it will automatically capture the citation information from that page. It will also store web pages, PDF files etc. and let you take notes. Unfortunately it only works with Firefox (not Internet Explorer), but then again Firefox is a great web browser.

Feedreader. RSS and alert services are the way to go if you want to stay on top of the emerging literature and trends in your field. There are plenty of free RSS readers out there, and they all do the job. Have a chat to your librarian about how to get the most out of alerts.

Conference Alerts. Academic conferences are an important way in which researchers keep each other up to date and share ideas. If you want to know where the next conference that covers your area of interest is going to take place, no matter where in the world, then you need to know about this site. You can subscribe for free, and it will send you an e-mail whenever an academic conference is scheduled that is focused on your area of interest (all disciplines are covered).

Cobian Backup. If you're not backing up your work, shame on you. You're taking all kinds of risks, and for no good reason. Cobian Backup is an excellent backup program that will automatically take care of the matter for you. It's free and works very well. Now why wouldn't you make backups?

TopOCR. Now this is a really cool program. If you have a fancy cell phone with a camera that takes photos of at least three megapixels, you're going to love it. It lets you take photos of books and articles that interest you, and when you transfer them to your computer, the program will OCR (Optical Character Recognition) them for you, and suddenly you have the text in a form that any word processor can use. To put it differently, it turns your phone into a scanner. It's free.

SuperMemo. Ok – so you're probably passed the stage where you need to brute-memorise material. But then again, is anybody ever? Whether you use it to help you in your research or to learn a new language, it works like a bomb. It's a flashcard program with a special algorithm. You'll spend far less time, and remember far more. There is a free version, SuperMemo98.

OpenOffice is everything Microsoft Office is, and it's free. It's also a massive download, you will need bandwidth and patience.

TypeFaster (this is a web page link). If you don't already touch-type, it's worth the effort to learn how to do it properly. This program will show you the right style, take you through a series of lessons and keep stats on your progress.