5 Helpful Apps for Online Doctoral Students

5 Useful Apps for Online Doctoral Students

  • Bib Desk
  • Documents to Go
  • Evernote
  • Blue Fire
  • Latex

When studying online for a doctorate degree, students need to be as efficient and productive as possible. There are many helpful apps for online doctoral students that could improve organization, productivity and work processes. Consider using one or more of these top five apps for online doctoral students.

Related resource: 20 Best Online Schools for Doctorate Degrees

1. Bib Desk

Bib Desk is a helpful app for online doctoral students because it offers management for the bibliography of a long paper, including a dissertation. This app makes it possible to link between the books or articles referenced by the student and the bibliography at the end of the paper. It can be set to offer in-text citations with the format of the student’s choice, such as APA or Chicago Style. Making a bibliography with dozens or even hundreds of references is much easier with this app.

2. Documents to Go

Documents to Go is an app that allows students to view documents. The app can also be used to create documents in .pdf, .xls, .txt and other formats. It creates files that the student can use in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and MS Office. This app is compatible with most mobile devices and smartphones, including Android, Blackberry and iOS. It automatically syncs documents no matter which device the student uses to update them.

3. Evernote

According to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, knowing and keeping track of the timeline for the online doctoral student’s various exams, oral defense, written paperwork, and dissertation is critical. The Evernote app allows the student to capture audio from a lecture, video from a demonstration and written notes during a speech. The app also provides a way to track articles for future references, image for use in a paper and screenshots of things to ask for help with or include in a paper. Evernote allows for tagging and annotation. It is compatible with Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, and other operating systems.

4. Blue Fire

Read, highlight, annotate or bookmark .pdfs with the Blue Fire app. This app allows the student to highlight a word and get its definition in a single click. It also allows users to share an excerpt of a .pdf on social media. This app makes it easy to export a book or a paper. It also simplifies the organizational process for one or many files. The student can group .pdfs together for future reference needs for different projects, papers or chapters of a dissertation. Blue Fire also provides a search tool for finding a single word, author’s name or a longer phrase in the text.

5. Latex

When an online doctoral student is writing a paper, the formatting is critical. Even though a lot or even all of the work will be submitted online, the document still needs to follow specific formatting requirements. If you do not like or do not have Microsoft Word, Latex is a good alternative. It automatically numbers pages, charts, and graphs. It can also add appendices and number them for you. Tables and figures are also automatically numbered. Students can use their templates or create their own.

Each of these five helpful apps for online doctoral students offers an easy-to-use interface. The apps work on Android and iOS devices. By using one of these top five helpful apps for online doctoral students, it is possible to stay on track for studying, writing a dissertation and taking the doctoral candidacy exams.