A Collection of Tools

A collection of tools that I find useful for my research and teaching.

Literature Management

Tool	Description	Cost
Paper to HTML	Convert PDF papers to HTML for easier reading and accessibility.	Free
Zotero	Manage literature, share libraries, and use with Word, Google Docs, or Overleaf via plugins.	Free
RAYYAN	Supports collaborative systematic literature reviews, especially early-stage screening.	Free
Online BibTex Tidy	Clean and format your BibTeX files easily.	Free
Google NotebookLM	Ask questions and interact with your research papers using language models.	Free

Generative AI Tools

Tool	Description	Cost
Chat AI by GWDG	If you're affiliated with a university in Germany that has access to GWDG, you have free access to the cloud-based AI services provided by GWDG. It includes the AI services Chat AI, Arcana/RAG, CoCo AI, Image AI, Voice AI and Protein AI, including access to OpenAI models.	Free, but requires GWDG access
Google NotebookLM	Ask questions and interact with your research papers using language models.	Free, but requires Google Account
Ollama	Run generative AI models offline on your computer.	Free

Survey Software & Participant Recruitment

Tool	Description	Cost
Prolific	Participant recruitment platform.	Paid
LimeSurvey	Very reliable and versatile survey software, free self-hosting, free basic online usage, highly customizable with HTML5 and JS.	Free / Paid
SurveyJS	Build your own custom survey software with JavaScript.	Free
numiqo	Combines survey software with statistical tests. See numiqo.	Paid / Free

Quantitative Analysis Tools

Tool	Description	Cost
Anaconda Cloud	Jupyter Notebook in the cloud; ready to use for quantitative analysis. Be cautious with personal data.	Free (Cloud-based)
Anaconda	Python IDE (also usable for R); includes Jupyter; runs in browser. Recommended with VSCodium.	Free (Install)
RStudio	R IDE. R is strong for social science stats (e.g., Likert data, factor analysis, SEM).	Free (Install)
G*Power	Tool for statistical power analysis.	Free (Install)
SmartPLS	UI tool for PLS-SEM. Useful for structural equation modeling. Free for students.	Paid (Free for students)
numiqo	numiqo is the all-inclusive package for surveys and statistical tests—like having SPSS, JMP, and Qualtrics combined into one usable package. It makes it easy to conduct and correctly interpret statistical tests. They provide free tutorials and explanations for almost every statistical test you might need. A free public online version is also available, offering many useful tools, such as running nearly any statistical test by simply importing your Excel file, as well as a Design of Experiments tool (one of my personal favorites 🙌). In addition, it includes survey functionality similar to Qualtrics or LimeSurvey.	Free / Paid

Qualitative Analysis Tools

Transcription

Tool	Description	Cost
noScribe	Offline, privacy-friendly audio transcription.	Free

Coding Software

Tool	Description	Cost
QCAmap	Web-based, no install. Supports text/image data, collaborative. EU servers. Step-by-step tutorials.	Free
MAXQDA	Advanced qualitative analysis. Supports Grounded Theory. Pricey for small projects.	Paid
TAGUETTE	Not tested. Open-source qualitative coding tool.	Free
QualCoder	Not tested. Desktop-based qualitative coding tool.	Free
CATMA	Not tested. Web-based textual markup and analysis tool.	Free

Data Visualization

Tool	Description	Cost
RawGraphs	No-code online tool. Paste Excel or CSV data and choose visualizations. No account needed.	Free

Encrypted File Storage and File Exchange

Encrypted storage and exchange of research data, including participant personal data and backups.

Tool	Description	Cost
Cryptomator	Encrypt shared cloud folders (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). Team-friendly.	Free
VeraCrypt	Local drive and volume encryption.	Free
Hat.sh	Encrypt individual files before storage or sharing.	Free

Collaborative Working

Tool	Description	Cost
Miro	Online whiteboard for collaborative brainstorming and design.	Free / Paid plans
CryptPad	Privacy-friendly alternative to Google Docs. No account required. Great for collaboration.	Free / Donation-based

More Tools

Tool	Description	Cost
VSCodium	Microsoft-free version of Visual Studio Code. Know your shortcuts (MacOS, Windows)	Free
PDF24	Easy-to-use online tools for editing, converting, and managing PDFs.	Free

Make MacOS Usable

If only the software matched the quality of the hardware...

Tool	Description	Cost
Scroll Reverser	Fix natural scrolling direction when using non-Apple mice.	Free
noTunes	Stop the Music app from opening automatically (especially when not using an Apple account).	Free
Rectangle	Simple and powerful window snapping / management.	Free
Alt-Tab MacOS	Improved task switching for power users (Windows-style Alt-Tab).	Free
Parallels	Run Windows on Mac with full virtualization support.	Paid