More than reference management – and why that’s so important

Doing research is much more than managing your references. And scholarz.net is much more than importing sources (as shown in the last few posts). If you’re looking for plain reference managers you will find better solutions than scholarz.net.

Research is about gathering existing knowledge out of sources and coming to new findings in your own research projects. So one of the big issues is gathering and structuring ideas, information, quotes, equitations, images, etc. and integrating them into your new research.

Gathering and importing sources is just the start. The core of scholarz.net is a unique “multi-dimensional” knowledge organization, helping you to utilize your knowledge. Here’s a short description:

Importing sources from online databases to scholarz.net

The last days we talked about importing citations from PubMed or Reference Managers. But what if you browse online databases and catalogs and wish to directly import your results to scholarz.net?

We are working on some great tools that can directly capture any citations on any site and turn them into a new scholarz.net-source, but it will still take us some time to finish that. Until then you can achieve the same goal by making a small detour:

Importing References from Endnote and BibTeX

scholarz.net supports the import of bibliographic data in several formats, amongst others Endnote and BibTeX. Yesterday we showed how to import sources from PubMed. Today we’ll show how to transfer your library from a Reference Manager to scholarz.net, using Endnote as example.

Importing Sources from PubMed to scholarz.net

Gathering bibliographic data is quite a tedious task. So we developed a number of import features to help you do the job.

Today we introduce the probably most important feature for researchers in science: importing PubMed sources in four easy steps.

	1. Exporting from PubMed - Find your sources in PubMed. - Choose “XML” in the Display-field. - Choose “File” instead of Send in the last Show-field. - The file containing your search results is saved on your desktop.
	2. Open scholarz.net-Importfilter - Login on scholarz.net. - Click the Import-Link in the bottom right of the dashboard.
	3. Upload file - Choose your PubMed File saved on your Desktop. - Select Pubmed XML in the drop-down menu. - Click “Upload file”.
	4. Check and import - You now see all uploaded sources. Choose which you wish to import. - Click “Import selected data” to finish .
	Two more hints - If you wish to import a single source, you might as well simply paste the code. - Importing a greater amount of sources may take a while. Don’t interrupt the uploading. The view will automatically change as soon as everything is imported.

Why don’t you just try it. If you have any comments or further requests, we’d be happy to hear from you!

A new scholarz.net-logo

At the moment we work on a redesign of the scholarz.net software. In the course of the redesign we have also re-worked our logo. Which turned into:

Here another version. As you can see, we changed the claim as well: “Make a point”

And the Z-Icon has been changed too:

The new versions will gradually be phased in. Which means that the current logo will be kept up for a short while.

New office and great workshop

We proudly present: Our first own office. Since we left the university rooms a few weeks ago, we now stand on our own feet. Recently we also had our first big team workshop in the new rooms. Here you can see some impressions of both:

In the beginning was the emptiness. IKEA hooked us so that we spent our first two weeks in an empty room with an old garden table. Well, I guess that was real start-up flair. BTW: The lady at the garden table is Amra Basic. Amra joined us in January and we are very happy to have her on board. First we started filling the emptiness with cables, then finally with furniture. We rented a small 2-room + kitchen & bathroom flat. That makes two offices and a meeting room (the kitchen). Small and inexpensive, but beautiful, and fully sufficient for our needs.

Every few months, we gather for a big team workshop: we lock ourselves in and take a few days to define our objectives and priorities for the time ahed. With such a workshop, we also inaugurated the new rooms. The days are hard work, the evenings great fun. E.g. with Wii Boxing. Particularly impressive was the battle of the ladies. After that no one wanted to fight against Steffi or Irene so we switched to tennis and bowling .

Growing up and moving out

The first scholarz-year lies behind us. Always exiting, sometimes straining. This year we started a new chapter in our history. As you know, we started as the interdisciplinary research project “Scientific work in the Web 2.0” at the University of Wuerzburg. Embedded in an university environment we turned our ideas into bits and bytes and labored on materializing our vision. Now scholarz.net is online, helping thousands of researchers do better research. At this moment we would like to thank you for your support and enthusiasm. We would not have come this far without your help and many mails. Please continue writing us your opinion, ideas, wishes, praise and critics!

The university time is coming to an end. The research project is over, we are leaving our rooms at the university and start to stand on our own feet. We have founded a spin-off venture that will continue operating and developing “scholarz.net”, thus ensuring its permanent existence. The office has moved in a small flat near Wuerzburg and from here we will continue to persue our vision with the same effort and enthusiasm as before. We love academia, and we believe that a software like “scholarz.net” brings great benefit for its users. You have encouraged us in our belief. Thank you for that. We promise to will continue creating great tools for better research.

Easy switching from „Google Notebook“ to „scholarz.net“

Some days ago Google announced that they will stop developing the popular online notebook “Google Notebook”.

For all disappointed users “scholarz.net” has good news:
1.    We offer the same basic features – and even more
2.    We wrote an easy import-tool to help you switch

Just as with the Google Notebook you can make and sort notes, organize data, search for sources or bookmark your notes.
But “scholarz.net” offers some significant improvements: your notes can be assigned to multiple folders, so you receive a multidimensional knowledge-management. You can assign your notes to all the places where they’re needed. E.g. you can find your quotations in the source, where it came from, in the project, in which it is used and with those keywords, that fit.

In addition to that there are even more fascinating features, which help you do better and more efficient research: reference management, project-groups and a social network – all together a unique combination of knowledge-management and networking.

“scholarz.net” is designed especially for researchers, students and knowledge workers.

If someone wants to switch from Google Notebook to “scholarz.net”, there now is an easy import-feature:

First export your data out of Google Notebook.
1.    Sign into Google Notebook.
2.    Select the notebook that you want to export.
3.    Click the Export link at the bottom of the page.
4.    Choose ‘Atom’ as export option.
5.    Save the Google Atom Notebook file to your own desktop.

Then import your data to scholarz.net.
1.    Select the file from your desktop by using the above form.
2.    Click “Upload file”.
3.    Your data will be imported into a single project or source.
4.    If you like to import multiple notebooks, simply repeat this process for each.

Not only your data, notes and structure will be imported but also all your labels.

Welcome to “scholarz.net”, we hope you enjoy doing “better research”!

Software Update: Forum and better handling of bibliographic information

Marc and Jens have been busy again. Last night they uploaded a new update, the new features are now available.

Besides a few minor changes the main updates are the new group forums and an improved handling of bibliographic information.

- Group forum: instead of the rather simple Pinboard the groups now have a full scale forum. The data of the previous pinboard has been integrated as sticky thread.

(BTW: did you know that the “scholarz.net” working-groups are far more than just “normal” groups? You can create group projects and group sources and upload group files. Collaborate with entire research or study groups and make working in groups far more efficient than before.)

- Handling of bibliographic information: we have slightly redesigned the form for entering bibliographic information and the data model it is based on. There now is an own field for publisher and editor (we somehow overlooked that at the beginning). More important: we have added several “identifier”, making the whole form more flexible and complete. In case you still miss something, please write us!

The next projects we are working on are a general improvement of usability, more sophisticated import and export options, and further language options.

Ah, there is one more thing. But we’ll talk about that on monday.

Advantages of an Academic Life

While some individuals are content attending college for a bachelor’s degree, it takes a great degree of dedication to continue one’s studies through to the doctoral level.  While life in academia isn’t for everyone, there are some distinct advantages to spending one’s life in the university environment.  What follows is a brief list of these advantages.

Our christmas present: many great new features

We are delighted to finish this years work with a beautiful gift to our users: a multitude of small, but often longed for functions are now ready for you. Detailed descriptions will follow next year, here is a little overview:

- Pdf upload: save your PDF files directly to the folders and sources to which they belong.

- Folder-Files: beside pdf’s you can also store other files to your folder.

- Notes with files, images, media files: so far you could only store text notes. Now you can also use graphics, formulas and other files as a note, and assign them to multiple folders.

- New sharing menu: The Co-Workers menu and the Detailled-sharing options have been merged and designed more comfortable. In order to invite your contacts or groups to a folder, you no longer have to enter the email. Simply choose from a list.

- Group messages: Administrators can now send a group message to all members of the group.

- Group as a co-worker: not only can you invite individuals but now also entire groups to your folders. This allows you to easily share existing folders from your library with the entire (working)group.

- Formula editor: We have added an extensive formula editor to the notes. It will delight all mathematicians, scientists and economists.

We hope the new features are to your liking. We are happy to hear your further wishes!

In this sense, we wish you “better research” with “scholarz.net”, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Server Downtime on Friday

Tomorrow evening (Friday, October 17.) at 7.00 p.m. CET “scholarz.net” will be unavailable for about 2 hours. We are making a larger update and will upload some new features. The server will be down during this time. We  apologize for the inconvenience and hope the new features will outweigh the discomfort .

Scholarz.net for everyone!

After various beta phases “scholarz.net” is now ready for the Public Launch. From now on everybody will be able to register on www.scholarz.net without a golden ticket.

The unobstructed course of the three big test phases in which over 2000 researchers were able to use “scholarz.net” has encouraged us to open the platform for the public now. The core functions are running smoothly and some further wishes of our users have already been added (see “scholarz.net” update – You have spoken, we have put it into practice)

For those who haven’t yet experienced “scholarz.net”: “scholarz.net” is an online software for academic research. It helps researchers to work better and more efficiently. Its core is a new kind of knowledge management. It is combined with a social knowlege platform and a research network. With “scholarz.net” you can both manage your data and information more efficiently and collaborate and team up with other researchers.

We would like to thank our developers who have struggled through more than one night to realize all those digital fantasies.

Some universities are already thinking about integrating “scholarz.net” into their library systems. Private users will nevertheless be able to use “scholarz.net” for free. We will still be working on “scholarz.net” (that’s why it’s still called “beta”), because there is still much more potential in the idea of a “Worldwide Web 2.0 tool kit for researchers” to be realized. Be part of this great idea to connect young researchers worldwide! The coming weeks will be very exciting!

Take a look at www.scholarz.net and see what has changed. We’re glad about every feedback!

The CO2-neutral research project

“scholarz.net” is now officially a “CO2-neutral research project.” Not only do we help scholarz doing better research. We are now also protecting the environment.

How?

Find places to fund your research

How do I fund my research? What a classical question! The Online Education Database now gives over 100 answeres.

Kelly Sonora mailed me and indicated an interessting article on her site to me:
100+ Places to Find Funding For Your Research

A very interesting and potentially helpful list. Good luck applying for funds!

Our newsletter faux pas, or: Why you received strange mails

In my short life I have already done some embarrassing mistakes, but today’s was probably one of the worst. A prime example of how a thoughtless joke, makes its way and comes back as a boomerang.

What happened?

Update 1: Improved knowledge management, or “the most desired wish”

The core of “scholarz.net” is its supreme knowledge management system. Every bit of information can be assigned to various places. Thus you have got all your information just where you need it and your research will be more efficient.

If, for example, you find a quote within a source that you want to use in a project (e.g. your dissertation) you can simply assign it to this folder. The quote now is stored in your source as well as in your project “dissertation”. Away from fixed hierarchies to multi-dimensional flexibility. Set an end to data chaos and to annoying searches. Data will be stored right where you need it.

Up until now you could only assign notes to folders (e.g. note x to folders “project” and “source”) .

From now on it will also be possible to assign and tag whole folders. You can, for example, assign a whole source to a project. You can also tag whole sources.

This was the most desired wish and we are glad to be able to fulfill it.

And as a bonus: It is now also possible to assign notes, folders, etc. to single chapters, which will make your knowledge management more precise.

(Note: for notes this function will be available from next week on, but not via drag-and-drop but via the “edit” button.)

How does it work?

Below the title of a folder you will now find the button “sow associations”:

Clicking on it will open a drop-down menue in which you can choose the destinations your information should be assigned to:

In the target folder you can now see the source beside the assigned note:

Update 2: Improved networking

Around the knowledge management we have developed further functions. One of them is the network. A sort of Xing especially designed for the needs of researchers, connected to a powerful knowledge management system.

A network does only make sense if there are enough people to use it. Thanks to the speedy growth of the last few weeks we’re approaching this dimension. Time to enhance our network functions. ( And time for you to create your own profile if you haven’t done so already )

Basically it’s about finding other researchers working in the same field of studies, to team up with them and share information and thoughts. Furthermore, it’s about finding intersting public sources, read published papers of others, etc.

Therefore we have added two functions:

“scholarz.net” update – You have spoken, we have put it into practice

Some of you have already recognized the changes we have implemented last week. Now we want to introduce the fruit of our efforts to all of you:

Since the launch of our beta phase we have received much laud, but also many requests concerning further functions (“feature request”). We prove those requests and implement the best ones into our concept. Thus our software can be advanced regularly.

In the last few weeks we have changed many details, but also two major aspects which we want to introduce now:

- an improved knowledge management by enabling you to assign and tag folders (sources, etc.)

- an improved network featuring clickable profile entries and an advanced search.

Got interested? Just read the following posts …

Mac software for researchers

What kind of software helps doing scientific work? “scholarz.net” of course . But for all the tasks, that “scholarz.net” isn’t designed for, you need extra software. “History of Science Online” has recently published a very interesting article on Mac software for various scientific task. It gives a good overview of the different work areas and appropriate software solutions. Being a Mac user myself, I would like to pass this recommendations on.

I found the reference in the excellent blog “Getting Things Done in Academia“.