LearningXL

If you love to do research but don’t have the degree or credentials to be truly called a scholar, then you probably fall into the category of a hobbyist scholar. This doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of the numerous resources for scholars online. They can help you with anything you might be interested in finding out more about, from science to your family genealogy. We’ve put together a list of 100 of these resources to get you started on your next just-for-fun research project.

Search Tools

These online tools can be a great place to start your college research, with many focusing solely on academic publications and information.

1. Google Scholar: Narrow your Google searches down to scholarly results with this special version of Google geared towards papers, abstracts and citations in a variety of subjects.
2. Online Journals Search Engines: This scientific search engine allows you to make searches in a wide range of online databases (60 altogether) with just one search query.
3. Research Crawler: Use this search engine to find relevant images, articles, videos news and more that can help you in your research.
4. Footnote: Want to find original source documents? This site provides a place where users can upload their documents and people like you can browse them to find a whole wealth of information not available anywhere else.
5. InfoMine: This search engine makes it possible to look for scholarly information in fields ranging from business to the performing arts in one easily accessible place.
6. CiteULike: Search through this site to find articles that others have marked as being worthy of note or citation.
7. Clusty: Clusty is a great alternative to a traditional search engine, combing through several search engines to give you integrated results, clustered by topic so they’re easy to use.
8. Trexy: If you want to be able to save your search queries, Trexy makes it easy, so you won’t have to do the same search twice.
9. Cite Steer: This site is home to a collection of scientific information that you can search using this handy tool.
10. Scirus: With Scirus, you’ll find just what you’re looking for in science and technology articles.
11. Academic Index: This specialized search engine makes it easy to get only reputable results in your searches.
12. Fields of Knowledge: Don’t waste your time with less than reputable search results. This search engine of sorts gives you results filtered through the lens of professors, academics and experts who know what’s good and what not to waste your time with.

Reference Sites

Use these reference sites to find out basic information you’ll need in your research.

13. Bartlett’s Quotations: Got a great quotation in mind but can’t remember who said it? Check out this site for comprehensive listings of well-known quotations.
14. Roget’s Thesaurus: If you find yourself using the same word over and over again, mix things up by using this popular thesaurus.
15. Alta Vista Babelfish: It’s likely that you’ll need to translate things at some point during your research and Alta Vista makes it easy to do so, both for single phrases and whole webpages.
16. Merriam Webster Dictionary: Avoid the embarrassment of using a word that means something different than you think it does by checking with this online dictionary first.
17. Diana Hacker: Diana Hacker publishes a variety of style manuals and you can find a good amount of information on conforming to things like MLA or Chicago Manual of Style on her site.
18. Virtual Reference Shelf: Need reference materials online? This site provides everything you could possibly need in one easy-to-use place.
19. Infoplease: This site is home to encyclopedias, dictionaries, useful facts, and much more on a huge range of subjects making it a great resource for quick searches and fact checks.
20. Citizendium: If you have your doubts about the accuracy of Wikipedia, check out this site as an alternative. It’s written with much stricter editing rules and the full discloser of the writer’s name.
21. CredoReference: Search multiple reference sites at once with the integrated search features offered through this site.
22. RefDesk: This site is a great place to check those little facts from science to historical information.

Library Tools

For students at online universities, searching through library material is easier than ever with these online tools.

23. Library of Congress Online Database: Make the most of one of the biggest libraries in the world with this search feature for the LIbrary of Congress. You can browse through their impressive digital collections and see what they have stored away in the building itself as well.
24. WorldCat: WorldCat is an indispensable tool for anyone planning to do research in a library. Simply type in the name of the book you’re looking for and you’ll get a list of all the libraries in the world and in your area that carry it.
25. Smithsonian Libraries: The Smithsonian has loads to offer through it’s online collections, and you can search and browse through them using this site.
26. LibWeb: Need to find a library in your area? This site provides a fairly comprehensive guide to libraries around the world and makes it easy to get right to their webpage.
27. National Library of Medicine: For those who are researching medical issues, this large national library is an indispensable resource.
28. Library Elf: Don’t get stuck with late fees on all those library books you’ve got checked out. This handy tool makes it easy to keep track of where you’ve checked things out and when they’re due.
29. National Gallery of Art: If art is more in line with your research, the National Gallery of Art has a great collection, some of which you can search through and see online.
30. Internet Public Library: On the IPL site, you’ll find all kinds of resources in fields from business to science, reference materials, and even books you can read online.
31. Gateway to Library Catalogs: This site makes it easy to find the online access points for library catalogs all over the US and beyond.

Databases and Journals

These sites are great destinations for find a wide range of information, from scientific research projects to art historical papers.

32. Intute: Don’t spend your time searching blindly through the Internet for reputable and relevant resources. Intute has a great database of resources they’ve hand selected to be used in research and education in science, the humanities, social science and technology.
33. All Academic: This search engine, maintained by Dr. Michael Bell, allows researchers to search through several major online databases at once.
34. Journal Seek: Journal Seek is the "largest completely categorized database of freely available journal information available on the internet" making it easy for you to find what you need at no cost to you.
35. Article City: Check out Article City to find a large collection of articles available to you free of charge from sites all over the Internet.
36. Directory of Open Access Journals: With this helpful tool, you’ll be able to easily search through the range of free journals that are available on the Web.
37. DocSource: Geared towards scientific and medical information, this site allows you to search by author or title to find relevant information available on the Web or through ordering a copy of the document.
38. Fulltext Resources Online: This site brings together almost 41,000 full-text resources from newspapers, journals and magazines of all kinds.
39. HighBeam Research: This search engine is an awesome tool, allowing you to look through articles and information from sites like the New York Times, NPR, The Economist and much more.
40. Highly Cited: Have someone that just keeps showing up as a cited source in the things you’re reading but have no idea who they are? This site provides a way to find the individuals, departments and labs that have made significant contributions to science and research.
41. Internet Archive: The Internet Archive is a collection of important websites and cultural information in a digital form, giving you easy access for research.
42. ERIC: The Education Resources Information Center is a useful place to start looking for information related to education in the United States, and the online database makes searching through it’s collections easier and more productive.

Note Taking

These helpful online tools can be a great place to keep track of your research information and jot down your thoughts as you go.

43. Evernote: Evernote is one of the most comprehensive online note taking applications, allowing users to clip, save and share information from the Web as well as providing access online and off to notes.
44. JotCloud: If you need to jot down some simple notes while using the web, this sticky note app can be a great way to do that with very little effort.
45. SpringNote: If you need to do more than jot a quite note down, then consider this note taking application. It’s similar in format to a regular word processor and comes complete with templates and plugins to make customization of your content simple.
46. UberNote: With features like archived changes to notes and the ability to integrate tasks and bookmarks into notes, this application can be a great tool to keep track of research information.
47. Luminotes: For those who’d like to integrate their notes into a wiki, this site can be a perfect solution. You can even create hyperlinks in your one part of your notes that link to information in another part of your notes.
48. Stikkit: Stikkit sticky notes are much smarter than your usual little yellow paper note. Over time, they gather information from the content you jot down on them and can put together to-do lists, contacts, and much more, cutting down on the amount of work that you have to do.
49. FruitNotes: If you don’t have your computer with you but still want to get an idea down try using this program. Users simply call a number and get their voice messages recorded for use later.
50. Notefish: This note taking app is full of cool features like drag and drop, resizing, coloring and sharing your notes. If you find yourself hooked on it, you can even add a plug-in to Firefox to further integrate it into your research process.
51. MyStickies: Just because you’re researching on the Web doesn’t mean that you can put sticky notes all over the material you’re looking at. This program allows you to decorate web pages with your personal notes so you can come back to them later and remember what was important or relevant.
52. WebAsyst Notes: Part of a larger online suites of programs, this notebook allows users to jot down thought, save them, share them, and organize them for later.
53. NoteMesh: If you’re looking for an easy way to share your notes with someone else for advice or collaboration, this online tool uses wikis to make it easy to work together on a collection of information.
54. YourDraft: For those who have gotten to the point of creating a draft of their work, this site makes it easy to type one up and share it with an editor who can give you helpful feedback.

Bookmarking and Citation

Diigo: Diigo is a powerful tool for research, allowing users to highlight websites, add sticky notes, create annotations and more.

Ottobib: If you hate making bibliographies, this site can make it simple. Just enter the ISBN of the resource you’re using and get a citation generated in 5 different formats.

Del.icio.us: One of the most popular bookmarking sites, Del.icio.us makes it easy to record useful sites for further investigation and sharing.

Qipit: Turn your mobile phone into a digital copy machine with this helpful tool. Simply take a picture of a text document with your phone or camera and the program will help you translate it into PDF form.

WizLite: WizLite takes web highlighting to the next stage, not only allowing you to pull out interesting content with a highlighter but giving you the option to share or save your highlighted information as well.

Google Bookmarks: If you need to do research on several computers, consider getting Google Bookmarks. It allows you access to your favorite sites from any computer with an Internet connection.

Clipmarks: Instead of bookmarking an entire website, Clipmarks makes it possible to just clip the part of the site that you found interesting so you won’t have to search for it later.

Citation Machine: Check out this helpful tool for assistance in making citations in the correct form without any extra effort on your part.

BibMe: Just enter books, websites or journals into this online tool and it will automatically generate the appropriate citation.

Yahoo! Bookmarks: With features like drag and drop, Yahoo! makes it easy to organize your bookmarks and take them with you anywhere.

Chipmark: Chipmark offers a range of features from storing your bookmarks online to downloading them right to your own computer for use.

IKeepBookmarks.Com: With this site you can upload your bookmarks to the Web and have access to them from any computer, anywhere, making it simpler to take your research on the road with you.

To-Dos and Organization

Whether you want to keep track of your research project or just organize your thoughts, these tools can give you a leg up.

67. ToDoList: This simple to-do list application can make it easier to keep track of all the things you want to get done for a research project.
68. TreeLine: TreeLine can be an indispensable tool for the disorganized researcher. It allows users to store almost any kind of information in one easily accessible place, creating a small database that can be saved or printed for use.
69. TuxCards: TuxCards is a hierarchical notebook allowing you to keep track of your research in a format that highlights what is more important and what can get less attention.
70. FreeMind: If you need a little help mapping out your thoughts or brainstorming ideas, give this Java-based mind mapping program a try.
71. Bubbl.us: Check out this online mind mapping tool to help get your thoughts in order.
72. Listingly: This tool allows you to create lists about anything that you need and not only access them from your computer but share them and read them on your phone as well.
73. iPheed: Turn your iPhone into a helpful research tool with this program. It allows you to take notes and make lists on your computer and later access them right on your phone so you’ll have the information at your fingertips even when you’re on the go.
74. Manage My Ideas: Create an account on this site to help you create a digital collection of your ideas so they won’t get lost in the shuffle simply jotted down on a piece of paper.
75. VoodooPad Lite: This application is a great place to keep notes organized and it comes with a feature that many other apps don’t– you can access it right from your iPod.
76. Journler: Mac users can take advantage of this journaling software to help them keep track of daily progress, take notes, or create work plans.
77. ThinkTank: This site is designed to help organize a research project by generating possible topics and subtopics related to an idea.
78. iubo: If you’ve got a lot of digital information for your research, this can be a really helpful tool. It allows you to create your own search engine that will troll through all that information and allow you to easily find what you need.

Working Together

If you don’t plan on working alone on your project, these web tools make it easy to collaborate.

79. Campfire: Take your instant messaging to the next level with this tool. It makes it simple for groups to work together by chatting and sharing text, files and images.
80. Google Docs: For those with a Gmail account, this tool makes it super easy to create documents and share them with others for group editing and collaboration.
81. Thinkature: Want to work in real-time over the web? You can with Thinkature. You can chat, draw diagrams and share your ideas as they come to you.
82. Writeboard: Writeboard gives users the ability to create documents, share them with others, make changes and even roll back to previous versions.
83. Zoho Notebook: Part of a larger suite of tools, this application is perfect for working together on projects small and large.
84. Yakkle: From instant messaging to desktop sharing, this downloadable tool makes it easy to work with anyone, even if they’re a world away.
85. PBWiki: Wikis can be a great way to give easy access for a collaborative project and this site provides some of the best.

Browser Extensions

Trick out your browser with these extensions that can make it easy and pain-free to do research.

86. Zotero: Check out Zotero to organize, bookmark and even get help citing information you find on the Web right from your browser.
87. Customize Google: Don’t limit your searches just to Google. This extension allows you to easily get your search results from Google in Yahoo, Ask.com, Technorati, Wikipedia and others.
88. Read It Later: If you plan on doing a large amount of research you know you can’t read every page you come by right away. This tool makes it easy to save these bits of information for later when you have more time to read them by storing them in an easy-to-manage menu in your browser.
89. Yoono: Don’t browse in the dark ages. Yoono will suggest other webpages you might be interested in based on your browsing and makes it easy to save and find information you find relevant.
90. Bookstack: Just like you pile up books from the library to look through later, this tool lets you create a collection of sites to visit later when you have time to give them your full attention.
91. eReader: With great resources like project Gutenberg providing free ebooks, use this extension to make it easy to read them right in your browser.
92. Clusty Toolbar: Clusty makes it easier to search, allowing you to search several sites at once as well as giving you buttons for encyclopedias and dictionaries right from the web page you’re looking at.
93. Better Search: Better Search allows you to make your search engine experience a little better by adding previews and options to open search results in new tabs.
94. Snap Links: If you’re doing a search and more than one good site comes up, Snap Links allows you to open several search results at once.
95. Googlepedia: Install this add-on to get some helpful split screen information with your search results. For every search you do in Google, this extension will give you the relevant Wikipedia article as well.
96. gTranslate: For those pesky times when you come across a site that you think is really great but you can’t read it because it’s in a foreign language this tool is ideal, letting you easily make translations.
97. Book Burro: From time to time you’ll likely need to buy some books to further your research. This extension will give you results on where to get the best deal on the book you’re interested in buying.
98. HyperWords: Turn any word, anywhere into a hyperlink with this great extension, allowing you to easily look it up in a thesaurus, dictionary or encyclopedia.
99. AutoCopy: If you find yourself frequently using ctrl+alt+delete to copy information then this tool may save you some time. This tool adds anything you highlight to the clipboard so you can paste it into your word processor or email.
100. WiredMarker: If you’re addicted to your highlighter when you read a book then this tool is just for you. It allows you to easily highlight important information on any webpage you visit.

If you enjoyed this article, please bookmark it at del.icio.us »