Chahan Kropf 31. May. 2018

Software, tools and tricks for scientific research

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Writing • Etherpad, e.g., edupad.ch (online notepad for skype calls)

• Overleaf/Sharelatex/OverleafV2 (online collaborative tex writing)

• Git with Github and Gitkraken, alternatively mercurial (Version control systems)

• Zotero with zotero connector, zotero online storage, betterbitex (citation keys, auto-export), advanced search to look into . (Order your references), import .pdf metadata to zotero • Texmaker (cross-platform editor)

• Libre/Open office (free microsoft office alternatives)

• Latex tricks:

◦ Define macros for variables/symbols (e.g., \newcommand{\rate}{\gamma})

◦ Naming for labels meaningful (e.g., \label{eq:...}\label{fig:...}\label{sec:…})

◦ i.e., and e.g., (otherwise, points are like a sentence)

◦ Use ‘%’ to make your code readable

◦ Use bibtex/biblatex for bibliography Searching and finding • Google scholar

• Webofknowledge

• Arxiv

• Sci-Hub

• Bookzz

• Tor browser (also available on download.com) Stay up to date • Journals RSS feeds (you can subscribe with your browser or a rss reader program)

• Arxiv news filter Chahan Kropf 31. May. 2018

◦ What is currently in? scirate.com

◦ What are you interested in? Arxivist.om

◦ Custom new update myADS adsabs.harvard.edu/myADS.html

• Field specific pages. E.g. Quantiki (quantum information) ,Inspirehep (high-energy physics), Mathscinet (Mathematics), CVGMT (Calculus of Variations and Geometric Measure Theory), … • Keep publication alert of your favorite authors (e.g. on google scholar) Procrastination Contro • Block websites after limited usage time: Keepmeout.com (cookie based), leechblock NG (firefox add-on) • Monitor time spent with what program (Rescuetime.com)

Pro • Webcomics (xkcd, smbc, phd comics)

• paperscape.com (vizualize arxiv)

• ted.com (inspirational talks) Posters and Talks • How to make a poster? Before choosing a program for making a poster, ask yourself what type of poster you want to make. Should it be understandable by itself? Then you need more text and formulas. Should it be a support for your explanations? Then more pictures, more fantasy and less text is good. ◦ Powerpoint & co.

◦ Inkscape (Drawing freedom)

◦ Baposter (latex style)

◦ Beamer (latex style)

• Presentations

◦ Powerpoint, Keynote, Libre/Open office impress (More images, movies, less formulae)

◦ Latex beamer package (More formulae)

◦ Klatexformula (To make images of latex code) Chahan Kropf 31. May. 2018

Prepare the future • Make a personal website (easiest, just copy the source code of a personal website you like) • Make an ORCID identifier

• Keep citation alerts on your papers

• Jobs

◦ First thing is to try to narrow down a bit what you are searching for. E.g., if a postdoc, what subject? Where in the world? To become professor? Then look for the best or most promising in your field, not just anyone. E.g., you want to go to industry? Then look out for industry fairs or industry stands at conferences. ◦ Look on journal websites

◦ Ask around you/tell people you are looking for a job

◦ Complete lindkedin, researchgate

◦ Look on job websites

◦ University

▪ Professor/group websites (call them, and later send email)

▪ Apply for your own funding (national agencies, european union etc.)

◦ Ask your supervisor, but make clear what you are looking for

Else • Mindmaps to organize your thoughts (e.g., freeplane.org)

• Inkscape (vectorial drawing program, cross-platform, free, latex support with textext)

• Online courses (Coursera, academia, udemy, udacity)

• tikz + pgfplots (latex integrated plotting and drawing)

• VoiceIp with skype (proprietary) or jitsii (open-source, encrypted) or mumble (open-source)

• Think about how to make good graphs

◦ http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/visual_business_intelligence/rules_for_using_co lor.pdf ◦ https://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/b-eye/choosing_colors.pdf

• 10 minutes email (if you need a temporary email address for a subscription) Chahan Kropf 31. May. 2018

• Wolframalpha (free subscription for one year with email address, after one year use another email) • Grammarly (Plugin for grammar spell check, Word, Firefox, Chrome)