By: The Capella University Editorial Team
Reading time: 2 minutes
Nearly every student faces it: the pressure of writing a research paper.
If you’re a student in an online degree program, you’ve probably experienced writer’s block or needed help finalizing a draft and didn’t know where to turn for help.
This list covers nine digital resources to ease the process of researching, writing and quality checking your papers. Features and availability vary by tool and can change, so check each site for current details.
Create a citation by pasting in a source’s link or entering its details. It supports MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. Review the result, then copy it into your paper. Automated citations can contain errors, so check each one against your style guide.
This tool checks your writing for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors and suggests fixes as you type. It works in your browser and inside apps like Google Docs and Word.
If you’re working with a group on a paper, Google Docs makes it easy. This web-based word processor lets several people edit a document at the same time without overwriting each other’s work.
Keep your research notes in one place. Type or write anywhere on the page, organize notes into notebooks and open them from your computer, tablet or phone.
Save web pages as you research, then read them later in one organized place. Use the browser extension to save a page, then read it in the mobile app, including offline.
A digital library of scholarly journals across many subjects, including archives of older issues. Full-text access depends on your library or the publisher.
A search engine for scholarly articles, papers, theses, books and abstracts. Link it to the Capella Library in Scholar’s settings to see full-text links next to results that Capella can access. Capella’s library has step-by-step instructions.
Having trouble focusing because of the content flowing through your browser? Freedom is an on-off switch to limit the amount of information you see while you work.
One of the best resources is often your school library. Capella’s librarians can recommend resources and help you build search strategies. Help is available through email, chat or phone.
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