35 useful sites for your thesis (and for conducting research in general)

Online, there are several websites useful for writing a thesis.

Some of them are truly amazing.

They not only help make your work easier but also allow you to produce a much more comprehensive and in-depth thesis.

There’s something for everyone. For those in a hurry who want to finish quickly. Or for those who have some ambition and want to write an excellent thesis (without spending years on it).

• Google Scholar: Known by all university students worldwide, this is Google’s search engine dedicated to books and academic papers. Free.

• Jstor: An online catalogue offering access to a vast range of academic publications across various disciplines. Free.

• Catalogo Z39.50: A catalogue of catalogues. Jorge Louis Borges would be pleased. Free. Warning: potentially infinite search loop.

• Core: Currently the world’s largest collection of open-access academic articles in various fields. Free.

• Semantic Scholar: An online catalogue for searching scientific literature, AI-powered. Free.

• Citavi: A centralized (and optionally collaborative) platform for inputting notes, references, citations, and bibliography. Paid.

• Mendeley: A system for searching, adding, and cataloging bibliographic references during research. Free, advanced versions paid.

• Zotero: A downloadable application (not web-based) for collecting, organizing, and citing the works you have consulted. Free.

• BibTeX: For the more tech-savvy, an advanced referencing system that integrates with LaTeX. Free. (We’ll talk about LaTeX later.)

• Google Sheets: Yes, sometimes a simple spreadsheet is all you need. Easy, fast, fully customizable. Free.

• BibMe: Online software specialized in handling citations correctly in various formats. Free.

• Endnote: Online tool to keep track of all notes and export them in various citation styles. Paid.

• MindMup: Website for creating mind maps and giving your thesis a logical structure. Free.

• Obsidian: Through writing techniques, Obsidian helps fine-tune your thinking. An amazing piece of software—I use it every day. A real game changer. Free.

• Zettelkasten.de: Software based on the Zettelkasten method to avoid being overwhelmed by a constant accumulation of information. Paid.

• Notion: Online workspace that combines writing, note-taking, images, and diagrams to manage all phases of research. Basic version free, advanced versions paid.

• Google Docs: Google’s writing software. Many useful integrations with third-party apps. Free.

• Microsoft Word Online: The father of all writing software. Needs little introduction. Solid, reliable, stable. Notably, you can use the web version with automatic cloud saving (no lost or corrupted files). Free.

• Readability Index Calculator: Online tool to calculate how easy your text is to read. Uses various indexes, such as the Flesch Index. Free.

• Hemingway App: For those who like to give their writing a certain style, this online tool offers suggestions to significantly improve your text's form. Free.

• LaTeX: I don’t even know if it can be called writing software. It’s much more. Mainly recommended in scientific fields, but I know it’s also used in the humanities. Advanced. Free.

• Trello: Visual software for managing complex projects, tasks, checklists, actions, etc.—all via cards. Free (pro plans paid).

• Asana: Similar to Trello. Try both and pick the one that suits your style. Free (pro plans paid).

• Gantt Project: Software for managing projects using the famous Gantt method. Free.

• Flow.app: App developed to help focus using the Pomodoro technique and blocking access to other apps (social media, games, etc.). Free.

No, don’t think about having your thesis written by AI. The result is mediocre, you don’t learn how to do research, and you’re at serious risk. For other tasks, however, AI can be useful.

• ChatGPT: The first software to provide decent AI. Mainly useful for generating ideas and research suggestions. Free, pro versions paid.

• Otter.ai: Ever heard of the legendary transcription of recordings? Otter.ai does it automatically with excellent results. Free up to 300 minutes/month.

• Quillbot: Artificial intelligence developed to improve writing, summarize, paraphrase, etc. Free.

• Thesis Statement Generator: An AI tool from Grammarly to help you generate complete thesis ideas from basic ones.

• Plagiarism Detector: A useful site to help you avoid plagiarism. Note that universities have their own professional (and expensive) software that may detect plagiarism anyway.

• Thesis 4U: Italian platform that connects the business world and students who need to write their thesis.

When I started using these digital tools seriously (together with solid ideas), the quality of my research and the originality of my texts made a significant leap forward.

If you want to create a thesis that gives you satisfaction and makes you proud, you can’t do without an innovative perspective, which takes into account these advanced tools and shows you how to use them to their full potential.

If you need to write a thesis but are struggling, I invite you to read Thesis Hack, my complete proposal to write an excellent thesis.