Anyone used a mba for a research degree?

[feflower]

which version of devonthink did you use? feflower Is sente worth the $90?

I use Devonthink all the time. Google Devonthink and you might find some personal anecdotes. I had the mid-level one and then upgraded to Pro Office because of the OCR capabilities; because I scan books, or pages of books, run them through the OCR, it avoids my typing in long passages from books. Scanning also is a pain, and I don't scan as much as I planned to; but after I do fieldwork, pick up a lot of paper literature, etc, I think I will be scanning more. Also most of my pdf/articles I download (I download mainly from JSTOR) are not searchable texts, meaning I need to OCR them if I want them to become searchable.

Again, it depends what your research involves. If you read a lot of research articles, annotate them, make notes from them: then Sente is good for you.
If you need to generate different bibliographies and find it a pain to do it manually, Sente will do it for you (with a bit of set up at the beginning).

When it comes to academic stuff, I don't skimp--I used to try and buy all my books, but now, I borrow them from the library--the money I save goes into productive apps like Devonthink, Sente, MacSpeech. Like all new apps, all of these need a little patience to make them work efficiently for you.

$90 for your "occupation" for the next 5 years is a small investment.


Take a look at this. It is dated, but will give you some other ideas.

http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2006/top-ten/

 

[RexD]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11) Sprint PPC6850SP)

RexD: Did you write it in Pages, or Word?

(A few years ago, The New Yorker magazine had a long article about how MS-Word wasn't letting Phd. thesis writers follow -- was it the Oxford U. book on Phd formatting, that some colleges adopt as their standard? Something to do with 'Word' not letting one do the footnotes as the standard required.)

I wrote my PhD in MS Word. No problems.

http://www.coupledinitiatives.com/w...egnegaardPhD2010StrategicChangeManagement.pdf

I sold my MBA recently because I thought there was an updated version coming - and now I'm struggling not to jump on the MPB 13 wagon. On the one hand, I need a computer. On the other hand, the MBA is just soooooo nice because it has everything I need for research purposes and yet it's so light and handy, the MBP can't compare.

/ Rex

 

[macgrl]

Thank you all for your input.


Feflower can you recommend a good scanner /a scanner that you use to scan docs into devonthink?

Many thanks

 

[macgrl]

This might sound like a stupid question, indeed it probably is but is there a lot of difference between sente and devonthink?

 

[manhattanboy]

I wrote my PhD on a macbook air

I did mine on an iBook G4, and I'm sure there are people who even hand wrote their's.

Bottom line: we live in a great time so enjoy it!

 

[macgrl]

I did mine on an iBook G4, and I'm sure there are people who even hand wrote their's.

Bottom line: we live in a great time so enjoy it!

What's hand writing?

You are spot on though we do live in a great time

 

[ltsching]

This might sound like a stupid question, indeed it probably is but is there a lot of difference between sente and devonthink?

Sente is a bibliography/reference manager and DVT is a database. They serve different purposes.

 

[InfoSecmgr]

I have to agree that Scrivener is good. The reason I suggest Mellel is that works well with Sente. Also it was designed by academics for academic work.

We always want more. I don't think there are many people who REALLY need 4G RAM. It is a myth. I have 4G RAM, but I wish have more! Why? Because it is available--that is all. For school 13" is enough. Want a larger monitor, buy a external monitor.

Yes, I understand what you are going through. My 13" is even getting to be pain to carry around. If I ever get a academic job out of my PhD, the ideal set up would be this:

1) MBA
2) 22" or larger monitor
3) iPhone or iTouch for ultra light computing, field recording, lecture listening, etc
4) and a "mothership" to dump and store archival material--either a mac mini, or a 27" iMac which would take care of the need for a larger monitor monitor.

I actually try to envisage the iPad becoming my primary computer and it might be in 5 years time---only time will tell.

Amazing that I forgot to mention Scrivener myself. Excellent app in my opinion. It is worth checking out.

 

[macgrl]

Now here is a question..what is better Scrivener or devonthink or is it just personal preference

 

[mymoon]

Yup, but try SugarSync before committing to Dropbox

A thousand times this. At the very minimum you should sign up for Dropbox if you haven't already. Use it to store your research, and it will stay in sync between your Air and Pro.

I agree with all the MBA affirmations! Although -- I shake my head at this -- I used a tiny, monochrome screen toshiba laptop that now looks more like a tough case for the MBA for my dissertation back in the mid/late 90s.

Try SugarSync. They also have an iPhone app. Like Dropbox you get 2GB free storage. And you can choose precisely which folders you would like to sync and whether you'd like to sync across different computers or just upload to their servers. All synced folders/files are viewable through their app. HIGHLY recommended.

Also, do you know about Papers? Great for keeping track of and organizing your references. They also have an iPhone app!

Good luck!

 

[mymoon]

Devonthink seems more comparable to Evernote

Now here is a question..what is better Scrivener or devonthink or is it just personal preference

When I think about Scrivener, I think more of a writing + scrapbook or electronic binder/organizer. I can see how devonthink overlaps with these functions, but it seems to be more comparable to Evernote. I love evernote (the other app that I use daily other than SugarSync and Papers) because it helps me 'grab' anything I want, organize it, and access the info on my iPhone through its app. Yes, I depend on programs that have iPhone apps since many of my 'aha' creative moments occur when I'm away from my computer, and I always have my phone with me. At any rate, my creative process tends to demand access to my collection of materials wherever/whenever. I indulge it because I can!

(BTW, I'm currently a professor, so my research/writing continues even though I received my PhD a decade ago)

 

[macgrl]

When I think about Scrivener, I think more of a writing + scrapbook or electronic binder/organizer. I can see how devonthink overlaps with these functions, but it seems to be more comparable to Evernote. I love evernote (the other app that I use daily other than SugarSync and Papers) because it helps me 'grab' anything I want, organize it, and access the info on my iPhone through its app. Yes, I depend on programs that have iPhone apps since many of my 'aha' creative moments occur when I'm away from my computer, and I always have my phone with me. At any rate, my creative process tends to demand access to my collection of materials wherever/whenever. I indulge it because I can!

(BTW, I'm currently a professor, so my research/writing continues even though I received my PhD a decade ago)

Thank you very muc for your advice. Do you suggest getting Scrivener along with devonthink and sente?

 

[macgrl]

Mymoon I suppose what I am really wanting to know is if you wanted to chose a suite of software for y ou to research and write what would you chose ?

 

[ltsching]

Thank you very muc for your advice. Do you suggest getting Scrivener along with devonthink and sente?

That is exactly the combination I have. Devonthink as a database/depository, Sente as a reference manager and Scrivener as a writing/outlining/brainstorming/organizing tool.

 

[macgrl]

That is exactly the combination I have. Devonthink as a database/depository, Sente as a reference manager and Scrivener as a writing/outlining/brainstorming/organizing tool.

Thanks for your reply which versions of these do you have? Can you use them legally on more than one mac and what scanner do you have ( if any) that works well with them especially from an OCR point of view

 

[macgrl]

Is sugarsync better than iDisk as I have mobile me

 

[macgrl]

So should I get sente and devonthink?

 

[mymoon]

Good question about suite of software

Thank you very muc for your advice. Do you suggest getting Scrivener along with devonthink and sente?

I would love for Scrivener to have a syncable iPhone app. And I'm not that familiar with sente; I use EndNote, which is an ugly program. I may try Sente this summer (lots of writing projects to test on!). Here's what I do/use:

I write in the full screen mode of Scrivener. When I leave my computer, I copy/paste to Evernote which allows me to edit and continue my thought processes 'on the go'. I have been using EndNote (X3) as a reference manager but recently discovered Papers so that entire setup is getting upended, so to speak.

I have read in the Papers support forums that some use EndNote simply to compile reference lists for each paper and the real 'repository' and library management happens in Papers. I'm beginning to see the wisdom of that approach, since the only reason I use EndNote is to create reference lists for my MS Word papers. However, if Sente does all this, I might rid myself of both Papers and EndNote (ideal!).

Hope this helps! Ultimately, you need to find a routine that works for you and takes the tools out of your way but keeps them at your disposal as you need them. After all, the focus should be your ideas and getting them documented!

Any thoughts you might have about any of this would be appreciated.

Good luck!

 

[macgrl]

Thank you very much mymoon, your advice / suggestions are very much appreciated. I think that I am going to get devonthink and sente and take it from there. Like you say "the focus should be your ideas and getting them documented!"

I don't want to be overwhelmed with programs.