Whether preparing a manuscript for publication, writing a poster abstract for a conference, or even writing an e-mail, redundancy is something most of us want to avoid. WriteWords is an online tool that analyzes a set of text and counts the word frequency or phrase frequency.

Word Frequency – 

1. Enter a set of text
2. Click SUBMIT
3. View list of all words in the text with the number of times each appears (ranked highest frequency to lowest)

Phrase Frequency – 

1. Enter set of text
2. Choose max number of words in a phrase to be retrieved (from 1-10)
3. Click SUBMIT
4. View a list of all phrases in the text with the number of times each appears (ranked from highest frequency to lowest)

Ixquick is a powerful search engine that is aesthetically Google-esque and functionally replete. Don’t let the funny name fool you, this meta-search engine combines results from several sources and is equipped with a star ranking system so you can better judge how popular your search results are. An Ixquick result is awarded one star for every search engine that chooses it as one of the ten best results for the search. Learn more about the specifics of the algorithm in Ixquick’s About section.

Ixquick is also highly valued for its private searching feature. Meaning none of your search data is recorded, your IP address is not captured, and tracking cookies are not used to record your search terms. These are just a few examples of how Ixquick works to preserve your privacy while performing internet searches.

The MSK Library has also listed Ixquick on our Databases A-Z page and our Reference Resources LibGuide.

Reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen’s ugly duckling whose potential was not fully realized, so too is Mendeley in the world of citation management tools. Unlike some of its market-controlled counterparts, Mendeley is a powerful citation management resource with unique features that set it apart from the rest.

Mendeley offers users the following abilities:

1. Importing references and whole documents from files/folders, EndNote, and RefWorks
2. Importing items directly from a webpage using a unique bookmark affixed to a browser window
3. Annotating and highlighting whole PDF documents in a Mendeley account
4. Easily sort, refine, and edit records
5. Cite while writing directly in Microsoft Word and create bibliographies of references used
6. Newsfeeds, discussions, groups, and colleague connections to discover new research in a field of study
7. Mobile access for iOS: Mendeley – Reference Manager (Lite)

Most of these features have been done before by way of EndNote and RefWorks, right? But do these tools allow users to set up groups with colleagues halfway round the world? Or share papers with other like-minded individuals and begin open discussions about the specifics of that paper or any given topic?
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