[TribeLeader]

I've been using Word v.X since switching to Mac 2.5 years ago. It's worked well for my purposes so far -- basic word processing, writing small to medium-sized papers (up to 20-30 pages).

But I will begin working on a dissertation in 2007 and was wondering what applications I should consider for an intense writing project (FWIW, it will mainly include written text, but there will also be information/survey info to include as well).

I've read through several threads about word processors, including this one but I wanted to ask specifically about applications for theses/dissertations.

Based on what I've read in those threads, I'm interested in taking a closer look at Mellel for word processing and Bookends for information/bibliography management.

Any thoughts on these or other applications for thesis/dissertation writing that I should check out?

Thanks in advance!

[D'Espice]

Originally Posted by TribeLeader

Based on what I've read in those threads, I'm interested in taking a closer look at Mellel for word processing and Bookends for information/bibliography management.

Any thoughts on these or other applications for thesis/dissertation writing that I should check out?

Thanks in advance!

I was about to suggest exactly that. When it comes to writing something with 20+ pages, Mellel is - in my opinion - the best choice for OS X. I bought it quite a while ago and have been very satisfied with it ever since. Purchased Bookends last semester since I had some longish (25+ pages) and important papers to write - it's great. It litereally saves me at least a week of time for every paper I have to hand in, instead of going through all my sources and adding them to my works cited list one by one Mellel & Bookends do that automatically. For thesis papers and long works in general it's my preferred solution. Hyphenation actually works pretty well, the format sets are just amazing to work with (keep it simple, concentrate on the writing itself, Mellel does the formatting).

I just finished two papers (actually, I'm about to finish the 2nd one tonight) and even though I did some of the writing with Word 2001 on my old PowerBook (in one case even most of it) I did the formatting, toc, title page, etc. with Mellel & Bookends. Takes me about five minutes to import a Word RTF, completely reformat it according to my needs (or the professor's requirements), generate a TOC, add my works cited list and add all citations according to whatever standard my professor wants me to use (this time, I had to do MLA Modern).

It just can't get any easier than that

PS: What I almost forgot. Mellel is amazingly fast and there's a Demo available. Bookends is also available as Demo download and actually free for up to 50 works per database (last semester I crossed the 50-works line for the first time therefore I had to fork out 90 bucks ). Take a look at it and get used to it. Mellel requires some setting up (format sets, toc settings, etc) but once you're through with that (should take you less than an hour) it's amazingly simple to work with.

[TribeLeader]

Thanks for the perspective on those two applications!

Originally Posted by D'Espice

[...] I had to do MLA Modern) [...]

Perhaps I should add, too, that my program requires MLA, in case that factors in to anyone's recommendations.

[wataru]

If you want to get really geeky you can do all of that for free with LaTeX + BibTeX (TeXShop and Bibdesk being the recommended GUI frontends). But trust me, that learning curve is steep.

[TribeLeader]

Just checking again to see if there are any other suggestions or responses to these applications?

Thanks!

[mikelauder]

I'm currently using Ulysses to write my 5th Year Dissertation. It's basically a plain text editor that allows you to concentrate fully on the writing so there are no page layout tools (I use Word for sorting that out afterwards) although it has got a good array of organisation and note taking tools.

Mike

[brachiator]

Thanks for this thread -- esp. the Mellel and Bookends recommendations and wataru's note that the curve is steep for BibTex.

I am soon embarking on a large legal research project, and am searching for a bibliographic tool. I'd thought to try BibDesk, but I'm strictly a UNIX dilettante! I will give Mellel and Bookends a trial. It is really time to retire the notecard method and let my $3000 web-browsing machine do the work!

Does anyone have any other suggestions or comments esp. related to doing legal research? The formatting & citation style is very different from MLA, APA, etc.

Thanks!

[TribeLeader]

As noted in my original post, I am now beginning work on my dissertation (2007 has arrived). I'm also getting ready to try out Mellel and Bookends, but I thought I'd ask again to see if there are any other recommendations. I don't have a lot of time to try out multiple applications, so I'm interested in as many recommendations/reviews as I can get.

Thanks!

[JKT]

My only recommendation is to NOT use MS Word. It is abysmal for long documents. If you do end up using it, write your chapters as separate files and collate them together only at the last moment. Also, do not include images within the text until the last moment - it is better to prepare your figures as separate files as well.

My other recommendation is to back up your progress and back up often. Do not get rid of your backups at any stage until you have the printed final version in your hands following your successful viva and corrections.

[brachiator]

Hi TL, I ended up going with DevonThink Pro. I'm probably not doing it justice by calling it a wikified database, but that's how it is working for me. Here's what I did, and mind you I was setting it up to be a database for all my research in this area, not just one article:

1) Created a biblio document for each work to be cited, or at least consulted or put in the db. This has the basic stuff for citation. The title or citation of the work in this card links to the work itself, if I have imported it into the db, as either text or PDF (which Devon imports) including scans of stuff I got from the library.

2) Created an Author document for each author. This lists name and each of her works by title. Each title hyperlinks to the biblio doc for that work. Correspondingly, the author's name in the biblio card links back to the author card.

3) While reading the works and want to make quotation cards, I make new documents with the title hyperlinked back to the biblio card and the quotation.

4) As I am writing notes or drafts, I just put in the title of the work and page and hyperlink the title back to the biblio card.

So I end up having 4 folders in the db, basically: Works Cited, Authors, Quotations and Notes/Drafts. All of them hold hyperlinked text files except Works Cited, which also holds PDFs of many of the works themselves or excerpts.

It's a bit complex, yes. But it seems to work for me and this way I am building (I hope!) a life or career long resource.

Mike

[OreoCookie]

I recommend LaTeX, I use it for my papers, my dissertations as well as letters.

But don't worry, if you don't want to learn `programming', there are various front-ends: Ulysses (as mentioned above) is aimed at writers in particular and uses LaTeX to generate the output. For BibTeX, there is no steep learning curve at all if you use BibDesk.

I absolutely do not recommend using any version of Word: my best friend's thesis took 8 hours to print! With a 20 ppm laser printer! Just don't

[Mithras]

As some folks have mentioned, you might consider applications meant not just for putting the final pages together, but also research-and-workflow style apps that will support your thinking and editing process.

Three well-liked ones are Scrivener, CopyWrite, and Ulysses.

Of those, Ulysses is probably the most full-featured, but also pricey at 50 euros for an educational license.

CopyWrite is also very, very nice.

Scrivener is neat, but probably too unstable / under-development for putting your thesis on right now.

[brettcamp]

I've been using Scrivener betas to research, organize and write long features for six months now, and have experienced exactly 0 crashes, problems or other signs of instability. It's scheduled to go out of beta and be a fully fledged app ($35) in a few weeks.

[TribeLeader]

Thanks for the all the helpful feedback/recommendations. I'm actually on campus this week taking a week-long dissertation writing and research class that begins the process.

I'll check into the recommendations here, especially the free trials.

[TribeLeader]

I'm finally beginning to try out some of these apps. I played around a little with Mellel this morning. But I'm especially interested in trying out Scrivener 1.0. I'm going to try it next. I'll share my thoughts after I've had a little more time to work with them.

Any other suggestions or thoughts on any of the applications?

[MarkLT1]

If your dissertation has a bunch of tables/figures/equations/etc... do yourself a HUGE favor, and learn LaTeX. Kopka and Daily's "A Guide to LaTeX" is a great book if you decide to go that route. LaTeX is free, and since it is a typesetting application (as opposed to a word processor) it does two things:

1) Easily tracks figures, equations, citations, etc..
2) Takes all of the typesetting nightmares off your hands.

When doing a long document such as a dissertation, this REALLY comes in handy, and will save you a ton of time in the end. As other's have mentioned, the learning curve is steep, but once you get it, you'll never go any other way .

P.S.- I spent a good portion of 2006, writing my dissertation in LaTeX. It was a GODSEND.

[TribeLeader]

I just spent some time playing around with Scrivener 1.0 and I really like it. The only problem is that you still have to export it to a word processor )after you've completed the draft work in Scrivener) for final formatting. IOW, I like it for its creative tools, but it still leaves me stuck with Word.