Invest time learning useful tools (it wil save you time and worry!)

-        Zotero stands out as a robust reference management software, offering efficient organization and citation capabilities for your research sources.

-        Dropbox, so you never have to worry about losing your documents if you accidentally delete them or if your laptop crashes; they’ll all be safe and sound in your Dropbox, along with each and every previous version of your work (so if you delete a section in a document and you’d like to have it back, you can access an earlier version of that document and retrieve that section).

-        R and Python are programming languages consolidating diverse software functionalities into a single, open source (free) platform. These languages facilitate various tasks, including:

o   Cleaning and arranging data (which can also be done in Excel)

o   Statistical analyses (which can also be done in SPSS, Stata, etc.)

o   Textual analyses (which can also be done in ATLAS.ti, QDA Miner, WordStat, etc.)

o   Web scraping (to collect large quantities of data from websites)

o   Data visualization

o   (Interactive) maps

o   Etc.

-        Microsoft Word is indispensable for efficient document creation and formatting. Mastering key features such as Styles, insert captions, page numbering, table of contents, and track changes enhances clarity and productivity not only for your thesis but also for any future endeavor involving writing documents.

-        Microsoft Excel offers essential functions like vlookup and concatenate for data manipulation and organization. Proficiency in Excel proves beneficial beyond your thesis, providing valuable skills for data management in post-graduate endeavors, be they professional or further university studies.

-        Speech-to-text AI tools, so you can transcribe interviews faster, such as Notta, Descript, Express Scribe, Transcribe, or Dragon Anywhere, hereby streamlining qualitative data analysis.

-        ATLAS.ti is a comprehensive software solution for qualitative analysis of large bodies of textual, graphical, audio and video data.

-        Qualtrics (usually available at your university) and SurveyMonkey to design surveys.