Free tools
Free tools for PhD scholars
Small, practical tools for jobs every PhD involves. Free, no sign-up, and nothing you type is stored.
Tools
Writing & publishing
References, templates and the other small jobs that eat a writing day.
Citation generator
Paste a DOI and get a formatted reference in four styles, ready to copy or export to your reference manager.
Thesis template builder
A Word file with your university’s margins, fonts, spacing and page order already set, so you write instead of fighting the layout.
Research title and keyword helper
Five title options and six keywords to choose from and adapt.
Reviewer comment explainer
What a reviewer comment is really asking, how serious it is, and how to prepare your reply.
Research question sharpener
Find vague objectives, check them against SMART, and see sharper versions to consider.
Abstract feedback
Word count, the five moves, and the sentences to fix. Feedback only; it never rewrites your abstract.
Journal cover letter generator
A clean, editable submission cover letter built from the facts you type in.
Reviewer response builder
Turn a block of reviewer comments into a numbered response table you fill in and download.
Literature review matrix template
A twelve-column Excel matrix for organising papers by theme, with every column explained.
Tools
Journals
Checks to run before you trust a journal with your paper.
Journal checker
Test a journal’s ISSN and jump straight to the official records that show whether it is really indexed.
Predatory journal risk checker
Twelve yes-or-no questions that show a journal’s risk signs, with what to check next.
Tools
Data & statistics
Sample sizes and test choices, with the working shown so you can defend them.
Sample size calculator
Cochran’s formula, the small-population correction and the regression rules of thumb, with every step shown so you can defend the number.
Statistical test chooser
Up to five questions about your data, then the test to use, its non-parametric alternative and why.
Cronbach’s alpha calculator
Alpha, alpha if item deleted and item–total correlations, from data pasted straight from Excel.
Effect size and power calculator
Sample size or achieved power for t-tests, ANOVA and correlations, with the effect size explained.
Tools
PhD planning
Dates and milestones under the UGC 2022 PhD regulations.
PhD timeline planner
Your earliest and latest submission dates under UGC 2022, with a milestone plan you can add to your calendar.
Viva question predictor
Twelve likely viva questions about your own thesis, from your abstract.
Viva practice
Random viva questions and a two-minute timer, for practising your answers out loud.
Our standards
How these tools work
Nothing is stored
The tools run in your browser. We count only that a tool was used; what you type stays in your browser.
The working is shown
Every tool says which formula, rule or official source it uses, so you can check it and cite it.
Free, no sign-up
Open to everyone without an account. Use them as often as you like.
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