Mendeley is a free bibliography manager. Annoyingly, it is not open-source. But it is superior to endnote.
It makes researching easier. PDF’s can be sync’d with an online account (500MB for free). Article information is read from the PDF and checked using google scholar. A PDF viewer is included and the your collection’s meta-data can be searched.
An online account must be created first. Then installation is simple for both Windows (.exe) and Ubuntu Linux (apt).
Open-source alternatives are available (1,2,3). Though these alternatives lack the above functionality.
R is used to calculate statistics. The interface is not user friendly. But, once mastered, a lot can be achieved. Especially as it can be scripted.
Being open source, the system is continually extended, and efficient. It is also cross-platform. I use it regularly on both the Windows and Linux machines I work on.
The windows version is easy to install (download and run the .exe file) and includes a GUI:
The Linux version runs a terminal application. Though GUIs such as RCommander and RKWard are available.
Good tutorials are here (general), here (for Psychologists) and here (SPSS users).
From Orwell (2010):
(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(ii) Never us a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
References
Orwell, G. (2010). Politics and the English Language and Other Essays. Penguin:New York.
