Well, I've downloaded the trial version of Nota Bene and will be working with it for the next few weeks to see what I think. It sounds great, but I must admit that I balk at the price and at the learning curve involved in using it. I tend to think, "Who needs it?" But then I realize that I might be underestimating the task ahead. But didn't people do dissertations for decades without even having a computer? Do I really need to spend such money to keep myself organized? Perhaps I do. I'm not sure. Do my fellow dissertanians have any of this ambivalence?
In truth, the most important part of the program might be its ability to change the format/style of a doc. This could be VERY helpful since I will be writing my thesis in MHRA style but might want to submit portions of it for publication in MLA style. Does that sound presumptuous?
2 comments:
Not presumptuous at all. We should at least believe we have something other people might want to read someday if we're embarking on this adventure. At least on some days.
I think the switching from one style to the other is well worth a big chunk of change in the long run, but you might be able to delay. The other advantage is not having to totally learn MHRA since the program will do the details for you. For me the benefit is not having to keep tons of paper around my too-small-for-it house, and the search features make me more confident that I won't miss an obvious source that I've already done the work on. With so many sources, I can just imagine forgetting many, many things.
And the prof that recommended the program to Kevin is an amazingly staunch and traditional old codger (and English to boot). I'm not sure he'd find the slickest program in the world, but he would throw out technology that was not useful.
Lastly, I for one am so thankful I'm not writing a dissertation without a computer. I need all the help I can get!
As my first foray into this blog, I'd like to agree with Amstr. I too felt the price was a little steep, but if you look at it not as a tool for your dissertation but as an investment in your career, a tool that will help you write books and articles beyond the diss, then that might help cushion the blow.
Of course, I have a mac so I bought DevonThink for quite a bit less. But it doesn't have all the bells and whistles NB has.
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