Research is one of those things that can happen at many levels. It can range from student efforts – from Kindergarten through doctoral thesis – or it can encompass the basement lab, around the world collaboration among amateurs, or company sponsored work at the commercial/professional level.
At any level, a document management system for researchers quickly becomes necessary. Whether storing photographs and student observations for an elementary school project or engaging in extensive professional activities, hands-on research or even library research is facilitated by a good document management system for researchers.
The Scientific Method Process
Universally, scientific method for research requires setting up observable situations and keeping careful records. At the student level, instructors are training students to observe, take notes, and compare results. This process continues into professional applications. Even a square-foot observation exercise for a kindergarten class can generate documents – especially when shared across a large, active city school district. At the professional level, accurate, confidential, secure document management system for researchers is essential for the step-by-step creation of reliable products. These products can range from the proverbial better mousetrap to pharmaceuticals that will be used by humans, farm animals or pets – with a broad product array between these two examples.
Secure
The storage of documents for research needs to be secure. Fire, flood, vandals and more can wreak havoc with well-kept files recording various stages of a research process. Folderit offers a layer of protection for your valuable documents, protecting them both from physical damage and from computer invasion. We make use of encrypted cloud storage. While no storage system is 100% secure from a determined attack, every effort is made to provide protection. For an added layer of security, you can download your work at any time, and save an added copy in a secure place.
Ease of Collaboration
Communication theorists will remind researchers and others that collaboration is a small group process, and that small groups tend to be more creative and more productive than individual researchers. However, small group research requires good communication and ease of document sharing within the group. Folderit offers the ability to protect sensitive material, to place materials in secure folders, and to share the folders and specific files to the selected collaborators. Materials can be assigned metadata and tags to make the information easily searchable. More than that, it incorporates metadata options that allow users to track who has signed off on a portion of the research or project, to set up due dates, and reminders.
Version Management
When multiple people are generating a document, version management becomes an essential part of document management system for researchers. With Folderit, multiple versions can be saved, merged or easily eliminated once their usefulness is over. Should you wish to keep a history of a document, older versions can easily be stored in an archive folder from which they can be extracted when needed.
Communication
As previously mentioned, communication among team members is vital. Folderit provides a built-in email system for the Folderit process. Documents can easily be added to appropriate folders simply by emailing them to the project email folder. From there, they can be filed, shared, stored or otherwise manipulated with ease – including editing and commenting. Team members have the capability of collaborating from halfway around the world if necessary.
Document Management System for Researchers
Whether your research team is collaborating on the solution to inexpensive energy or whether they are kindergartners sharing a garden project with a sister-city in another country, Folderit can help your team keep in touch through all the stages of the process. Materials are held in an encrypted cloud storage. The folders can be organized for different levels of access from five-year-old contributors to industrial supervisors, by using individualized accounts, passwords, metadata, and tags. You can store digitally generated materials, or scanned copies of paper files or pictures.
Team Research Strength
Good team research is facilitated by good communication and storage methods. Folderit has a document management system for researchers that offers both, along with the ability to access information flexibly from anywhere at any time. All you need is an internet capable device and a Wi-Fi connection. Yet, at the same time, you can download your entire project at any time, and save your download is a separate, secure location.
Try Folderit for your research projects for free, register here!