Reference management

Zotero

Zotero, a free, open source EndNote alternative, bills itself as 'The Next Generation Research Tool', and I think it's true. I reviewed it on my blog and also published some useful tips and techniques.

Linguistic and anthropological data

SIL FieldWorks

FieldWorks is a suite of applications developed by SIL and made available as freeware. It includes Fieldworks Language Explorer and Data Notebook (see below)

Fieldworks Language Explorer (FLEx)

The successor to good old Toolbox, FLEx provides a relational database, data exchange through the LIFT format, XML export, ingenious dictionary development procedures, and more.

Data Notebook

The digital version of your paper notebooks. Interlink and categorize anthropological notes. Features a smooth implementation of the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM). Integrates with FLEx (e.g. dictionary lookup of terms).

Phonology Assistant

Automates many of the more cumbersome tasks in phonological analysis. Fantastic user interface. A review of Phonology Assistant by me was published in Language Documentation and Conservation.

WeSay

WeSay is in a league of its own. It is experimental dictionary-building software which empowers local communities to quickly build dictionaries. I have set up the Siwu language team with a development version to build a Siwu dictionary for use in their literacy program.

Project management and collaboration

Backpack and Basecamp

These webbased tools are perfect for managing projects large and small. Easy-to-use to do lists and deadline management help keep track of progress; pages, notes, and tags (categories) help manage complex amounts of information. Backpack & Basecamp are free to try. Setting up an account takes under a minute. Their paid plans can handle multiple projects and users. Note: I use Prism to run webapps as separate desktop applications. On Mac, Fluid does the same.

Writeboard

Writeboards are sharable, web-based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any version, and easily compare changes. Perfect for collaboration on short to medium-length texts. Writeboard is a free service.