Collaborative writing tools

Platforms described in this section:
Authorea | Dropbox Paper | Google Docs  | MS OneNote | Notion | Overleaf (LaTeX based)

Collaborative writing tools are digital platforms designed to facilitate group work in the creation, revision and management of documents. These tools are particularly useful in the field of academic research, where collaboration between researchers, students and academics is essential to the  production of high-quality works.

In the context of research, collaborative writing tools offer a series of noteworthy advantages:

• Collaboration in real time: they enable several users to work on a document at the same time, and to view and make changes to it in real time. This is of fundamental importance for the co-authorship of articles, theses and research projects.
• Management of the versions: they provide tools for keeping track of modifications and for the management of several versions of a document, facilitating its revision and the return to preceding versions if necessary.
• Facilitation of communication: they integrate functions of comment and discussion, enabling collaborators to communicate directly within the document, making for a more efficient revision and feedback process.
• Accessibility and sharing: they offer options for the sharing of documents with  collaborators or with the public, at various levels of authorisation for viewing and modification, increasing the flexibility of project management.
• Integration with other tools: many collaborative writing tools integrate with other applications and services, such as tools for the management of bibliographies, facilitating the creation of well structured and correctly cited academic documents.

These tools are essential for the success of research projects involving several people and differing skills, simplifying co-operation and improving the efficiency of academic work.

Here below is an overview of some of the collaborative writing tools most utilised in the academic context:

• Overleaf: a platform based on LaTeX for writing and collaborating on academic and technical documents.
• Authorea: this tool supports writing and collaborating on scientific documents, with integrations for the management of citations and reference.
• Dropbox Paper: a writing and collaboration application which integrates documents with the management of Dropbox files.
• Google Docs: a word processor platform based on cloud that facilitates collaborative writing with editing and comment tools.
• Microsoft OneNote: a note and organisation application enabling collaboration on notes and documents.
• Notion: a multifunctional tool for the writing and management of projects?) and the organisation of information.