Organizing Your Research: Using Short URLs for Academic Projects

Academic research involves dozens—sometimes hundreds—of sources. Journal articles, preprints, datasets, supplementary materials, videos, and archives. Managing all these links is a project in itself. Here’s how short URLs can transform your research workflow.

The Research Link Problem

Anyone who’s written a thesis knows the chaos:

• Bookmarks scattered across browsers and devices
• Reference managers with broken links
• Collaborative documents with URLs that wrap across three lines
• Presentations where you can’t fit the source link on a slide

A System for Research Links

Create Meaningful Short Links

Instead of cryptic URLs, create organized short links:

doin.cc/thesis-ch1-source3
doin.cc/dataset-climate-2025
doin.cc/smith2024-pdf
doin.cc/interview-transcript-07

Categorize by Project

For multiple research projects:

doin.cc/proj1-literature-review
doin.cc/proj2-methodology
doin.cc/dissertation-appendix-a

Use Cases for Academics

Literature Reviews

Create short links for every paper in your review:

• Easy to share with advisors: “Check doin.cc/review-paper-12”
• Quick access during writing sessions
• No more broken Mendeley/Zotero links

Collaborative Research

Working with a team? Share clean links:

• Group chat: “Found a great source: doin.cc/newmethod”
• Email threads stay readable
• Everyone uses the same link

Presentations and Lectures

During talks, display or speak short links:

• “For the original dataset, visit doin.cc/mydata”
• Audience can actually type it on their phones
• QR codes with short links work beautifully on slides

Student Life Made Easier

Study Groups

Share resources with classmates:

• doin.cc/bio101-notes → Shared Google Doc
• doin.cc/calculus-videos → Playlist
• doin.cc/study-guide-midterm → Collaborative notes

Job Applications

Academic job hunting requires many documents:

• doin.cc/cv → Always-current CV
• doin.cc/research-statement → Latest version
• doin.cc/teaching-portfolio → Comprehensive materials

Update the destinations as you revise—applications always get current versions.

Managing Long-Term Links

Academic work has a long lifespan. Papers are read years after publication. Datasets are accessed for replication. Consider:

Durability

Choose a service you trust for the long term. Your thesis links should work five years from now.

Updating Destinations

When sources move (and they will), update your short link destination. Old references in your published work stay valid.

Best Practices

1. Be descriptive: doin.cc/smith2024-nature beats doin.cc/s21n
2. Date important links: Include years for time-sensitive sources
3. Version control: For evolving documents, include version indicators
4. Share responsibly: Don’t share paywalled content via short links

Getting Started

1. List your current project’s key sources (top 20-30)
2. Create systematic short links with a naming convention
3. Document them in a simple spreadsheet or note
4. Use them consistently in all your work
5. Update as needed when sources move

Your research deserves organized links. Your readers will appreciate them.

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Scholarship is hard enough. Let your links be simple.