Research software

A variety of computer software is used for debate research. For ordinary brief writing, researchers need two types of software:

1. Web browser: Many debaters use Internet Explorer or Safari, the default browsers for Windows and Mac OS, respectively. However, many debaters consider Internet Explorer (and to a lesser extent Safari) to be unintuitive, insecure, technically flawed, and generally frustrating for research use. The most common alternative browsers are Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

2. Briefwriting software: Most debaters use a word processor for this purpose, but specialized software also exists.


 * Word processors : Microsoft Word is the most commonly-used word processor among debaters, but several free alternatives are also popular, including OpenOffice.org and the closely-related LibreOffice. In practice, both Microsoft Word and OpenOffice.org are equally effective for debate research.


 * Specialized software : When available, specialized software can be a significant asset: many tasks that require considerable effort in a general-purpose word processor can be accomplished in a single click. The most widely-used specialized research software in the NCFCA and Stoa is probably Factsmith, a free software package built around a database model. Evidence Scribe, a commercial predecessor of Factsmith, is also popular. Some specialized software builds on pre-existing word processors, such as Debate Synergy, a collection of Microsoft Word plugins designed for research and paperless debate.

Specialized software
Debate Synergy (word processor extender, free)

Evidence Scribe (database, commercial)

Factsmith (database, free)

Word processors
Google Docs (free, online)

LibreOffice (free)

Microsoft Word (commercial)

OpenOffice.org (free)

Pages (commercial)

Web browsers
Google Chrome

Internet Explorer

Mozilla Firefox

Safari