Open Research Spotlight: How two researchers write, think and publish with Overleaf
A tool for every discipline
is an online collaborative writing and publishing tool that uses a LaTeX/RichText editor to help create professional-looking documents. It is designed to make the process of writing, editing, and producing papers and research documents quicker and easier for authors. Overleaf allows you to focus on the content, while the platform takes care of formatting, enabling you to use a range of templates for journal submissions, theses, and other academic work. The (OOR) supports institutional access to Overleaf鈥檚 premium features, giving University of 51福利社 (UoM) researchers additional support for writing and collaboration.
In this Open Research Spotlight, Josh Emsley (he/him) from the OOR spoke with two researchers who use Overleaf daily in different research contexts. (he/him), an atmospheric scientist, used LaTeX for decades and turned to Overleaf after spotting it in university communications. 鈥淲hen I retired from teaching, I had another look at this thing and thought, my goodness me, this is the tool I鈥檝e been looking for all my life.鈥� . (she/her), a final-year PhD student in analytic philosophy, discovered Overleaf through her supervisor and now uses it daily for writing assessments, organising notes, and developing an array of outputs. 鈥淚f I start a new project, it鈥檚 going to be a new Overleaf,鈥� she said.
A workspace for thinking and organising research
Beyond just formatting documents, Overleaf provides a space where researchers can structure and refine their ideas. Both Geraint and Maheshi described how the platform has become integral to their research workflow, helping them structure their note-taking, writing and ongoing analysis.
For Geraint, Overleaf offered a practical solution for turning decades鈥� worth of handwritten notebooks into a coherent digital archive. 鈥淲hat I was trying to do was abstract the important information from these notebooks and consolidate them,鈥� he explained. With a background in physics, Geraint stressed his preference for Overleaf over Microsoft and Google tools due to its smooth handling of equations, formulas and graphs. 鈥淢icrosoft鈥檚 tools really are not fit for the purpose,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here won鈥檛 be a science thesis anywhere without either diagrams or lots of formulae in it.鈥� Having previously used LaTeX, he stressed that Overleaf provided the user-friendly layer that 鈥渢ook away all the pain of LaTeX.鈥�
Geraint also reflected on the benefits of writing in an online environment that supports iterative development and reflection. 鈥淚t makes the research itself more productive, in the intellectual part of it, not so much the tool part,鈥� he said. Overleaf helped him identify connections, revise arguments, and move more easily from exploratory notes to publication-ready content.
Maheshi also echoed this idea of Overleaf as a space for thinking. She described how the layout and interface encouraged focus: 鈥淚t gets you to work.鈥� She used Overleaf for a wide range of writing activities, from reading group notes to formal assessments, and appreciated how it helps her structure projects as they evolve. 鈥淚t helps you focus鈥� the way the page is set up, it helps you concentrate on the work.鈥� Overleaf also integrates with popular reference managers like Zotero and Mendeley, making it easier to manage citations and bibliographies directly within the platform 鈥� a useful feature for researchers working across multiple documents or projects.
Together, these reflections demonstrate that Overleaf is more than a LaTeX editor; it鈥檚 a research workspace which can support the development of research thinking and writing.
From professional outputs to publication
Another strength of Overleaf is how it transforms draft content into clean, professional, publication-ready documents. For both Maheshi and Geraint, this was a reason the platform became central to their workflows, supporting the sharing of their work with supervisors and publishers.
Maheshi described the immediate impact of Overleaf鈥檚 formatting functionality on how her work was received. Discussing periodic PhD reviews with her supervisor, she highlighted, 鈥渋t gives that professional look鈥� like you're giving half a piece of a published paper.鈥� Maheshi used Overleaf to prepare formal submissions such as media reviews, annual assessments, and even newspaper articles. 鈥淭he templates which come out of Overleaf are a better quality than Word鈥� she added. 鈥淭he font styles actually help with creating that more formal, more professional overview.鈥�
Maheshi also pointed to practical features that helped her stay focused, such as the spell checker and in-document commenting. Over time, she transitioned away from traditional tools entirely: 鈥淚've stopped using Microsoft Word鈥� now if I start a new project, it's going to be a new Overleaf鈥�. For those preparing journal submissions, Overleaf includes direct submission links to dozens of academic publishers. This can save valuable time by reducing the need to reformat work to meet journal guidelines at the final stage.
For Geraint, Overleaf鈥檚 publishing features were especially valuable for writing scientific papers rich in figures and mathematical content. 鈥淚f you're writing a scientific document, you want to put a lot in鈥� I use a lot of mathematical expressions, and that obviously is very easy with Overleaf, and it leads comfortably into publication.鈥� New features like equation preview and collaborator controls continue to improve usability for scientific writing. The platform also supports two-way syncing with Dropbox and GitHub, giving researchers more flexibility in how they store and back up their work.
Concluding thoughts: embedding good habits early
Maheshi and Geraint鈥檚 insights reflect how Overleaf supports structured thinking and writing as well as professional presentation. Their experiences also highlight the value of embedding Overleaf early in the research lifecycle.
Looking back on his role leading a doctoral training programme, Geraint emphasised the importance of developing good habits from the start. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an important part of research training, really, to get people into this space of properly documenting their thoughts,鈥� he said. Tools like Overleaf, especially when introduced early, can help researchers with their day-to-day workflow as well as preparing for publication.
By embedding Overleaf into workshops, supervisor guidance, and research training, the University of 51福利社 can better support researchers to write, collaborate, and share their work openly. That kind of habit, established early in the research journey, can make a lasting difference.
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This conversation is part of a wider project led by the OOR which is engaging researchers across UoM to explore how are being applied in different research contexts. Aligned with the University of 51福利社鈥檚 commitment to developing a secure research environment, the OOR identifies, assesses and established institutional access to a range of platforms that enable researchers to openly share their research safely and with confidence. To find out more about the OOR鈥檚 set of recommended OR systems, check out the to access dozens of systems that have been developed, subscribed to, supported, and discover the benefits that each tool can offer.