Obsidian on The Augmented Scholar

Obsidian PhD Starter Vault

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What the Vault Looks Like

When you open this vault in Obsidian for the first time, you’ll find a clean, opinionated structure:

00-Inbox/ ← temporary landing zone for quick captures
10-Projects/ ← active research projects (thesis chapters, papers)
20-Areas/ ← ongoing responsibilities (teaching, admin, methods)
30-Resources/ ← reference material, authors, concepts
40-Archive/ ← completed or inactive notes
_Templates/ ← all templates in one place
_Queries/ ← pre-built Dataview dashboards

Setting Up in 5 Minutes

Download and unzip the vault
Open Obsidian → “Open folder as vault” → select the unzipped folder
Install the Dataview plugin (Settings → Community plugins)
Open _Queries/Research Dashboard.md to see your active projects

That’s it. Start by adding a paper you’re reading using the Literature Note template (Cmd/Ctrl+T).

Literature Note Template (Zotero + Obsidian)

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How the Template Works

When you trigger the template in Obsidian, Templater runs a script that reads your frontmatter and optionally queries the Zotero API (if you supply the citekey). In the simplest version, you fill in the citekey manually and the template structures everything else.

Obsidian — The Researcher's Second Brain

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why Obsidian Beats Every Other Note-Taking App for Researchers

After trying Notion, Roam, LogSeq, and plain folders, Obsidian is the one I keep coming back to. The reason is simple: your notes are plain Markdown files. No proprietary format, no cloud lock-in, no subscription required to export your own data.

Master Markdown for Research — Write Once, Export Anywhere

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Master Markdown for Research — Write Once, Export Anywhere

You’re switching between Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LaTeX for different research outputs. Each tool has its own quirks. You spend 20 minutes reformatting a heading. You copy-paste tables and watch them break. You want to write once and stop fighting with software.

The Complete Obsidian Setup for PhD Researchers (2026 Guide)

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

After three years of helping researchers set up their Obsidian vaults, I’ve noticed a pattern: most fail in the same way, and most succeed for the same reasons.

The failing vaults share one trait — they were built for a blog-post workflow, not a research workflow. Too many plugins, no clear structure, and a daily note template designed for a productivity YouTuber rather than someone managing 400 papers and three parallel projects.