What is Research?
Scribeist Research combines a source library, your own notes, AI-assisted web research, and citation tools. It gives source material a permanent home in the workspace so you can read it, take notes beside it, search it from AI Chat, and cite it while writing.
Note
Importing and organizing material does not require an AI generation request. AI research, note extraction, and other generated research actions use managed AI usage or your connected BYOK provider.
The research library
Open the Research board to see sources and standalone notes together. From the library you can:
- Upload PDF, DOCX, Markdown, text, CSV, TSV, and supported reference files
- Import a readable public webpage from its URL
- Import reference details from DOI, BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, or Zotero
- Create standalone notes or write notes while reading a source
- Search, sort, filter, select, export, and delete library items
- Review and correct publication details used for citations
Full text and reference metadata
A DOI, Zotero item, or reference file may provide only metadata or an abstract. Upload the source separately when you want AI to search the complete text.
AI-powered web research
You can still create a consolidated research document from a question. Choose a search scope and sources, then review the generated result and its citations against the originals.
Using research
Research is available in every workspace type. In AI Chat, use Add → Research when you want to provide a specific source or note in full. Turn on Search research when you want the assistant to find relevant information in your library.
Source links beneath AI answers can take you back to supporting material. When a matching passage is available, Scribeist opens the source or note near the cited evidence.
Citations and references
When citation tools are enabled, use Cite in the editor to search your research library, insert an in-text citation, add a page reference, or add a source directly to the document's reference list. Changing the document's citation style updates linked citations and references together.
Use citations and references →
Next steps
- How to use Research → - How to run a research session
- Research Board → - Organizing your research
- Citations and References → - Cite saved sources while writing
- Using Research in Blogs → - Connect research to blog generation
- AI Chat → - Add or search research in a conversation