This thread is aimed to collect opinions and information about (preferably free) tools to look for and discover insights on research literature.
I have used Semantic Scholar for searching literature. Nowadays I also use tools such as ConnectedPapers (connectedpapers.com) and Elicit (elicit.org) to get more insights on research topics. Research Rabbit (researchrabbit.ai) is also a favourite, though it takes time to load at times.
Connected Papers used to be free to use, but have now introduced cap on number of searches one can do in a month.
I have just started looking into these tools. I think semantic scholar may be good for keeping track of papers since it is connected to Elicit, however, I can't get the recommendation function to work. Overall I don't think it is worth the time since I put all my citations in endnote anyway.
Elicit is great. For suggesting papers I found it very useful. I do wish there were more filters. Also, the interface for aggregating papers for suggestions is buggy and took way too long to use for me.
Connected papers seems good but basically unusable without paying, I am wondering if this is worth it. It would maybe serve the aggregate function I find difficult with the others.
I also read about a program called Snowball but could not find a website.
let me know what you think as could not find a comparison elsewhere. TY.
I agree to most of this, Eric H. Rosenn .
Elicit is improving continuously. I have been following them for quite a while. New features are being added every now and then.
Do subscribe to their newsletter. It is useful.
If you could give any insight [more generally], what program would you say is most useful for organizing/ cataloging papers you have viewed? Programs I have tried include: endnote, semantic scholar, connectedpapers, Zotero.
So far I have found endnote necessary for citing in word, and used Zotero to just keep track of papers I've looked at (there is a web extension that lets you click to extract and save a paper from a webpage). It would be nice if there was some interface to ALSO discover insights and related papers (conenectedpapers, semantic scholar, Elicit, Snowball). I have not discovered a program that includes all these functions, or some mode allowing syncing across different applications.
I am also not aware of any tool that integrates all these functions.
I have used Zotero for managing references. Zotero's 'Notes', 'Tags' and 'Related' features are useful. I have also tried Publish or Perish software for saving database searchers.
ResearchRabbit is a tool that is similar to ConnectedPapers and Elicit.
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