Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Mar 14, 2023 22 tweets 8 min read Read on X
ChatGPT creates fake citations. Bing cites sources but not journal articles. So, you can't use them for literature review.

But there's an AI-powered app that will supercharge your literature review ⁠— Inciteful.

It's FREE and integrates with Zotero.

Here's how to set it up:
Start by installing the Inciteful plugin for Zotero.

Go to the link below and click on "latest release" to download the Inciteful plugin.

github.com/inciteful-xyz/…
A "xpi" (pronounced zippy) file will be downloaded to your computer. A red rectangle highlights a xpi file downloaded on Mushtaq'
Now open your Zotero desktop app.

Go to "Tools" and then "Add-ons." A yellow arrow points to the "Add-ons" option in Z
Zotero will open its Add-ons Manager.

Click on the gear icon in the top-right corner and select "Install Add-on From File." A yellow arrow points to the "Install Add-on From File&
Navigate to the "xpi" file you just downloaded and install it. A yellow arrow point to the "Install Now" button i
Now go to "File" in the top-left corner of Zotero and select "New Collection."

Choose a name for your collection and click "OK."

It's always a good idea to have a separate collection for every project. A yellow arrow points to the "New Collection" opti
Go to Google Scholar and look up papers using keywords related to your project.

Then click on the Zotero Connector in the top-right corner of Chrome or Edge.

Zotero will open an Item Selector.

Select the papers you find useful and click "OK." A yellow arrow points to the Zotero Connector in the top-rig
If you're unfamiliar with Zotero Connector, think of it as a bridge between your Zotero desktop app and internet browser.

You can install it by going to Chrome web store or Edge Add-ons store. A red rectangle highlights the "Add to Chrome" but
Zotero will start adding the selected papers to your library.

Click on the downward arrow in the top-right corner to select the collection you just created.

This will help you keep your library organized.

Then click on "Done." A yellow arrow points to a button for a dropdown menu in Zot
Zotero will add the selected papers to your collection. It will also retrieve PDFs of these papers from the web.

Right-click on a paper you find interesting. This will be your "seed" paper.

Go to Inciteful(dot)xyz Tools at the bottom of the menu and click on "Graph Search." A yellow arrow points to the "Graph Search" option
Inciteful will create an interactive graph of papers related to the seed paper.

It will also give you detailed lists of similar papers, most important papers, review papers, recent papers, and papers by top authors *related* to your seed paper.
Go through the lists to find papers most relevant to your project.

To save these paper to your Zotero collection, click on the "Save" button at the bottom-right corner of a list and select Zotero. A yellow arrow points to the "Zotero" option in In
Inciteful will give you the list.

Click on the Zotero Connector in the top-right corner and Zotero will open an "Item Selector."

Select the papers you want to add and click "OK" just like you did with Google Scholar. A yellow arrow points to the Zotero Connector in Chrome.
You can also use Inciteful to see how two papers are related with each other.

To do so, select two papers in your Zotero collection and right click.

Go to Inciteful(dot)xyz and then select "Connect Papers." A yellow arrow points to the "Connect Papers" opti
Inciteful will give you a graph of several papers that connect the two papers you selected.

Very useful tool to see how a particular field is evolving and who the contributors are.
You can also search for papers and connections using your whole collection.

To do so, right-click the collection and select "Graph Search using Inciteful(dot)xyz." A yellow arrow points to the "Graph Search using Incite
Inciteful will create an interactive graph based on papers in your collection.

Select the papers you find useful and add them to your Zotero collection.

Databases like Google Scholar/JSTOR give you paper but they can't show you how certain papers are *realted* to each other.
Found this thread helpful?

1. Scroll to the top and hit the "Like" button on the first tweet.

2. Follow me @MushtaqBilalPhD for regular threads on how to supercharge your academic writing with AI-powered apps.
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Liked this tutorial?

I have another one that will help you conceive, develop, draft, and revise your academic writing project with the help of AI apps including ChatGPT.

You can get it here : efficientacademicwriter.carrd.co Sequence of Mushtaq's Efficient Academic Writer tutorial.
Correction: After posting the thread yesterday, I learned that Inciteful is NOT an AI-powered app.

Unlike AI apps that are "trained" on huge data sets, Inciteful analyzes citations and uses an algorithm to predict how similar a paper is to a given paper.

My knowledge of large… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Jan 5
How to build an academic writing habit (to write a lot and publish a lot):
In his book "Atomic Habits," James Clear writes about habits that are so small we don’t even notice them, but the power they have over us is immense.

He calls them atomic habits.

Although they are small, building atomic habits is VERY DIFFICULT.

Why? A photo of James Clear's book "Atomic Habits."
Clear calls the time between the point we start a habit to the point we start seeing its first results "the plateau of latent potential."

Most people remain stuck within this plateau.

To see the results of any habit, we must cross the plateau of latent potential. A photo of "The Plateau of Latent Potential" from James Clear's book "Atomic Habits."
Read 21 tweets
Dec 25, 2025
Don't use Sci-Hub — it's a "controversial" website with 84M+ research papers freely available.

We should all try to make billion-dollar academic publishers richer.

Anyway, here's a thread on how to integrate Sci-Hub with Zotero to get free papers.

🚨DO NOT DO IT!
1. Don't go to this link:
github(dot)com/syt2/zotero-scipdf

But if you do, replace the word "dot" with an actual [.]

Don't scroll down and click on "latest release xpi file."

This will download an "xpi" file to your computer.
2. Don't open your Zotero. But if you do, click on "Tools."

In "Tools," click on "Plugins." This will open Zotero's Plugin Manager.

In the Plugin Manager, click on the gear-like icon and select "Install Plugin From File."

Navigate to the XPI file you downloaded and add it.
Read 6 tweets
Dec 24, 2025
10 books to help you become a better academic writer so you can write a lot and publish a lot:

1. Academic Writing as if the Reader Matters by Leonard Cassuto

Practical tips on how to make your academic writing more engaging and readable. Examples from the arts and sciences. Academic Writing as if the Reader Matters by Leonard Cassuto
2. The Clockwork Muse by Eviatar Zerubavel

Helpful advice on how to organize your writing process in terms of time.

A-Time: for writing new material (deep work)
B-Time: for shallow work like compiling bibliography, etc.
C-Time: for house chores The Clockwork Muse by Eviatar Zerubavel
3. Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker

Excellent tips on how and why you should write zero drafts.

Teaches you how to understand different stages of the writing process from ideation to drafting to revision. Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker
Read 11 tweets
Dec 15, 2025
Dr Ally Louks's viral PhD thesis (130M views) on the politics of smell redefined the way people talk about smell.

Everyone wants to read her thesis, but it's unavailable until 2028

Here are 10 books on the politics of smell that you can read right now:

1. The Smell of Slavery A photo of Dr Ally Louks with her PhD thesis titled, "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Literature."
The Smell of Slavery: Olfactory Racism and the Atlantic World by Andrew Kettler
1. The Smell of Slavery by Andrew Kettler

Shows how white slave owners defined Black, African bodies as noxious and deserving of enslavement.

Smell was used to dehumanize Black folks who were equated with animals by white slave owners. The Smell of Slavery: Olfactory Racism and the Atlantic World by Andew Kettler
2. The Foul and the Fragrant by Alain Corbin

Considered a foundational text in smell studies.

Shows how the bourgeois nose associated bad smells with the poor and how deodorization became a tool for state control in 18th and 19th century France. The Foul and the Fragrant by Alain Corbin
Read 11 tweets
Dec 2, 2025
Getting past peer review is a challenge every researcher faces.

Stanford researchers recently launched a free AI-powered Agentic Review that can help you with it.

It gives you a human-level mock peer review so you can polish your paper before submitting it.

Check it out 👇
1. Go to paperreview[.]ai and upload your manuscript.

Enter your email and specify your target venue (conference or journal).

You may also want to copy the "Review Token" in case you don't receive an email.
2. A few minutes later you will receive an email with a link to the review report.

Go through the review report and revise your paper according to the suggestions you think are most relevant.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 6, 2025
Libgen, Sci-Hub, and Z-library had millions of pirated academic books and papers.

So, they were shut down. We shouldn't use them anyway.

We should help billion-dollar academic publishers get richer.

Anyway, here's how to access these libraries:

Don't do this!
1. Don't go to open-slum[.]org.

Because there you will see links to LibGen, Anna's Archive, Z-Library, and Sci-Hub.
2. Don't click any link because that will open your desired library.

Don't type the title of a book you want to read because it might show up.

Look at this, someone has pirated my own book. I'm livid!
Read 5 tweets

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