Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Dec 16, 2023 15 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Connect Google Bard with your Zotero library and make it your research assistant.

Plus, get paywalled articles for free.

Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to do it:
Start by downloading Google Drive for Desktop.

Then open your Google Drive and create a folder titled "Zotero PDFs."
Next, go to zotfile(dot)com and download a Zotero add-on called Zotfile.

This will download an xpi (pronounced zippy) file to your computer.
Open your Zotero. Click on "Tools" and select "Add-ons."

This will open Zotero's Add-on Manager.

Click on the gear-like icon in the top-right corner and select "Install Add-on From File."

Navigate to the xpi file you just downloaded and open it.

This will add Zotfile to your Zotero. Restart Zotero to complete Zotfile's installation.
Next, click on "Edit" and select "Preferences" in your Zotero.

In Zotero Preferences, click on "Advanced" and then "Files and Folders."

Notice the Default Location given under the Data Directory Location. This is the location where Zotero stores your PDFs.

We want Zotero to store our PDFs in our Google Drive. Zotfile will help us do that.
Click on "Tools" and select "Zotfile Preferences." You will see two fields.

Enter Zotero's Default Location of PDFs in the top field.

In the bottom field titled "Custom location," enter the location of the folder you created in your Google Drive.

You can also use the "Choose" button to navigate to the Zotero PDFs folder in your Google Drive.

Now Zotero will store all your PDFs in your Google Drive.
Click on "File" and select "New Collection."

Choose a name for your collection.
Look up papers on Google Scholar or Pubmed or your university's library.

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

(If you are not familiar with the Zotero Connector, please let me know and I will post a link to a Zotero 101 tutorial for you.)

Select the papers you want to read and Zotero will save them in the collection you just created. Click on "Done."

Go to your Zotero collection and you will see your papers there.
To get Zotero to retrieve PDFs of paywalled articles, you will need to install the Sci Hub add-on.

Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to do that:
Go to the "Zotero PDFs" folder in your Google Drive and you will see all the PDFs there.

Having Zotero save your PDFs in Google Drive also gives you a backup in case you don't want to purchase extra Zotero storage.

If you can afford, please consider purcharing extra storage to help the good folks over at Zotero.Zotero PDFs showing up in Google Drive.
Open Bard by going to bard(dot)google(dot)com.

Click on the puzzle-like icon in the top-right corner to open Bard Extensions.

Enable Google Workspace extension. This will connect Bard with your Google Drive where you have all your Zotero PDFs.
Ask Bard to give you a list of PDFs in your Google Drive.

Once it gives you the list, you can ask Bard to summarize a particular paper and ask other questions about it.

You can also use Bard to help you brainstorm research questions. It will give you suggestions based on the papers in your Drive.
Want to learn more about how to supercharge your academic writing with AI apps?

I have a complete tutorial for you.

4,300+ academics including those at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale are using it.

You can get it by clicking the link below:
efficientacademicwriter.carrd.co
Found this thread on intergating Bard with Zotero helpful?

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

2. Bookmark it so you can come back to it later.

3. Follow me for more tutorials on how to use AI apps for academic purposes.
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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Oct 6
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
Sep 16
Zotero is the best citation management software. It's free and doesn't monetize your data.

But many folks have a hard time starting out on it.

Here's a step-by-step tutorial to get you started on Zotero:
1. Go to zotero[.]org and click on the "Download" button.

Download the app and install it on your computer.
2. Click on Zotero Connector and add it to your browser.

Zotero Connector is available for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.

Pin the Zotero Connector to your browser by clicking on the puzzle-like icon in the top-right corner.
Read 14 tweets
Sep 3
Small businesses can't hire expensive desginers for fancy logos and branding materials..

Genspark AI Designer @genspark_ai can help you with it.

It generated a logo for my coaching business and branded presentation templates — with a single prompt:
1. Go to and ask it to design a logo for your business.

I asked it to design a logo for my academic writing coaching business. It did a wonderful job. genspark.ai/ai_designer
2. Once it generates a design, you can edit with a simple prompt.

Click on the logo and ask Genspark AI to change its background or font color.

And it will do the needful.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 2
ChatGPT has a great feature called Projects, which you can use to make it a reliable research assistant with no hallucinations.

Not many academics seem to be using it though.

Here's how to make ChatGPT Project your research assistant:
1. Open ChatGPT and click on "New Project" in the left taskbar.

Choose a name for your project and click on "Create project."
2. Once you've created a project, you will see two options: Add files and Add instructions.

Click on "Add instructions" and type in details about your research project.

Be precise and to-the-point. You can also ask it to not respond to questions related to your project.
Read 9 tweets
Aug 16
Chat Academia now offers a FREE plan.

• Brainstorm research questions
• Run searches across multiple databases
• Generate literature maps
• Extract relevant information from papers

Here's how to use Chat Academia for free: A red rectangle highlights the free plan on Chat Academia's pricing page.
1. Go to and click on "Get started."

Select the free plan. chatacademia.com
2. Select "Research Gap Finder" and click on "Create session."

Type in the topic of your research project.

It will give you a list of potential research quesions. Go through them and select one you find more intersting.
Read 7 tweets
Jul 26
An updated list of 60 apps for academic writing and research:
Finding Research Gaps

• Research Kick
researchkick[.]com/start
Pricing: $9/m, $99/year

Intergrating AI with Academic Databases

• Chat Academia

Pricing: $15/mchatacademia.com
AI-Powered Search Engines for Researchers

• Scite Assistant
scite[.]ai/assistant
Pricing: $20/m, $120/year

• Consensus
consensus[.]app
Pricing: $11.99/m. Free plan with limited features.

• Semantic Scholar
semanticscholar[.]org
Pricing: Free

• Scinapse
scinapse[.]io
Pricing: $39/m. Free plan with limited features.

• Evidence Hunt
evidencehunt[.]com (for biomedical sciences only)
Pricing: €120/year. Free plan with limited features.
Read 20 tweets

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