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.
Want me to email you tips on academic writing?

Sign up for my newsletter. It's FREE!

mushtaq-bilal-phd.ck.page/4fa4d9ca35

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

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
Jul 26
Four AI-powered apps that generate detailed research reports with references to published sources:
1. Storm (Free)

Go to storm[.]genie[.]stanford[.]edu and log in.

Type in your question in the search box. Storm will ask you the purpose of your question. Type in your answer.

Storm will generate a detailed report with references.

You can also download the report as a PDF.
2. Elicit

Go to elicit[.]com and log in.

Enter your question. Elicit will give you suggestions to refine it.

Choose if you want a fast, balanced, or comprehensive answer. Then click on "Generate report."

It'll give you a detailed research report. By far the best results.
Read 6 tweets
Jul 15
Genspark's AI Docs is a great tool to get your scut work done.

Simply give it a link, a prompt, and it will draft tutorials, resumes, and quizzes in minutes — sort of vibe working.

Vibe Working is about using AI as your assistant.

Here's how to use @genspark_ai:
1. Go to genspark[.]ai Click on "AI Docs."

Copy a link to a YouTube video and ask AI Docs to draft a step-by-step tutorial based on the video.

It will give you a tutorial, which you can edit.

You can also download the document as a Word file or a PDF.
2. AI Docs can draft your resume based on your LinkedIn profile.

Paste the link to your LinkedIn profile and ask it to draft a resume.

Mention the job you are applying for and it will optimize your resume accordingly.

You can also edit the resume within AI Docs.
Read 7 tweets
Jul 14
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
Jul 14
Zotero is the best citation management tool for academic writing.

Here's how to automate your citations and bibliography:

You can learn this in 15 minutes, and it will save you hours of work.
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
Jul 9
Conducting systematic reviews is a very lengthy process — it involves screening hundreds of studies and extracting data from them.

Silvi is an AI app designed to streamline systematic reviews.

Here's how to use it (you can learn this workflow in 20 minutes):
1. Go to and click on "Get started."

Sign up for a free account.

Silvi offers three plans: Basic (free), Rapid (€19/m), and Plus (€59/m). silvi.ai
2. Once you've logged in, click on "Let's go!"

Silvi has a Demo review in case you want to take a look at it.

To start your systematic review, click on "Add new project" and choose a name for your project.
Read 16 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(