ChatGPT generates fake references to papers that don't exist.

So, researchers at Stanford built Storm.

It's an AI-powered app that generates well-researched articles with references to published sources. And Storm is free to use.

Here's how to use it: 1. Go to storm[.]genie[.]stanford[.]edu and click on "Get Started."

Create a account and log in.

Free: Sci-Hub, a "pirate" website with access to 84M+ research papers.

Free: Zotero, a reference manager.

Free: Google NotebookLM, an AI-powered research assistant.

Download papers from Sci-Hub directly to Zotero and read them with the help of NotebookLM.

Here's how: 1. Download Zotero Sci-Hub plugin

Go to this link: github(dot)com/syt2/zotero-scipdf
Replace the word "dot" with an actual [.]

Scroll down and click on "latest release xpi file."

This will download an "xpi" file to your computer.

Ten smart ways of using ChatGPT for academic purposes (that do not involve any plagiarism): 1. Project Management and Scheduling:

Sample Prompt:

Project Title:
Project Type:
Expected Start Date:
Expected Finish Date:
Follow very carefully the steps given below:
1. Carefully consider the scope and type of the project (if it is a journal article, conference paper, dissertation, presentation).
2. Consider carefully the primary and secondary academic fields relevant to the project.
3. Act as if you are a leading expert in the primary and secondary fields relevant to the project. You can proficiently explain the project using adequate technical knowledge and language.
4. Act as if you are an award-winning teacher who can break down extremely complex ideas into easily understandable language.
5. Keeping in mind the scope, type, and the academic field of the project, break it down in tasks that can be scheduled weekly. Do this very carefully. This breakdown should optimize for speed without compromising on authenticity of the project.
6. Breakdown the weekly tasks into subtasks that can be completed within a normal workday of six to eight hours.
7. Every subtask should be accompanied by one to two pieces of clear and actionable advice to carry out the subtask. Remind me constantly to focus on progress and not perfection.
8. While giving the schedule of the project, you must consider the importance of both mental health and the ability to meet deadlines. Strive to have a work-life balance.

Getting past peer review is a challenge every researcher faces.

Paper Wizard is an AI app that can help you get past peer review.

Featured in Nature, scientists are calling it "the best [tool] for spotting statistical and methodological issues."

Here's how to use it: 1. Go to and sign up for a free account.

Once you sign up, you will receive one free credit. This means you can get one paper reviewed for free. paper-wizard.com

Genspark's Downlaod Agent is a great and reliable tool to outsource your academic labor.

Give it details like your topic, citation count, time period, publisher, etc. and it will download the relevant papers for you.

Here's how to outsource your labor to Genspark: 1. Go to genspark[.]ai and sign up for a free account.

Writing a paper involves a lot of reading, drafting, revising, and formatting citations.

Yomu is an AI app that can streamline your whole writing process (without cheating).

Here's how to use it: 1. Go to yomu(dot)ai and sign up for an account.

How to Win a Scholarship for Your Master's/PhD (and Study Abroad) Step 1: Figure out the academic field/discipline of your interest. Advanced degrees like Master's/PhDs are quite field-specific.

It would help greatly if you had a clear understanding of the kind of work you want to do.

Zotero's new Note Editor can supercharge your note-taking and writing processes.

But many academics don't know about it.

Here's how to take notes with Zotero's Note Editor: 1. Open your Zotero desktop app and select a relevant collection.

Drag and drop the paper you want to read and take notes on.

Open the paper by double-clicking on it.

Google Scholar is a great tool. But it doesn't show how papers are connected with each other.

Here's how to fast-track your literature review with visual search using Google Scholar's database:

And export papers to Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote.

You can learn this in 15 min:
1. Go to litmaps[.]com and log in to your account.

Sign up if you don't have one already.

AI will automate literature reviews sooner than we expect.

Elicit can now generate detailed research reports based on published papers — in less than 10 minutes.

Here's how to do it: 1. Go to elicit[.]com and sign in your account.

Sign up if you don't have one already.

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 7 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.

An updated list of 60 apps for academic writing and research:

[Please like and repost if you bookmark this list.] Finding Research Gaps

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

Intergrating AI with Academic Databases

• Research Kick Chat
researchkick[.]com/chat
Pricing: $30/m

Most apps for academic research require paid subscriptions.

Here are 10 that are free: 1. Dimensions[.]ai

AI-powered database with 150M+ publications.

ChatGPT is not suitable for scientific research. Still generates fake references to papers that don't exist.

So, researchers at Future House built a reliable AI scientist.

It generates detailed literature reviews with references to state-of-the-art research. And it's free. 1. Go to futurehouse[.]org.

Click on "Platform" in the top-right corner. Sign up for a free account.

Future House has four AI agents:

• Crow: Concise search
• Falcon: Detailed literature reviews
• Owl: Finding literature gaps
• Pheonix: Chemistry-related queries

Major academic publishers make billions of dollars.
Elsevier: $3.9 billion, Springer Nature: $2 billion, Wiley: $1.8 billion

As for peer reviewers, they are paid $0.

ReseachHub is a new online platform that pays peer reviewers up to $150 per review: 1. Go to researchhub[.]com and sign up for a free account.

This is how your Research Hub would look like. It has a "Frontpage" and a "For You" page like social media apps.

You can upload your paper for a peer review. Or, you can review others' papers.

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.

I lived in the US 🇺🇸 for several years and now I live in Denmark 🇩🇰

Here's a comparison of the two countries (based on my experiences):

1. Entering the country

🇺🇸 If you are a brown man like me, chances are you will be selected for "random screening.” It may be followed by an "interview." And if you are not careful, you might even get an unwanted colonoscopy 😂

🇩🇰No random screening when entering the country.

The last time I entered Denmark, here’s how the conversation went at passport control:

Immigration officer: Hi
Me: Hi (presents passport and residence card)
Immigration officer: (stamps passport) Here you go.
Me: Thanks.

That's it. Took less than a minute.

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.

This MIT paper arguing that using ChatGPT worsens one's performance on neural, linguist, and behavioral levels recently went viral.

Got millions of views. TIME and CNN covered it too.

But most people agreeing with it haven't read it.

Interestingly, researchers themselves used an AI Agent to evaluate essays.

I'm reading it closely to see if it withstands critical scrutiny.

Follow along for my commentary: The purpose of the study is to find out the "cognitive cost" of using an LLM while writing an essay.

The research team recruited 54 participants and divided them into 3 groups of 18 each and conducted 4 writing sessions.

Group 1: used ChatGPT to write essays
Group 2: used normal Google search
Group 3: no ChatGPT, no Google, only brain

54 is a very small sample size. It was reduced even further to 18 in the 4th and decisive session. This means that the linguistic and neural performance only 9 ChatGPT users was evaluated in the 4th session.

The study's claim that using AI worsens your linguistic and neural performance is based on an analysis of only 9 participants.

In addition to an AI agent, human teachers also evaluated these essays.

Google Scholar and PubMed show you research papers, but not how they are connected.

Here's how to supercharge your literature review with "visual search," which shows how paper are connected:

(And export papers to Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote)
1. Go to Google Scholar or PubMed and look up papers relevant to your project.

Read through the results and pick a paper that you find interesting.

Open the paper and copy its title or DOI.

😢
ChatGPT: $20/m
Claude: $20/m
Gemini: $20/m
No access to academic databases❌

😃 Chat Academia: $15/m only

ChatGPT + Claude + Gemini
Integrated with six databases✅
Plus, Zotero integration, 50GB storage

Here's a detailed overview of Chat Academia's features: 1. Go to and click on "Get started."

You'll need to buy a subscription to use the app.

Chat Academia offer three plans: $15/m, $30/m, and $45/m. chatacademia.com