Paste a link or add a book, keep the quotes and ideas you find, and start a draft with every source already cited. Your notes stay in this browser and your Library. Nothing is uploaded, and no account is needed. It is free.
How to use research notes, step by step
- Press Add a source and paste a Link or DOI, or choose Website, Journal article, Book or Video and fill in the details.
- Add the Title, Authors and Published date, and tag the source with the themes it covers.
- Mark it To read, Reading or Done.
- Open a source and add notes: a Quote with its page number, a Note or an Idea.
- Choose a citation style, then use Copy references, Save as Markdown or Start a draft.
Collecting sources
Paste a web address or a DOI and the site name, the type of source and the day you read it are filled in for you. Add the title and authors, tag the source with the themes it covers, and mark it To read, Reading or Done to keep your reading list in order. More details cover the volume, issue, pages, edition and publisher for journals and books. Bring in citations adds the sources you already made in the citation generator.
Quotes, notes and ideas
Choose a source to add notes to it. A quote keeps its page number and gets an in-text citation in the style you pick, so you always know where a line came from. Search looks through titles, authors, tags and every note.
From notes to a draft
Start a draft opens a new document in Write desk with your notes grouped by tag, each quote already cited, and every source ready for the bibliography. Save as Markdown keeps a copy of your notes with a reference list, and Copy references puts the list on your clipboard in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago or Harvard style. When you are ready to plan the structure, the next step is the outline maker.
Tips for better research
- Add every source as you find it, with the date you read it.
- Write a quote exactly, with the page number, and put your own thoughts in a separate note.
- Use tags for the themes of your essay, not for the sources.
- Mark sources Done only when you have taken what you need from them.
Who uses it
Students writing essays, theses and reports, researchers keeping a reading list, bloggers and journalists tracking where facts came from, and anyone who collects articles for a project.
Questions
Where are my notes stored?
In this browser and your Library on this device. Use Save as Markdown for a backup.
Which citation styles are supported?
APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago and Harvard.
Does it fetch details from the web?
Pasting a link fills in the site, type and date you read it. Add the title and authors yourself.