Whether you’re just getting started or already have a first draft, Bartleby Research can help you find relevant sources to strengthen your paper. Bartleby Research uses Machine Learning to search a proprietary database of publicly-available documents and find contextually-relevant sources. You can then save any of the suggested resources for further research and easily add citations for the sources in-text or to your paper’s endnote.
Quick Start
Getting started with Bartleby Research is easy. Start by choosing “Bartleby Research” from the Bartleby Write navigation menu. Next, add the details of your essay to the Bartleby Research tool and follow the instructions to get started:
The title and writing prompt of your essay helps Bartleby Research present relevant resources for you to cite in your piece.
- Enter the title and writing prompt of your essay.
- If you have a draft, add it to the Essay Research editor.
- Click “Find Resources” to start the search.
Bartleby will use the data you’ve entered and perform a deep contextual search of our proprietary database to find relevant sources that you can use as the basis for further research.
Working with Suggested Resources
When the search is complete, you will be presented with a list of Recommended Resources. The sources on this list are the result of a deep contextual search of the title, prompt, and text you’ve provided.
Here’s a sample Recommended Resources list:
The Recommended Resources list results from a deep contextual search of Bartleby’s comprehensive resource collection.
Each of the Recommended Resources includes the title of the resource, a snippet of the resource’s content, and a link to the source document. The resources are ordered so that the most relevant resources are displayed first. You can navigate through the list using the Previous, Next, or Page Number buttons at the bottom of the list.
Here’s how to use the Recommended Resources:
- Click on the link next to each of the results to open its source document in a new tab.
- Review the document to see how it relates to your project.
- If the source is applicable, use the “Add Resource” option to add it to your essay’s resource list.
- If the source is not applicable, use the “Dismiss” option to discard it.
When you’ve finished reviewing the Recommended Resources, you can use the Resources list to guide future research and as the basis for the endnote or in-text citations in your paper.
Working with the Resources List
Once you’ve added sources to your essay’s resource list, they’re saved along with your essay, essay details, and citations.
The Resources list gives users the option to create a citation for or remove a shortlisted source.
Each item in the Resources list includes the title of the resource, a snippet of the resource’s content, and a link to the source document. Use the provided link to open the Resource in a new tab for review. If the source material helps to influence your writing, choose the “Create Citation” button to open the Bartleby Citation builder and add a citation to your essay’s endnotes. If you did not use the source, use the “Remove” button to delete the source from your essay’s Resources list.
A few notes:
- Resources are not automatically removed from the resources list when you create citations for them. It is suggested that you keep the full resource list throughout your paper-writing process for future reference.
- Citations are not automatically removed from your citation list when you remove the original resource. This allows you flexibility in managing your resources and citations.
- If you’re unsure about whether or not to cite a source, consult your institution’s research guidelines or refer to the article on inspiration vs. plagiarism in Bartleby’s writing guide.
- You can navigate back and forth between resources and citations as you finalize your paper and its endnotes.
Getting the Most Out of Bartleby Research
Beyond the basics, here are a few things to keep in mind as you use Bartleby Research:
- Bartleby Research uses your Title, Prompt, and a sample of your essay as the basis for its search. Perform additional searches as these change so that Bartleby Research can continue to find you the best research resources.
- If your prompt is general (e.g., doesn’t describe the specific subject you are researching), consider customizing it to include your chosen topic or replacing it with a brief summary of your paper.
- You can navigate back and forth between Bartleby Research and Bartleby Write’s other tools (Essay Builder, Essay Editor, and My Drafts) and your saved resources will be preserved.
Next Steps
Once you’ve used Bartleby Research to develop some resources for your paper, you can move on to using the Essay Builder to organize your paper and then the Essay Editor to revise it. Remember that you can always return to Bartleby Research as your paper changes to find additional resources.