Inside the front cover: the library’s bookplate and a date due slip.
Kiwi’s Library Book 3 of 7
Research
Find, read and keep your sources
Find the papers, get them free, read them with help, and keep every reference from day one.
AI research tools invent papers and misquote findings. Open every source you cite.
4 chapters, 18 tools
Start with one bookmark
Pick the one that sounds like tonight.
Contents
Each chapter is one job, cheapest first.
Bookmark 1 of 4
If a research essay is due
Find it, get it, keep it.
Tonight, only this
Install the Zotero connector and save three papers. Write nothing yet.
Ask a librarian: their databases are often better.
The tools for this bookmark
-
Free
Google Scholar (opens in a new tab)
Google’s search engine for academic papers, theses and books.
Free, exactly: Everything. Log in through your library to get past paywalls.
-
Free
Unpaywall (opens in a new tab)
A browser extension that finds a free, legal copy of a paywalled paper.
Free, exactly: Everything.
-
Free
Zotero (opens in a new tab)
Saves sources in one click and formats citations in Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs.
Free, exactly: Everything, with 300 MB of file storage.
Bookmark 2 of 4
If you are reading your first paper
Get help where the paper gets hard.
Tonight, only this
Read only the abstract, the figures and the conclusion. Write one sentence on what they found.
The tools for this bookmark
-
Free tier
Moonlight (opens in a new tab)
A PDF reader that explains figures, tables and equations in place.
Free, exactly: 3 papers a week, with limited chat and explanations.
AI: check its output
-
Free
alphaXiv (opens in a new tab)
Change arxiv.org to alphaxiv.org to read a paper with an AI assistant.
Free, exactly: Everything. Comments need a free account.
arXiv papers onlyAI: check its output
-
Free
Semantic Scholar (opens in a new tab)
A search engine for research papers, with one-line summaries.
Free, exactly: Everything.
AI: check its output
Bookmark 3 of 4
If you need to know what the research says
See where the research agrees before you read it.
Tonight, only this
Write your question as one sentence. Find one good paper first.
The tools for this bookmark
-
Free tier
Consensus (opens in a new tab)
Answers a question from peer-reviewed papers and shows how much they agree.
Free, exactly: Unlimited searches, 15 Pro messages and 3 Deep reviews a month.
Check the priceAI: check its output
-
Free
Google Scholar Labs (opens in a new tab)
An AI search mode in Google Scholar that breaks a question into searches.
Free, exactly: Everything, if your account has it.
Not open to everyone yetAI: check its output
-
Free tier
Connected Papers (opens in a new tab)
Draws a map of papers related to one you know.
Free, exactly: A few graphs a month.
Check the price
Bookmark 4 of 4
If you have data to analyse
Tidy it, test it, plot it.
Tonight, only this
Put the raw data in one sheet and work in a copy.
Choose the test from your design, not from the result.
The tools for this bookmark
-
Free
-
Free
jamovi (opens in a new tab)
Statistics software with menus and a spreadsheet layout.
Free, exactly: Everything.
-
Free tier
Google Colab (opens in a new tab)
Python notebooks that run on Google’s computers. Nothing to install.
Free, exactly: Sessions up to 12 hours that stop when idle. GPUs are restricted.
Chapter 1
Find papers
Start broad, then follow the references of the best paper.
The price ladder
Find papers, part 1 of 3
-
Free
Google Scholar (opens in a new tab)
Google’s search engine for academic papers, theses and books.
- Use it for
- Finding papers, and who has cited them.
- Costs
- Free.
- Free, exactly
- Everything. Log in through your library to get past paywalls.
Check its Cite button against the paper.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free
Semantic Scholar (opens in a new tab)
A search engine for research papers, with one-line summaries.
- Use it for
- Deciding which papers are worth opening.
- Costs
- Free.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
AI: check its output
The summaries are machine-written.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free
Unpaywall (opens in a new tab)
A browser extension that finds a free, legal copy of a paywalled paper.
- Use it for
- Getting the PDF without paying.
- Costs
- Free.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
Checked Nov 2026
Find papers, part 2 of 3
-
Free
arXiv (opens in a new tab)
The open preprint server for physics, maths, computer science, statistics, economics and more.
- Use it for
- Current research, free.
- Costs
- Free.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
Preprints are not peer-reviewed.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free
Google Scholar Labs (opens in a new tab)
An AI search mode in Google Scholar that breaks a question into searches.
- Use it for
- Searching from a question instead of keywords.
- Costs
- Free.
- Free, exactly
- Everything, if your account has it.
Not open to everyone yetAI: check its output
Offered to a limited number of users.
Checked Nov 2026
Find papers, part 3 of 3
-
Free tier
Connected Papers (opens in a new tab)
Draws a map of papers related to one you know.
- Use it for
- Starting a literature review from one good paper.
- Costs
- The Academic plan is $6 a month, billed yearly.
- Free, exactly
- A few graphs a month.
Check the price
The exact free limit is not published.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free tier
Consensus (opens in a new tab)
Answers a question from peer-reviewed papers and shows how much they agree.
- Use it for
- A first map of what studies say.
- Costs
- Pro is $20 a month or $144 a year. Deep is $65 a month. Up to 40% off for students.
- Free, exactly
- Unlimited searches, 15 Pro messages and 3 Deep reviews a month.
Check the priceAI: check its output
Limits change often.
It can misstate a finding. Open every paper you cite.
Checked Nov 2026
Chapter 2
Read a paper with help
Read the abstract, the figures and the conclusion first.
The price ladder
Read a paper with help, part 1 of 3
-
Free
alphaXiv (opens in a new tab)
Change arxiv.org to alphaxiv.org to read a paper with an AI assistant.
- Use it for
- Reading a hard paper with something to ask.
- Costs
- Free, with no ads.
- Free, exactly
- Everything. Comments need a free account.
arXiv papers onlyAI: check its output
Only papers posted to arXiv.
Its summaries can get methods wrong.
Checked Nov 2026
Read a paper with help, part 2 of 3
-
Free
Asta (opens in a new tab) (from Ai2)
An AI research assistant from Ai2 that finds papers and writes summaries linked to sources.
- Use it for
- Finding papers you did not know to search for.
- Costs
- Free. Ai2 is a non-profit.
- Free, exactly
- Paper finding and literature summaries. Data analysis is in beta for selected partners only.
Check the priceAI: check its output
No price or limits are published.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free tier
Moonlight (opens in a new tab)
A PDF reader that explains figures, tables and equations in place.
- Use it for
- A dense paper in a new field.
- Costs
- Pro is $12 a month, or $10 billed yearly.
- Free, exactly
- 3 papers a week, with limited chat and explanations.
AI: check its output
Checked Nov 2026
Read a paper with help, part 3 of 3
-
Free tier
Gemini Notebook (opens in a new tab) (formerly NotebookLM)
Answers questions from your own slides, readings and transcripts, citing the page.
- Use it for
- Questions across a stack of papers you uploaded.
- Costs
- Free with a Google account. Higher limits come with Google’s paid AI plans.
- Free, exactly
- 100 notebooks, 50 sources each. Chat and audio overviews share an allowance that refills every 5 hours, with a weekly cap.
AI: check its output
Old NotebookLM links still work.
Checked Nov 2026
Keep every reference
-
Free
Zotero (opens in a new tab)
Saves sources in one click and formats citations in Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs.
- Use it for
- Never typing a bibliography by hand.
- Costs
- Free. File storage beyond 300 MB is $20 a year for 2 GB, $60 for 6 GB or $120 for unlimited.
- Free, exactly
- Everything, with 300 MB of file storage.
Checked Nov 2026
Chapter 4
Analyse your data
Start with menus. Move to code when you are ready.
The price ladder
Analyse your data, part 1 of 3
-
Free
Google Sheets (opens in a new tab)
Spreadsheets in the browser.
- Use it for
- Data and charts you can share.
- Costs
- Free with a Google account.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free
LibreOffice Calc (opens in a new tab)
A desktop spreadsheet that opens Excel files.
- Use it for
- Offline spreadsheets with no account.
- Costs
- Free and open source.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
Checked Nov 2026
Analyse your data, part 2 of 3
-
Free
jamovi (opens in a new tab)
Statistics software with menus and a spreadsheet layout.
- Use it for
- t-tests, ANOVA and regression without coding.
- Costs
- Free and open source.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free
R and RStudio (opens in a new tab)
R, a free language for statistics, and RStudio, the editor most people use it in.
- Use it for
- Analyses you can rerun when the data changes.
- Costs
- Free and open source.
- Free, exactly
- Everything.
Harder to start than jamovi.
Checked Nov 2026
Analyse your data, part 3 of 3
-
Free tier
Microsoft Excel (opens in a new tab)
The spreadsheet most workplaces expect.
- Use it for
- Work that must be an Excel file.
- Costs
- Desktop Excel comes with Microsoft 365.
- Free, exactly
- Excel for the web is free. Many universities give students the desktop app.
Ask your library first
Checked Nov 2026
-
Free tier
Google Colab (opens in a new tab)
Python notebooks that run on Google’s computers. Nothing to install.
- Use it for
- Data and plots on a weak laptop.
- Costs
- Paid tiers vary by country.
- Free, exactly
- Sessions up to 12 hours that stop when idle. GPUs are restricted.
Checked Nov 2026
At the back
About this book
Prices are in US dollars, checked in November 2026. They change and vary by country.
Tools are ordered by what they cost each month to use at all. No affiliate links, no paid places.
Inside the back cover.