In ResearchBuddy, a project is the home for one topic. It keeps its questions, answers, notes, comparisons and references together.
Open Project dashboard.
Sign in and select Create project beside your token balance.
Name the project.
Use a short topic title you will recognise, such as “Industrialisation and working life”.
Add its context.
Enter the subject, choose the academic level and optionally describe what you are investigating.
Create the project.
The project opens ready for its first research question. Creating and organising projects uses no tokens.
02
RESEARCH
How to ask a research question
Ask from inside a project so the answer and its suggested sources are saved in the correct place.
Open the project.
Select Open project, then choose New research question.
Write one clear question.
State what you want to explain, compare or evaluate. Add a period, place, group or case when it helps define the scope.
Check the context.
The project supplies the subject and academic level. Make sure they still fit the question.
Select Begin research.
One token is used when a completed research response is produced. The answer is saved automatically in the project.
Read beyond the summary.
Work through key terms, evidence and debate, uncertainties, source suggestions and practical next steps.
03
BEFORE RESEARCH
How to use Question Coach
Question Coach helps you improve a draft question before spending a research token. You remain in control of the final wording.
Type your draft question.
It can be broad or incomplete; the coach needs something to assess.
Select Coach my question.
The coach identifies unclear scope, purpose or evidence requirements. This does not use a research token.
Review the suggestion.
Check whether the revised version still reflects what you intend to investigate.
Choose your wording.
Use the suggested question, edit it further, or keep your original wording.
Begin research when ready.
The token is used only when you submit the research question for a completed response.
04
CITATION EXPERT
How to create references
Save source details at project level, check them against the original source and format them consistently.
Open References.
Open the project and select References.
Add a reference.
Enter the source title and any available author, publication, publisher, date, DOI, pages and URL.
Choose a citation style.
Select Harvard, APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago or OSCOLA according to your institution’s requirements.
Check the original source.
Open the source yourself and confirm its details. Mark it as checked only after doing this.
Copy the formatted result.
Use the bibliography or in-text version as needed. You can edit the saved metadata at any time.
05
EVIDENCE COMPARISON
How to compare evidence
Bring the saved source notes from several research conversations into one structured comparison.
Open Compare evidence.
From the project, select Compare evidence.
Write a comparison question.
State exactly what you want to compare, such as explanations, methods, claims or limitations.
Choose the research conversations.
Select between one and five conversations containing the source notes you need.
Generate the comparison.
ResearchBuddy organises the saved descriptions into claims, supporting evidence, limitations, relevance, agreements, disagreements and gaps.
Review against the originals.
The table is based on saved source notes rather than full source texts. Check the original evidence before drawing conclusions.
06
RESEARCH NOTEBOOK
How to add notes
Record your own observations, questions and developing interpretations beside the research that prompted them.
Select New note.
Use the Notes card within a project or open View all notes first.
Add a title and note type.
Choose General note, Observation, Question, My interpretation or Next step. Questions can be marked resolved later.
Write and format directly.
Use Bold, Italic, headings, paragraphs, bullets, numbers and links. Notes save automatically as you work.
Connect the note.
Optionally link it to saved research or an evidence comparison, and add the original source URL.
Return to it later.
Search notes, edit them, move them to the bin or restore them. Active notes are included in the project PDF.
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY THROUGHOUT
Guidance supports the work. It does not become the work.
ResearchBuddy helps explain, compare and organise. You remain responsible for checking original sources, reaching the conclusion and writing the final work.
READY TO TRY IT?
Create a project and work through the manual as you research.
You can return to this page whenever you need instructions for a particular tool.
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