research paper alternative names

28 Best Academic Search Engines That make your research easier

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If you’re a researcher or scholar, you know that conducting effective online research is a critical part of your job. And if you’re like most people, you’re always on the lookout for new and better ways to do it.

I’m sure you are familiar with some research databases. But, top researchers keep an open mind and are always looking for inspiration in unexpected places.

This article aims to give you an edge over researchers that rely mainly on Google for their entire research process.

Our list of 28 academic search engines will start with the more familiar to less.

Table of Contents

#1. Google Scholar

Google Scholar is an academic search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines.

Great for academic research, you can use Google Scholar to find articles from academic journals, conference proceedings, theses, and dissertations. The results returned by Google Scholar are typically more relevant and reliable than those from regular search engines like Google.

Tip: You can restrict your results to peer-reviewed articles only by clicking on the “Scholarly”

Scholarly results are typically more relevant and reliable than those from regular search engines like Google.
You can restrict your results to peer-reviewed articles only by clicking on the “Scholarly” tab.
Google Scholar database Coverage is extensive, with approx. 200 million articles indexed.
Abstracts are available for most articles.
Related articles are shown, as well as the number of times an article has been cited.
Links to full text are available for many articles.
Abstracts are only a snippet of the full article, so you might need to do additional searching to get the full information you need.
Not all articles are available in full text.

Google Scholar is completely free.

#2. ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)

ERIC (short for educational resources information center) is a great academic search engine that focuses on education-related literature. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and produced by the Institute of Education Sciences.

ERIC indexes over a million articles, reports, conference papers, and other resources on all aspects of education from early childhood to higher education. So, search results are more relevant to Education on ERIC.

Extensive coverage: ERIC indexes over a million articles, reports, and other resources on all aspects of education from early childhood to higher education.
You can limit your results to peer-reviewed journals by clicking on the “Peer-Reviewed” tab.
Great search engine for educators, as abstracts are available for most articles.

ERIC is a free online database of education-related literature.

#3. Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is a “computational knowledge engine” that can answer factual questions posed in natural language. It can be a useful search tool.

Type in a question like “What is the square root of 64?” or “What is the boiling point of water?” and Wolfram Alpha will give you an answer.

Wolfram Alpha can also be used to find academic articles. Just type in your keywords and Wolfram Alpha will generate a list of academic articles that match your query.

Tip: You can restrict your results to peer-reviewed journals by clicking on the “Scholarly” tab.

Can answer factual questions posed in natural language.
Can be used to find academic articles.
Results are ranked by relevance.
Results can be overwhelming, so it’s important to narrow down your search criteria as much as possible.
The experience feels a bit more structured but it could also be a bit restrictive

Wolfram Alpha offers a few pricing options, including a “Pro” subscription that gives you access to additional features, such as the ability to create custom reports. You can also purchase individual articles or download them for offline use.

Pro costs $5.49 and Pro Premium costs $9.99

#4. iSEEK Education

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iSEEK is a search engine targeting students, teachers, administrators, and caregiver. It’s designed to be safe with editor-reviewed content.

iSEEK Education also includes a “Cited by” feature which shows you how often an article has been cited by other researchers.

Editor-reviewed content.
“Cited by” feature shows how often an article has been cited by other researchers.
Limited to academic content.
Doesn’t have the breadth of coverage that some of the other academic search engines have.

iSEEK Education is free to use.

#5. BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine)

BASE is hosted at Bielefeld University in Germany and that’s where it name stems from (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine).

Known as “one of the most comprehensive academic web search engines,” it contains over 100 million documents from 4,000 different sources.

Users can narrow their search using the advanced search option, so regardless of whether you need a book, a review, a lecture, a video or a thesis, BASE has what you need.

BASE indexes academic articles from a variety of disciplines, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

One of the world’s most voluminous search engines,
Indexes academic articles from a variety of disciplines, especially for academic web resources
Includes an “Advanced Search” feature that lets you restrict your results to peer-reviewed journals.
Doesn’t include abstracts for most articles.
Doesn’t have related articles, references, cited by

BASE is free to use.

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CORE is an academic search engine that focuses on open access research papers. A link to the full text PDF or complete text web page is supplied for each search result. It’s academic search engine dedicated to open access research papers.

Focused on open access research papers.
Links to full text PDF or complete text web page are supplied for each search result.
Export formats include BibTeX, Endnote, RefWorks, Zotero.
Coverage is limited to open access research papers.
No abstracts are available for most articles.
No related articles, references, or cited by features.

CORE is free to use.

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#7. Science.gov

Science.gov is a search engine developed and managed by the United States government. It includes results from a variety of scientific databases, including NASA, EPA, USGS, and NIST.

US students are more likely to have early exposure to this tool for scholarly research.

Coverage from a variety of scientific databases (200 million articles and reports).
Links to full text are available for some articles.

Science.gov is free to use.

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#8. Semantic Scholar

Semantic Scholar is a recent entrant to the field. Its goal is to provide more relevant and effective search results via artificial intelligence-powered methods that detect hidden relationships and connections between research topics.

Powered by artificial intelligence, which enhances search results.
Covers a large number of academic articles (approx. 40 million).
Related articles, references, and cited by features are all included.
Links to full text are available for most articles.

Semantic Scholar is free to use.

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#9. RefSeek

RefSeek searches more than five billion documents, including web pages, books, encyclopedias, journals, and newspapers.

This is one of the free search engines that feels like Yahoo with a massive directory. It could be good when you are just looking for research ideas from unexpected angles. It could lead you to some other database that you might not know such as the CIA The World Factbook, which is a great reference tool.

Searches more than five billion documents.
The Documents tab is very focused on research papers and easy to use.
Results can be filtered by date, type of document, and language.
Good source for free academic articles, open access journals, and technical reports.
The navigation and user experience is very dated even to millenials…
It requires more than 3 clicks to dig up interesting references (which is how it could lead to you something beyond the 1st page of Google)
The top part of the results are ALL ads (well… it’s free to use)

RefSeek is free to use.

#10. ResearchGate

A mixture of social networking site + forum + content databases where researchers can build their profile, share research papers, and interact with one another.

Although it is not an academic search engine that goes outside of its site, ResearchGate ‘s library of works offers an excellent choice for any curious scholar.

There are more than 100 million publications available on the site from over 11 million researchers. It is possible to search by publication, data, and author, as well as to ask the researchers questions.

A great place to find research papers and researchers.
Can follow other researchers and get updates when they share new papers or make changes to their profile.
The network effect can be helpful in finding people who have expertise in a particular topic.
Interface is not as user friendly
Can be overwhelming when trying to find relevant papers.
Some papers are behind a paywall.

ResearchGate is free to use.

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#11. DataONE Search (formerly CiteULike)

A social networking site for academics who want to share and discover academic articles and papers.

A great place to find academic papers that have been shared by other academics.
Some papers are behind a paywall

CiteULike is free to use.

#12. DataElixir

DataElixir is deigned to help you find, understand and use data. It includes a curated list of the best open datasets, tools and resources for data science.

Dedicated resource for finding open data sets, tools, and resources for data science.
The website is easy to navigate.
The content is updated regularly
The resources are grouped by category.
Not all of the resources are applicable to academic research.
Some of the content is outdated.

DataElixir is free to use.

#13. LazyScholar – browser extension

LazyScholar is a free browser plugin that helps you discover free academic full texts, metrics, and instant citation and sharing links. Lazy Scholar is created Colby Vorland, a postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University.

It can integrate with your library to find full texts even when you’re off-campus.
Saves your history and provides an interface to find it.
A pre-formed citation is availlable in over 900 citation styles.
Can recommend you topics and scans new PubMed listings to suggest new papers
Results can be a bit hit or miss

LazyScholar is free to use.

#14. CiteseerX – digital library from PenState

CiteseerX is a digital library stores and indexes research articles in Computer Science and related fields. The site has a robust search engine that allows you to filter results by date, author.

Searches a large number of academic papers.
Results can be filtered by date, author, and topic.
The website is easy to use.
You can create an account and save your searches for future reference.

CiteseerX is free to use.

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#15. The Lens – patents search

The Lens or the Patent Lens is an online patent and scholarly literature search facility, provided by Cambia, an Australia-based non-profit organization.

Searches for a large number of academic papers.

The price range can be free for non-profit use to $5,000 for commercial enterprise.

#16. Fatcat – wiki for bibliographic catalog

Fatcat is an open bibliographic catalog of written works. The scope of works is somewhat flexible, with a focus on published research outputs like journal articles, pre-prints, and conference proceedings. Records are collaboratively editable, versioned, available in bulk form, and include URL-agnostic file-level metadata.

Open source and collaborative
You can be part of the community that is very focused on its mission
The archival file-level metadata (verified digests and long-term copies) is a great feature.
Could prove to be another rabbit hole
People either love or hate the text-only interface

#17. Lexis Web – Legal database

Are you researching legal topics? You can turn to Lexis Web for any law-related questions you may have. The results are drawn from legal sites and can be filtered based on criteria such as news, blogs, government, and commercial. Additionally, users can filter results by jurisdiction, practice area, source and file format.

Results are drawn from legal sites.
Filters are available based on criteria such as news, blogs, government, and commercial.
Users can filter results by jurisdiction, practice area, source and file format.
Not all law-related questions will be answered by this search engine.
Coverage is limited to legal sites only.

Lexis Web is free for up to three searches per day. After that, a subscription is required.

#18. Infotopia – part of the VLRC family

Infotopia touts itself as an “alternative to Google safe search.” Scholarly book results are curated by librarians, teachers, and other educational workers. Users can select from a range of topics such as art, health, and science and technology, and then see a list of resources pertaining to the topic.

Consequently, if you aren’t able to find what you are looking for within Infotopia’s pages, you will probably find it on one of its many suggested websites.

#19. Virtual Learning Resources Center

Virtual Learning Resources Center (VLRC) is an academic search engine that features thousands of academic sites chosen by educators and librarians worldwide. Using an index generated from a research portal, university, and library internet subject guides, students and instructors can find current, authoritative information for school.

Thousands of academic information websites indexed by it. You will also be able to get more refined results with custom Google search, which will speed up your research.
Many people consider VLRC as one of the best free search engines to start looking for research material.
TeachThought rated the Virtual LRC #3 in it’s list of 100 Search Engines For Academic Research
More relevant to education
More relevant to students

Powered by Google Custom Search Engine (CSE), Jurn is a free online search engine for accessing and downloading free full-text scholarly papers. It was created by David Haden in a public open beta version in February 2009, initially for locating open access electronic journal articles in the arts and humanities.

After the indexing process was completed, a website containing additional public directories of web links to indexed publications was introduced in mid-2009. The Jurn search service and directory has been regularly modified and cleaned since then.

A great resource for finding academic papers that are behind paywalls.
The content is updated regularly.uren

Jurn is free to use.

#21. WorldWideScience

The Office of Scientific and Technical Information—a branch of the Office of Science within the U.S. Department of Energy—hosts the portal WorldWideScience , which has dubbed itself “The Global Science Gateway.”

Over 70 countries’ databases are used on the website. When a user enters a query, it contacts databases from all across the world and shows results in both English and translated journals and academic resources.

Results can be filtered by language and type of resource
Interface is easy to use
Contains both academic journal articles and translated academic resources
The website can be difficult to navigate.

WorldWideScience is free to use.

#22. Google Books

A user can browse thousands of books on Google Books, from popular titles to old titles, to find pages that include their search terms. You can look through pages, read online reviews, and find out where to buy a hard copy once you find the book you are interested in.

#23. DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

DOAJ is a free search engine for scientific and scholarly materials. It is a searchable database with over 8,000 peer-reviewed research papers organized by subject. It’s one of the most comprehensive libraries of scientific and scholarly resources, with over 8,000 journals available on a variety of themes.

#24. Baidu Scholar

Baidu Xueshu (Academic) is the Chinese version for Google Scholar. IDU Scholar indexes academic papers from a variety of disciplines in both Chinese and English.

Articles are available in full text PDF.
Covers a variety of academic disciplines.
No abstracts are available for most articles, but summaries are provided for some.
A great portal that takes you to different specialized research platform
You need to be able to read Chinese to use the site
Since 2021 there is a rise of focus on China and the Chinese Communist Party

Baidu Scholar is free to use.

#25. PubMed Central

PubMed is a free search engine that provides references and abstracts for medical, life sciences, and biomedical topics.

If you’re studying anything related to healthcare or science, this site is perfect. PublicMed Central is operated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. It contains more than 3 million full-text journal articles.

It’s similar to PubMed Health, which focuses on health-related research and includes abstracts and citations to over 26 million articles.

#26. MEDLINE®

MEDLINE® is a paid subscription database for life sciences and biomedicine that includes more than 28 million citations to journal articles. For finding reliable, carefully chosen health information, Medline Plus provides a powerful search tool and even a dictionary.

A great database for life sciences and biomedicine.
Contains more than 28 million references to journal articles.
References can be filtered by date, type of document, and language.
The database is expensive to access.
Some people find it difficult to navigate and find what they are looking for.

MEDLINE is not free to use ( pricing information ).

Defunct Academic Search Engines

#27. microsoft academic .

Microsoft Academic

Microsoft Academic Search seemed to be a failure from the beginning. It ended in 2012, then re-launched in 2016 as Microsoft Academic. It provides the researcher with the opportunity to search academic publications,

Microsoft Academic used to be the second-largest academic search engine after Google Scholar. Microsoft Academic provides a wealth of data for free, but Microsoft has announced that it will shut Microsoft Academic down in by 2022.

#28. Scizzle

Designed to help researchers stay on top of the literature by setting up email alerts, based on key terms, for newspapers.

Unfortunately, academic search engines come and go. These are two that are no longer available.

Final Thoughts

There are many academic search engines that can help researchers and scholars find the information they need. This list provides a variety of options, starting with more familiar engines and moving on to less well-known ones.

Keeping an open mind and exploring different sources is essential for conducting effective online research. With so much information at our fingertips, it’s important to make sure we’re using the best tools available to us.

Tell us in the comment below which academic search engine have you not heard of? Which database do you think we should add? What database do your professional societies use? What are the most useful academic websites for research in your opinion?

There is more.

Check out our other articles on the Best Academic Tools Series for Research below.

Learn how to get more done with these Academic Writing Tools
Learn how to proofread your work with these Proofreading Tools
Learn how to broaden your research landscape with these Academic Search Engines
Learn how to manage multiple research projects with these Project Management Tools
Learn how to run effective survey research with these Survey Tools for Research
Learn how get more insights from important conversations and interviews with Transcription Tools
Learn how to manage the ever-growing list of references with these Reference Management Software
Learn how to double your productivity with literature reviews with these AI-Based Summary Generators
Learn how to build and develop your audience with these Academic Social Network Sites
Learn how to make sure your content is original and trustworthy with these Plagiarism Checkers
Learn how to talk about your work effectively with these Science Communication Tools

10 thoughts on “28 Best Academic Search Engines That make your research easier”

Thank you so much Joannah..I have found this information useful to me as librarian in an academic library

You are welcome! We are happy to hear that!

Thank You Team, for providing a comprehensive list of academic search engines that can help make research easier for students and scholars. The variety of search engines included offers a range of options for finding scholarly articles, journals, and other academic resources. The article also provides a brief summary of each search engine’s features, which helps in determining which one is the best fit for a specific research topic. Overall, this article is a valuable resource for anyone looking for a quick and easy way to access a wealth of academic information.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are delighted to hear that you found our list of academic search engines helpful in making research easier for students and scholars. We understand the importance of having a variety of options when it comes to finding scholarly articles, journals, and other academic resources, and we strive to provide a comprehensive list of resources to meet those needs.

We are glad that you found the brief summary of each search engine’s features helpful in determining which one is the best fit for a specific research topic. Our goal is to make it easy for our readers to access valuable academic information and we’re glad that we were able to achieve that for you.

We appreciate your support and thank you for your kind words. We will continue to provide valuable resources for students and researchers in the future. Please let us know if you have any further questions or suggestions.

No more questions Thank You

I cannot thank you enough!!! thanks alot 🙂

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Hi Joannah! Here’s another one you may want to add! Expontum ( https://www.expontum.com/ ) – Helps researchers quickly find knowledge gaps and identify what research projects have been completed before. Thanks!

Expontum – Helps researchers quickly find knowledge gaps and identify what research projects have been completed before. Expontum is free, open access, and available to all globally with no paid versions of the site. Automated processes scan research article information 24/7 so this website is constantly updating. By looking at over 35 million research publications (240 million by the end of 2023), the site has 146 million tagged research subjects and 122 million tagged research attributes. Learn more about methodology and sources on the Expontum About Page ( https://www.expontum.com/about.php )

Hey Ryan, I clicked and checked your site and thought it was very relevant to our reader. Thank you for sharing. And, we will be reviewing your site soon.

Sounds good! Thanks, Joannah!

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Instruction

Alternatives to Research Papers

Creative alternatives to traditional research papers: Undergrads and Scholarly Communication

The ability to write a finely crafted, well documented, and thought provoking research paper is a hallmark of a fine liberal arts education. Understanding how knowledge is created, how thoughts build upon previous thoughts, how the written language has given rise and perpetuates cultures, how all of these can be found in the scholarly communication housed in their fine research libraries, these are a few of the noble ends of undergraduate education and are the building blocks of information literacy.

Putting thoughts to paper, supporting them with evidence, or contradicting them without bias, push students to new intellectual levels. The skills needed to get to that point are myriad. By sequencing research assignments, faculty can provide feedback throughout the writing process prior to the final assessment. Students appreciate this. In courses where research papers are not appropriate or applicable, assigning one or two gems from Indra’s “research” net allows students to practice the craft in small developmental increments. Students will need to actively engage in and ultimately master those individual skills or thought processes thereby building their confidence. Future faculty will be in receipt of these gifts.

Here are some ideas which provide practice in segments of the research process. They require students to become familiar with scholarly research tools and techniques. Please contact your liaison librarian for library instruction sessions, if desired.

All but the Research Paper

Topic with several good questions to explore
Annotated bibliography of useful sources which explore those questions
Outline of paper
Thesis statement
Opening paragraph and summary
Objective: Focuses on the process of research and the elements of a paper

Research Log

Assignment: While doing topic research, students keep a record of their actions: methodology, resources consulted (books, databases, Web searches), keywords or subject headings searched, noting both successes and failures.
Objective: Provides a good introduction to how information and scholarly communication are organized. Encourages reflection on the decisions researchers must make. Focuses on the importance of terminology.

Literature Review

Assignment: Review the literature on a specific topic for a given time period.
Objective: Reveals the purpose of a literature review. Provides students with opportunities to engage in the discipline’s printed matter.

Review Update

Assignment: Using a non-current review article, update the topic with current sources
Objective: Introduces students to literature reviews, subject indexes, and reference sources. Demonstrates the evolution of a particular topic and the scholarly communication surrounding it. Also requires students to analyze, synthesize, and integrate the ideas they find. Students will utilize printed and electronic resources to identify pertinent information

Poster Session

Assignment: Research a topic and present it as a poster which other students will use to learn about the topic.
Objective: Requires use of scholarly resources, research skills, concise communication, and synthesis of ideas.

Track a “Classic” Paper through a Citation Index

Assignment: Choose a classic article by well-respected scholar and follow its trail into future publications. Trace the paper through the Scopus database: back through the article’s references and forward in time to the works which cite the article.
Objective: Teaches the mechanics of using a citation index and introduces students to the web of scholarly communication. Shows how ideas are introduced, distributed, integrated, refined, and developed over time.

Trace a Scholar’s Career

Assignment: Explore a scholar/researcher’s career and ideas by locating biographical information, preparing a bibliography of his/her writings, analyzing the reaction of the scholarly community to the researcher’s work, and examining the scholarly network in which s/he works.
Objective: Introduces students to the use of biographical and bibliographical tools, and exposes them to examples of scholarly dialogue.

Identify a Discipline’s Journals

Assignment: How many journals are published in a given field? Identify journals “basic” to the discipline. Locate those held locally in print and online. Compare and contrast peer reviewed and popular or trade publications in the field. Analyze their subject focus, tone, audience, and impact.
Objective: Encourages intellectual exploration, widens the range of possible resources, and demonstrates the importance of journal literature within disciplines. Students differentiate between similar journals.

Understand Primary Sources

Assignment: Compare primary and secondary sources on the same topic. Have the students find a study in a popular or trade publication and then have them find the actual study. How well did the information transfer between sources? What was left out? How well did the popular/trade publication writer capture the essence of the primary source?
Objective: Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources in a discipline. Shows when and why to use each.

Read the References

Assignment: Acquire and read the articles cited in a research paper. Explain how each is related to the paper. In what circumstances is it appropriate to cite other papers? What different purposes do the citations serve?
Objective: Shows when it is appropriate to recognize the contributions of previous authors in the development of new work.

Simulations of Real-Life Projects

Assignment: Prepare a grant or research proposal, marketing or business plan, or solution to a tax, accounting or financial problem. State the specific problem to be solved or task to be accomplished. Provide background on the problem. How have these issues been dealt with in the past? What is the current thinking on this issue? How do you propose to solve the problem or what are the questions you need to ask to solve the problem? What support can you offer for your solution?
Objective: Simulates for students how they will apply their information skills in the context of problems they will encounter in their discipline or career.

Narrowing a topic

Assignment: Given a topic that is much too broad to handle in a short paper, find several sources (magazine, newspaper, or journal articles, chapters in books or reference books) to assist in refining the focus. For example, refine the topic Ethics in Sports down to Drug use in Track and Field and further down to doping in the 2004 Olympics Track and Field events.
Objective: Teach students how to narrow a topic as well as what types of sources they might find useful in doing so.

Other ideas

Annotate an article for a novice reader.
Write or create a piece of music, art, or creative writing in a particular style or genre
Put on a conference complete with poster sessions, panels, papers, etc.
Create an anthology of readings complete with an introduction and reading summaries
Create a pathfinder or website of different types of information sources on a topic

Creative Alternatives to a Traditional Research Paper

Teaching research skills is essential in the secondary classroom. However, are both you and your students ready for something other than a traditional research paper? Read on for 11 creative alternatives to a traditional research paper.

You assign a traditional research paper, teach all the things, and grade all the work. Then comes the dreaded moment when you find a handful of graded research papers in the trash. (Sigh.) All that hard work for what? To check off a box? To meet a standard or competency?

To be clear, I’m not bashing the validity of assigning a traditional research paper. They certainly have their place, and some students totally knock them out of the park. But what about the rest of your students? What about the diverse learners struggling with yet another traditional writing assignment? It might be time to rethink how we teach essential research skills.

The Importance of Research Skills

With the availability of information online nowadays, there’s a heightened need for solid research skills like vetting sources and confirming valid information (#fakenews). Regardless, you can’t deny the merits of the skills needed to write a research paper:

Selecting a topic and honing in on a thesis
Establishing questions to guide research and inquiry
Evaluating sources for reliability and validity
Taking notes and properly citing sources
Gathering, organizing, and synthesizing information
Considering alternative viewpoints
Thinking critically and writing clearly

… And, of course, bringing it all together as a cohesive product.

But how engaging and relevant is a research paper as a product? Now, that’s the question we need to be asking as teachers. Are there alternatives to target the same skills but produce products that better reflect the world around us? There has to be a way to take research skills beyond the walls of academia, right?

After all, isn’t a quality research assignment, paper or not, one that requires students to find and evaluate information that supports a particular claim on a topic? One that ensures students are using information literacy skills and thinking critically? Building upon facts and the thoughts and research of others? Conveying specific information clearly and concisely?

Read through the creative alternatives to a traditional research paper below and decide for yourself!

Creative Alternatives to a Research Paper

If you’re ready to expand how you teach research skills, the following assignments are a great place to start.

1. Graphic Essay

If you’re looking to up your research game and incorporate technology, this assignment is IT. (Pun intended.) The graphic essay encourages students to create a visually appealing representation of their research online. If you’re concerned about rigor, fear not. A graphic essay requires the same process as a research paper, plus elements of visual components and design.

With a graphic essay, students enhance their research by using both traditional writing and pictures, graphics, videos, and emphasized text. Students begin by planning and researching. Then they move on to the writing and design. Last but not least, they can fill in the rest with the fun visuals. The final product is a research-supported essay that is both well-developed and visually appealing.

2. Podcast Episode

If I was writing this ten years ago, I might have called this a radio show, but let’s keep it relevant, shall we? Podcasts are a great way to consume information about a particular topic. So, why not have students use a similar approach to deliver information about a particular topic.

Have students work independently or in groups to create a podcast episode-style recording that creatively explores their research. For example, maybe they take on the roles of “expert guests” as they dive into their research and expand upon what it means. Play the final products in class or upload the audio files to your class website and let the students select which topics they’d like to listen to. This is a fun alternative that gets students talking about topics they’re interested in without having to overcome their fears of public speaking.

3. Youtube Video

Youtube is like the modern-day encyclopedia. I mean, there isn’t anything you can’t learn about on YouTube. Why not take that idea and run with it? Much like the podcast episode option above, have students work independently or in groups to create a lively yet informative video that dives into their research. The video can be animated or interview-style and even uploaded directly to YouTube.

This fun alternative gets students diving into their research topic without the dreaded research paper. However, they are still required to conduct research and plan their delivery of the information. To avoid videos that are overly fluffy– or stuffy (I don’t know which is worse) take time to view a few extremes to set the tone and expectation. Watch and discuss both an engaging Youtube video and one that drones on and on so students understand the difference between the two, making it clear which kind you expect to receive.

4. Blog Post

Blog posts are a great alternative to a traditional research paper for many reasons. For starters, blogs have been blowing up on the internet for the past decade, so they’re certainly relevant. Second, you can include many of the same requirements in a blog as you might in a research paper. The biggest difference? A conversational tone.

Having your students write a blog post is a great way to get them to write about a topic they care about without having to be someone they’re not. In other words, they can leave behind the stuffy academic jargon and put a little punch of passion behind their words while still going through the research process and incorporating valid evidence.

5. Student Teacher

They say the hallmark of knowledge is being able to impart it to someone else, right? Challenge your students to engage in this highly-interactive alternative to the traditional research paper. While many other research projects involve an element of argumentation, this one is all about education. Have your students research a particular topic and then design and present an engaging mini-lesson to teach their knowledge to their peers.

How is this different from a more traditional presentation, you ask? You can make it as similar or different as you please. I suggest requiring an interactive component to supplement their presentation. For example, maybe they plan an activity, create a vocabulary crossword, or even do a short quiz at the end! Additionally, one of my favorite benefits of this is reminding students how they like to be taught. Boring, long-winded explanations? No, thank you! Remind them to keep their target audience in mind.

Research Paper Alternatives Perfect for Struggling and Reluctant Students

I truly believe any of the above activities have a better chance of engaging your students than a traditional research paper. However, the alternatives listed here would be especially beneficial for struggling and reluctant students.

6. Pamphlet or Brochure

This is like the classic poster– minus the clunky poster itself. Furthermore, students can really tap into their graphic design skills as they plan their project’s layout and other visual elements. Sure, they may include fewer words than a traditional research paper, but that’s part of the challenge.

Both pamphlets and brochures really tap into the research skills of synthesizing and organizing. Additionally, with such limited space, students must be highly selective as to which information they include. That in itself requires organization and critical thinking. No long-winded body paragraphs here!

7. Infographics

I don’t know about you, but I love a good infographic. They are informative yet visually appealing. What a great combo! So, why not have your students create one? Not only do infographics require clear and concise writing, but they also tap into relevant graphic design skills. (Don’t worry. Tools like Canva make it a breeze.)

While infographics are fun to look at, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t require critical thinking to create one. To make an infographic, students must be able to clearly and effectively synthesize their researched information into a more concise and visually appealing format. If you’re looking to beef up the writing, simply require students to turn in an annotated bibliography as well.

8. All But The Research Paper

This assignment closely resembles a traditional research paper, minus the paper itself – just in case the title didn’t give it away. Instead, this assignment focuses heavily on the research process rather than research skills. (Dealing with struggling or reluctant writers? This might be a great option for them.)

Students are required to go through all the stages of the research process as if they were going to write a research paper. These components include choosing a topic, establishing a thesis, developing guiding questions, conducting research and evaluating sources, citing their sources, and outlining their paper. But that’s where it ends! No actual paper is written. Instead, the attention is on the process , organization of research, and development of ideas.

9. Social Media Profile

As ELA teachers, we have plenty of opportunities to incorporate writing assignments into the classroom. Therefore, if you’re simply looking for a fun activity to go along with teaching research skills, a social media profile is a great way to go.

Here’s how it works: Students must still begin by selecting a topic, establishing a thesis, and conducting research. However, instead of putting their research into traditional essay paragraphs, have them turn it into social media posts. Your students can create real Instagram profiles (or you can provide paper templates) dedicated to their research. What would traditionally be a paragraph turns into a post! Students can use the graphic to display their evidence while expanding upon it in their own words in the caption. They’ll also have to determine the order in which the posts appear. By the end, they’ll basically have a research paper.

Research Paper Alternatives That Target Persuasion

If you have to teach persuasive writing, coupling it with research skills is a two-for-one deal. The following assignments require the perfect mix of the two.

10. Letter to a Decision Maker

Students love to have their opinions. “If I were in charge…” they might say. It’s easy to talk about what they would do, so why not put some action behind those words? Writing a letter to a decision maker shows students that their voices deserve to be heard. However, it’s also a great opportunity to teach them how research makes for a strong and persuasive argument and how, when combined effectively, they are the catalysts for change.

For this assignment, have students select a social issue, environmental issue, education issue, or public policy that they feel strongly about. Then, have them go through the research process to gather strong evidence to support their stance and call for change. The fun part about this assignment is that you can have your students determine a real-life recipient and even have them send out their letters at the end. Talk about real world application and teaching students to be active citizens.

11. PSA Campaign

Does this sound familiar? Maybe you read about this idea in my post all about teaching argumentation and persuasion . It’s a great assignment to target both research skills and student passion. For starters, this project gives students the opportunity to pick a topic they care deeply about. Then, rather than dreading writing a research paper essay, students are tasked with diving into an issue of their choice in hopes of raising awareness. (That already sounds more engaging, doesn’t it?)

Begin by having students select a social or environmental issue that is important to them. Then, they must plan, develop, and create a public service announcement campaign around the issue, including backing it up with, you guessed it, research and data. Have students round out their campaign with both a written piece and a visual or media element. While their written component might be a short-form research paper, it could also be a speech, persuasive letter, or educational blog post. As long as it incorporates research, it works!

Incorporating more creative alternatives to a traditional research paper doesn’t mean throwing the research process to the wayside. Nor does it mean making it any less rigorous. Instead, I’m simply suggesting trying something new that might spark student creativity, interest, and engagement. In fact, as opposed to the traditional research paper, many of the ideas above better reflect how students are likely to see and use research in the real world. These alternative research-based activities will help students understand why research matters rather than telling them they’re writing research papers “because we have to.”

Sure, designing a new research-based assignment might take a little more planning and preparation. However, once you do it, you won’t regret it. Your students will be more engaged and, therefore, more likely to deliver high-quality work. Plus, I bet you’ll have a lot more fun grading these more creative alternative assignments.

With that said, here’s to more engaging research projects all around – and fewer of them ending up in the trash.

The top list of academic research databases

2. Web of Science

5. ieee xplore, 6. sciencedirect, 7. directory of open access journals (doaj), get the most out of your academic research database, frequently asked questions about academic research databases, related articles.

Whether you are writing a thesis , dissertation, or research paper it is a key task to survey prior literature and research findings. More likely than not, you will be looking for trusted resources, most likely peer-reviewed research articles.

Academic research databases make it easy to locate the literature you are looking for. We have compiled the top list of trusted academic resources to help you get started with your research:

Scopus is one of the two big commercial, bibliographic databases that cover scholarly literature from almost any discipline. Besides searching for research articles, Scopus also provides academic journal rankings, author profiles, and an h-index calculator .

Coverage: 90.6 million core records
References: N/A
Discipline: Multidisciplinary
Access options: Limited free preview, full access by institutional subscription only
Provider: Elsevier

Web of Science also known as Web of Knowledge is the second big bibliographic database. Usually, academic institutions provide either access to Web of Science or Scopus on their campus network for free.

Coverage: approx. 100 million items
References: 1.4 billion
Access options: institutional subscription only
Provider: Clarivate (formerly Thomson Reuters)

PubMed is the number one resource for anyone looking for literature in medicine or biological sciences. PubMed stores abstracts and bibliographic details of more than 30 million papers and provides full text links to the publisher sites or links to the free PDF on PubMed Central (PMC) .

Coverage: approx. 35 million items
Discipline: Medicine and Biological Sciences
Access options: free
Provider: NIH

For education sciences, ERIC is the number one destination. ERIC stands for Education Resources Information Center, and is a database that specifically hosts education-related literature.

Coverage: approx. 1.6 million items
Discipline: Education
Provider: U.S. Department of Education

Search interface of ERIC academic database

IEEE Xplore is the leading academic database in the field of engineering and computer science. It's not only journal articles, but also conference papers, standards and books that can be search for.

Coverage: approx. 6 million items
Discipline: Engineering
Provider: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

ScienceDirect is the gateway to the millions of academic articles published by Elsevier, 1.4 million of which are open access. Journals and books can be searched via a single interface.

Coverage: approx. 19.5 million items

The DOAJ is an open-access academic database that can be accessed and searched for free.

Coverage: over 8 million records
Provider: DOAJ

JSTOR is another great resource to find research papers. Any article published before 1924 in the United States is available for free and JSTOR also offers scholarships for independent researchers.

Coverage: more than 12 million items
Provider: ITHAKA

Start using a reference manager like Paperpile to save, organize, and cite your references. Paperpile integrates with PubMed and many popular databases, so you can save references and PDFs directly to your library using the Paperpile buttons:

Scopus is one of the two big commercial, bibliographic databases that cover scholarly literature from almost any discipline. Beside searching for research articles, Scopus also provides academic journal rankings, author profiles, and an h-index calculator .

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8 Good Google Scholar Alternatives for Academics and Student Researchers

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: June 21, 2023

For us in academia Google scholar is a staple search engine. I have been using it throughout my PhD journey (and beyond) and have also included it in the list of the best websites to find academic books and journal articles . However, Google Scholar is not the be-all and end-all of academic search.

In fact, there is a number of other equally interesting and even more powerful academic search engines that you can use to search for academic and scholarly literature including peer-reviewed journal articles, books, scientific periodicals, reports, and many more.

In the list below I share some of the best academic search engines that are viable alternatives to Google Scholar. Whether you are a student researcher, a budding scholar, or an established educator, these Google Scholar alternatives will empower you with the tools you need to enhance your research skills and improve your overall academic productivity.

Best Google Scholar Alternatives

Here are our top picks for Google Scholar alternatives:

1. WorldCat

WorldCat is one of the largest online library catalogs that connect thousands of libraries collections into a single platform allowing you to search various libraries from a single search box. You can use WorldCat to search for a wide variety of resources including research theses, books, magazines, songs, maps, genealogical records, movies, and more. WorldCat also features open source e-books, articles, and downloadable audiobooks and photos.

WorldCat enables you to access ‘article citations with links to full text, authoritative research materials, one-of-a-kind documents and photos of local or historic significance, and digital versions of rare items that aren’t generally available to the public.’

The way WorldCat works is simple: type in your search query in the site’s search box and browse through the list of libraries that provide access to the material you search for. ‘you can either directly access online content that’s openly available or click on a link for a library near you. You’ll be able to check out or reserve materials (if you’re a member) or find contact information to get more details.’

Education Resources and Information Center ( ERIC ) is an online database of a wide range of academic materials and grey literature from both journal and non-journal sources including research reports, journal articles, dissertations/theses, books, opinion papers, speeches, meeting papers, collected works, reference materials, guides, surveys, and many more. ERIC is sponsored by the United States Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. Access to ERIC is free and does not require any membership or subscription.

ERIC provides a host of interesting features to help you find relevant research materials. For instance, you can search for academic work published within a specific time frame, or you can use descriptors to further narrow down your topic and target a specific area. You can also filter your search by source, author, publication type, education level, audience, location, among other filters. You can also choose whether you want to search for only peer-reviewed articles or for full-text that is available on ERIC.

3. ScienceDirect

ScienceDirect is a platform by Elsevier that offers access to a huge collection of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters including open access materials. You can search for academic literature by keywords, author name, journal/book title, volume, issue, or page. Or, you can use advanced search to search for specific documents or parts of a document.

ScienceDirect allows you to download in PDF format one or several books, book chapters, journal issues, or journal articles provided you meet one of the following conditions: you are logged to ScienceDirect through the account of your institution, you have purchased the document yourself, or the document you are looking for is open access and therefore is freely accessible.

4. Academia

Academia is another wildly popular research platform where you can search for and download tons of academic and scholarly work for free. To be able to download an academic paper you need to have an account on Academia, but you don’t need an account if you only want to read the paper on the site.

As is the case in ResearchGate, some authors in Academia do not share their full texts. They only feature abstracts, excerpts or paper previews in which case you need to directly contact the author and ask for the full text.

Academia also offers a ‘My Library’ feature that you can use to save papers you are interested in. You can not add your own papers to My Library, only papers authored by others. Another excellent feature provided by Academia is PDF Packs or bulk download (premium feature) which allows you to download groups of papers related to the paper you are viewing.

‘Say you find an incredible paper that is the foundational paper of your research topic and you know you want everything related to it. Instead of just selecting “download” or clicking on all the papers in the related papers sidebar, simply click “Download Full PDF Package” next to [the] regular download button!’

Academia offers a premium subscription with tons of interesting features including: mentions (learn who cites you), readers (learn about those who interact with your work), enhanced analytics (learn when and where your Academia profile is discovered and viewed), advanced search, personal website, grants (search grants and fellowship opportunities), PDF Packs, search alerts (receive automatic reports of saved search queries), summaries (receive summarized versions of papers), and many more.

RefSeek is an academically focused search engine. It is like Google Scholar but with way less features. When you run an academic search query on RefSeek, the site searches billions of documents such as web pages, books, encyclopedia, journals, newspapers and many more. You have way more chances to find relevant academic sources without the ‘information overload of a general search engine’.

RefSeek also offers a directory with aggregated resources covering various subject areas including: science, atlases, coding, dictionaries, literature, mathematics, writing, visual arts, translation, games, encyclopedias, calculators, almanacs, teacher resources and many more. RefSeek is completely free and does not require any sign-up or registration.

BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) is another good academic search engine operated by Bielefeld University Library. It offers access to over 240 million documents from over 8000 content providers. Over half of the the indexed materials in BASE is open access and is freely accessible. BASE allows you to run targeted searches and get academically relevant results .

When you conduct academic searches on BASE, you will get results with precise bibliographic data together with information about access and terms of re-use for a document. BASE also provides you with handy features to help you effectively search their extensive database. For instance, you can refine your search by author, subject, Dewey Decimal Classification, year of publication, content provider, language, document type, and many more.

‘In BASE two different search surfaces are available: a basic search providing a single search field (search in all parts of a document by default) and an advanced search with multiple search fields and more sophisticated search options. In the basic search you get search suggestions after typing at least 3 letters. By selecting a search suggestion you can apply it to the search field.’

7. ResearchGate

ResearchGate is a research networking site where authors deposit their papers, connect with other researchers, search for and discover research content, and engage in collaborative research projects. ResearchGate’ s networking capabilities help researchers build research communities and stay up to date about recent publications in their field of study. As a registered member of ResearchGate, you get to highlight and add comments to others research, review their work, and engage in academic conversations with others.

You can also add research to your public profile to make it discoverable and get feedback from other researchers. You can even share your preprints to get feedback from others before you publish it. ResearchGate provides you with analytic reports detailing the performance of your papers in terms of the number of people viewed it, number of citations, level of interaction, and many more.

ResearchGate is also a discussion platform where you can ask research-related questions and get responses from other researchers. If you have no questions you can still take part in the ongoing conversation by contributing answers to questions posed by other participants.

Recommendations is another great collaborative feature in ResearchGate. You can mark any specific research paper as a recommendation to your peers and network. Recommendations are public and those in your research network will be notified of your recommendations. Also, any researcher will be able to see recommendations when they view the research page. Recommending research papers is a great way to share valuable research with your peers, start discussions around specific research papers, and keep track of an ongoing research project.

While some of the resources on ResearchGate are available for free download in full-text format, others are not and you can only access their abstract. To get access to these materials, you may want to send direct messages to their authors using the site’s messaging service. I have myself obtained full-text papers from authors through direct email. Check out my ResearchGate profile if you want to connect with me.

8. Semantic Scholar

Semantic Scholar is an AI-powered academic search engine that allows you to search millions of scholarly articles for academic content relevant to your research topic. Unlike other academic search engines, Semantic Scholar combines the power of artificial Intelligence, machine learning, language processing with semantic analytic search enabling users to get more accurate search results.

Semantic Scholar is a good alternative to Google Scholar , however, its content is mainly focused on journal articles. The way Semantic Scholar works is simple. Enter your search query in the site’s search box and start navigating your search results. You can conduct your search by topic, paper, keyword, or author. You can further filter your search by field of study, date range, PDF availability, publication type, and more.

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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Tips for Teaching Professors

Tip: Research paper alternatives

To successfully complete a traditional research paper, students must learn how to do both the rhetorical bits and the research bits. that’s a fairly tall order..

The research paper is a genre . It has specific formal features (what it looks like); thematic structure (what topics are addressed); situation of address and tone ( what tone/style choices the author makes); and rhetorical function ( why the author is writing). This is why, if I tell you that I read 50 student research paper drafts over the weekend, you can understand roughly the quantity and quality of work that I had to undertake, without even knowing what subject or level I teach. Our expectations of what I mean by a research paper more or less match, because the research paper is, more or less, an established genre.

A genre is a typified communicative act that is characterized by an agreed-upon substance and form. As typical rhetorical practices, genres satisfy an objectified communicative need. The patterns of substance (i.e., purpose, rationale and content) and form (i.e., structure, medium and language system) evolve over time in a process that adapts these genre attributes to the needs of the communicating parties. From Alternative genres in information systems research

The research paper assignment also has goals not bound to the genre: When we ask students to write a research paper, we are asking them to demonstrate critical thinking and communication skills , yes, but we are also asking them to apply foundational research skills to address a research question .

To successfully complete a traditional research paper, then, students must learn how to do both the rhetorical bits and the research bits. That’s a fairly tall order, particularly for students who have never done research before. It’s also a challenge for instructors, who are faced with both responding to the genre aspects of the paper, and critiquing the research components.

As much as I truly am a proponent of writing across the curriculum as a method for enriching students’ writing abilities in different disciplines - and I really am! - I think there is value in looking at alternatives for how students will demonstrate their application of foundational research skills. To that end, I’ve collected some interesting ideas for what we can ask students to do with their research instead of writing a research paper (pictures below will also link to the presentation).

The research paper alternatives I have compiled here are from a variety of sources - some of my own creation, some from the sites below (and some of the ideas appeared on multiple sites). Thanks for reading!

Request a future TIP topic!

A free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature

Megan Ybarra
Knot Theory
Moral Reasoning

New & Improved API for Developers

Introducing semantic reader in beta.

Stay Connected With Semantic Scholar Sign Up What Is Semantic Scholar? Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature, based at the Allen Institute for AI.

Free Research Name Generator

Type your search term

Stuck formulating a creative title for your research paper or essay? The free research name generator we've made! All you need to do is:

Do you need help developing an appealing research name for your essay assignment? Don't stress anymore! In three easy steps, you can create an attention-grabbing name for your research paper in a few minutes with the help of our free online research name generator.

Input your search term.
Click on the “search topic” button and pick one or more topics proposed by the research name generator.
Reload the list by clicking the search button again if you want more options.
📝 Why Is a Research Name Important
📍 Coming up with a Topic
🪝 Making a Catchy Research Name

🔗 References

📝 research name - what it is & why it is important.

When looking for a research study on a specific topic, you are likelier to pick essays with catchy, descriptive research names that grab your attention. In contrast, the research paper headings that are less captivating or descriptive are easy to ignore, regardless of the content’s quality. That is why developing an excellent and noticeable title for your research paper is crucial.

So, what makes a good name for your essay?

Let's explore 4 characteristics of a quality research title:

Research Topic vs. Research Name

Although most people use these two terms interchangeably, it is essential to note that a research name is not similar to a research topic:

A research topic gives you a brief context of the research essay by displaying a sneak peek of the content. Topics are often long, sometimes two sentences long.
A research name is short and precise, equal to the text’s title. It does not show the context of the research paper.

📍 Coming up with a Research Topic

Writing an academic paper is a serious task requiring intense effort. One of the most critical parts of the entire process is coming up with a suitable heading for your paper. The name you choose for your research proposal, term paper, thesis, or dissertation determines your readers' enthusiasm toward the paper even before they dig into it.

Selecting a theme of your genuine interest is essential because it makes your writing process much easier and more enjoyable.

Here is how you come up with an exciting research topic :

Seek inspiration from other bodies of work in the same field by consuming as much information as possible regarding your research area. From your research, you will find a name that piques your interest and that of your readers.
Consider your target audience while writing your research paper name. Use language that is palatable and relatable to your readers. For example, the language relatable to an audience of medics differs from what an audience of lawyers might find suitable.
Be as straightforward as possible with your topic. A garbled and complicated topic is a huge turn-off for your readers, who will assume that your research paper is as complex as your title.
Avoid jargon on your research topic since it interferes with the clarity of the message. Try to stick to the basics unless it is vital, field-specific jargon.

🪝 How to Make a Catchy Research Name in 5 Steps

Choosing an appropriate topic for your paper should be the starting point of your writing process. It may be challenging to pick a title from all the content from your research work.

You may wonder:

What will make your research name appealing to the readers ?
How to write a heading that captures the essence of your work?

It may be a difficult task, but lucky for you, we are here to help with a few pointers.

1. Answer Some Fundamental Questions about Your Research Paper

You could start by answering the simple question: what issues does your paper address, or what does it seek to achieve? The brief answer to this question can create a relevant title for your research paper.

Let us explore some solutions and build up a title.

2. Identify Research Study Keywords

Having answered the questions, identify the essential parts of the answer and make them your keywords.

3. Use the Keywords to Write Your Title

"We employed a case study of 30 diabetic patients in New York aged between 40 – 60 years to assess the effects of long-term use of pain medication on their insulin production; results revealed a negative correlation between the two."

4. Create a Realistic Research Paper Heading

To create a working title, delete all the unnecessary words that are not important to the study or that your readers would not include in their search.

“A case study of 30 diabetic patients in New York aged 40 – 60 years assessing the effects of pain medication on insulin production, revealing a negative correlation between the medication and insulin levels.” (Word count: 33)

We are drawing closer to a good research paper name.

5. Make Your Title Even Shorter

Since most of the qualitative and quantitative data will be included in the essay, there is no need to have the numbers on your title . Research techniques are also unnecessary in the title, so we can remove them. Let’s see what we have now:

“Assessing the effects of pain medication on diabetic patients” (Word count: 9)

One can immediately recognize the subject and its aims from the simple title. To save yourself the time to create this title, you can use our free online research paper name generator and have a list of catchy title ideas to choose from.

Consider trying other study instruments for students that we’ve made:

Thesis checker

❓ Name Generator FAQ

❓ what is a good research title.

A creative and catchy research title should be short, captivating, clear, and precise to attract a reader to the article. Our research name maker will help you create a great title.

❓ How do you create a research name?

It would help if you focused on the intended study outcome to compose a well-designed research name. What are you interested in? What parameter of your subject will you measure? All these questions give valuable pointers for creating the name of your study paper. If you’re running out of ideas and time, you can use our free research name checker to develop some catchy titles for your research paper.

❓ What are five examples of research paper names?

There are many types of research paper names, but you can use the five most popular versions for your paper. These are direct, how-to, question, the reason why, and two-part titles.

❓ What is a working title in research?

A working title should highlight the research problem and solution to guide the reader on what to expect from the essay.

How to write a good research paper title - Nature
Writing the title and abstract for a research paper - NCBI
Importance of Choosing a Good Title
A Title that Works: Characteristics and Tips
Selecting a Research Topic - LibGuides at MIT Libraries

Free Research Title Generator

Looking for a creative and catchy title for a research proposal, thesis, dissertation, essay, or other project? Try our research title maker! It is free, easy to use, and 100% online.

Welcome to our free online research title generator. You can get your title in 3 simple steps:

Type your search term and choose one or more subjects from the list,
Click on the “Search topic” button and choose among the ideas that the title generator has proposed,
Refresh the list by clicking the button one more time if you need more options.

Please try again with some different keywords or subjects.

️✅ Research Title Generator: 4 Benefits
️👣 Making a Research Title in 3 Steps
️🔗 References

Creating a topic for the research is one of the most significant events in a researcher’s life. Whether it is a thesis, dissertation, research proposal , or term paper, all of these assignments are time-consuming and require a lot of effort.

It is essential to choose a topic that you like and are genuinely interested in because you will spend a lot of time working on it. Our research title generator can help you with this crucial task. By delegating this work to our research title maker, you can find the best title for your research.

✅ Research Title Generator: 4 Benefits

There are many different research title makers online, so what makes our thesis title generator stand out?

👣 How to Make a Research Title: 3 Simple Steps

Research can be the most stressful period in a student’s life. However, creating a title is not as hard as it may seem. You can choose a topic for your paper in three simple steps.

The picture describes the 3 steps of research title making process.

Step 1: Brainstorm

The first step to take before getting into your research is to brainstorm . To choose a good topic, you can do the following:

Think of all your interests related to your field of study. What is the reason you've chosen this field? Think of the topics of your area that you like reading about in your free time.
Go through your past papers and choose the ones you enjoyed writing. You can use some lingering issues from your previous work as a starting point for your research.
Go through current events in your field to get an idea of what is going on. Whether you are writing a literary analysis , gender studies research, or any other kind of paper, you can always find tons of articles related to your field online. You can go through them to see what issue is getting more attention.
Try to find any gaps in current researches in your field. Use only credible sources while searching. Try to add something new to your field with your research. However, do not choose a completely new issue.
Discuss what topic is suitable for you with your professors. Professor knows a lot of information about current and previous researches, so try to discuss it with them.
Discuss lingering issues with your classmates. Try to ask what questions do they have about your field.
Think of your desired future work . Your research might serve as a starting point for your future career, so think of your desired job.
Write down 5-10 topics that you might be interested in. Ph.D. or Master’s research should be specific, so write down all the appropriate topics that you came up with.

Step 2: Narrow It Down

As you are done brainstorming, you have a list of possible research topics. Now, it is time to narrow your list down.

Go through your list again and eliminate the topics that have already been well-researched before. Remember that you need to add something new to your field of study, so choose a topic that can contribute to it. However, try not to select a topic not researched at all, as it might be difficult.

Once you get a general idea of what your research will be about, choose a research supervisor. Think of a professor who is an expert in your desired area of research. Talk to them and tell them the reason why you want to work with them and why you chose this area of study.

As you eliminated some irrelevant topics and shortened your list to 1-3 topics, you can discuss them with your supervisor. Since your supervisor has a better insight into your field of study, they can recommend a topic that can be most suitable for you. Make sure to elaborate on each topic and the reason you chose it.

Step 3: Formulate a Research Question

The next step is to create a research question. This is probably the most important part of the process. Later you'll turn your research question into a thesis statement .

Learn as many materials as you can to figure out the type of questions you can ask for your research. Make use of any articles, journals, libraries, etc. Write notes as you learn, and highlight the essential parts.

First, make any questions you can think of. Choose the ones that you have an interest in and try to rewrite them. As you rewrite them, you can get a different perspective on each of the questions. An example of the potential question:

How did the economic situation in the 19th century affect literature?

Think of a question that you can answer and research best. To do it, think of the most convenient research process and available materials that you have access to. Do you need to do lab testing, quantitative analysis, or any kind of experiment? What skills do you have that can be useful?

Discuss the question that you came up with your supervisor. Get their feedback as they might have their own opinion on that topic and give you creative advice.

❓ Research Title Maker FAQ

❓ how to make a research title.

To make a research title:

Brainstorm your field of study first.
Think of the topics that you are interested in.
Research current events in your study area and discuss your possible topics with your professors and classmates.
Avoid random topics that are not well-researched.

❓ What is a working title for a research paper?

To make a good research paper title, analyze your area of study and all the related current events. Discuss your possible topics with your classmates and professors to get their opinion on them. You can also use our research title maker for free.

❓ What is the title page of a research paper?

The title page of the research paper is the first paper of your work. It includes your name, research type, and other essential information about your research.

❓ How to title a research proposal?

The research proposal title should be clear enough to showcase your research. Think of a statement that best describes your work and try to create a title that reflects it.

🔗 References

Research Topics | Frontiers
Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper
Strategies for Selecting a Research Topic - ResearchGate
The First Steps: Choosing a Topic and a Thesis Supervisor
How to Pick a Masters Thesis Topic | by Peter Campbell

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How to Make a Research Paper Title with Examples

What is a research paper title and why does it matter?

A research paper title summarizes the aim and purpose of your research study. Making a title for your research is one of the most important decisions when writing an article to publish in journals. The research title is the first thing that journal editors and reviewers see when they look at your paper and the only piece of information that fellow researchers will see in a database or search engine query. Good titles that are concise and contain all the relevant terms have been shown to increase citation counts and Altmetric scores .

Therefore, when you title research work, make sure it captures all of the relevant aspects of your study, including the specific topic and problem being investigated. It also should present these elements in a way that is accessible and will captivate readers. Follow these steps to learn how to make a good research title for your work.

How to Make a Research Paper Title in 5 Steps

You might wonder how you are supposed to pick a title from all the content that your manuscript contains—how are you supposed to choose? What will make your research paper title come up in search engines and what will make the people in your field read it?

In a nutshell, your research title should accurately capture what you have done, it should sound interesting to the people who work on the same or a similar topic, and it should contain the important title keywords that other researchers use when looking for literature in databases. To make the title writing process as simple as possible, we have broken it down into 5 simple steps.

Step 1: Answer some key questions about your research paper

What does your paper seek to answer and what does it accomplish? Try to answer these questions as briefly as possible. You can create these questions by going through each section of your paper and finding the MOST relevant information to make a research title.

Step 2: Identify research study keywords

Now that you have answers to your research questions, find the most important parts of these responses and make these your study keywords. Note that you should only choose the most important terms for your keywords–journals usually request anywhere from 3 to 8 keywords maximum.

Step 3: Research title writing: use these keywords

“We employed a case study of 60 liver transplant patients around the US aged 20-50 years to assess how waiting list volume affects the outcomes of liver transplantation in patients; results indicate a positive correlation between increased waiting list volume and negative prognosis after the transplant procedure.”

The sentence above is clearly much too long for a research paper title. This is why you will trim and polish your title in the next two steps.

Step 4: Create a working research paper title

To create a working title, remove elements that make it a complete “sentence” but keep everything that is important to what the study is about. Delete all unnecessary and redundant words that are not central to the study or that researchers would most likely not use in a database search.

“ We employed a case study of 60 liver transplant patients around the US aged 20-50 years to assess how the waiting list volume affects the outcome of liver transplantation in patients ; results indicate a positive correlation between increased waiting list volume and a negative prognosis after transplant procedure ”

Now shift some words around for proper syntax and rephrase it a bit to shorten the length and make it leaner and more natural. What you are left with is:

“A case study of 60 liver transplant patients around the US aged 20-50 years assessing the impact of waiting list volume on outcome of transplantation and showing a positive correlation between increased waiting list volume and a negative prognosis” (Word Count: 38)

This text is getting closer to what we want in a research title, which is just the most important information. But note that the word count for this working title is still 38 words, whereas the average length of published journal article titles is 16 words or fewer. Therefore, we should eliminate some words and phrases that are not essential to this title.

Step 5: Remove any nonessential words and phrases from your title

Because the number of patients studied and the exact outcome are not the most essential parts of this paper, remove these elements first:

“A case study of 60 liver transplant patients around the US aged 20-50 years assessing the impact of waiting list volume on outcomes of transplantation and showing a positive correlation between increased waiting list volume and a negative prognosis” (Word Count: 19)

In addition, the methods used in a study are not usually the most searched-for keywords in databases and represent additional details that you may want to remove to make your title leaner. So what is left is:

“Assessing the impact of waiting list volume on outcome and prognosis in liver transplantation patients” (Word Count: 15)

In this final version of the title, one can immediately recognize the subject and what objectives the study aims to achieve. Note that the most important terms appear at the beginning and end of the title: “Assessing,” which is the main action of the study, is placed at the beginning; and “liver transplantation patients,” the specific subject of the study, is placed at the end.

This will aid significantly in your research paper title being found in search engines and database queries, which means that a lot more researchers will be able to locate your article once it is published. In fact, a 2014 review of more than 150,000 papers submitted to the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) database found the style of a paper’s title impacted the number of citations it would typically receive. In most disciplines, articles with shorter, more concise titles yielded more citations.

Adding a Research Paper Subtitle

If your title might require a subtitle to provide more immediate details about your methodology or sample, you can do this by adding this information after a colon:

“ : a case study of US adult patients ages 20-25”

If we abide strictly by our word count rule this may not be necessary or recommended. But every journal has its own standard formatting and style guidelines for research paper titles, so it is a good idea to be aware of the specific journal author instructions , not just when you write the manuscript but also to decide how to create a good title for it.

Research Paper Title Examples

The title examples in the following table illustrate how a title can be interesting but incomplete, complete by uninteresting, complete and interesting but too informal in tone, or some other combination of these. A good research paper title should meet all the requirements in the four columns below.

Tips on Formulating a Good Research Paper Title

In addition to the steps given above, there are a few other important things you want to keep in mind when it comes to how to write a research paper title, regarding formatting, word count, and content:

Write the title after you’ve written your paper and abstract
Include all of the essential terms in your paper
Keep it short and to the point (~16 words or fewer)
Avoid unnecessary jargon and abbreviations
Use keywords that capture the content of your paper
Never include a period at the end—your title is NOT a sentence

Research Paper Writing Resources

We hope this article has been helpful in teaching you how to craft your research paper title. But you might still want to dig deeper into different journal title formats and categories that might be more suitable for specific article types or need help with writing a cover letter for your manuscript submission.

In addition to getting English proofreading services , including paper editing services , before submission to journals, be sure to visit our academic resources papers. Here you can find dozens of articles on manuscript writing, from drafting an outline to finding a target journal to submit to.

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All in a name: How research paper titles can make or break

Writing style and grammar can affect an article’s citations.

Credit: CulturalEyes - AusSoc2/ Alamy Stock Photo

Writing style and grammar can affect an article’s citations.

21 December 2016

CulturalEyes - AusSoc2/ Alamy Stock Photo

The impact and influence of research papers can be adversely affected by long titles, too many authors and poor punctuation, new research has found.

A review of more than 150,000 papers submitted to the United Kingdom’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) database in 2014 found the style of a paper’s title impacted the number of citations it would typically receive. In most disciplines, articles with shorter, succinct titles had more citations. The analysis , published in the journal Scientometrics , suggests that writing styles can contribute to a paper’s overall impact.

John Hudson, the study’s author and a professor of economics from the University of Bath , said many academics published papers without giving much thought to the title, even though it is an important tool in catching readers’ attention. “I was interested in whether the style of the title had an impact on journal citations,” Hudson told the Nature Index, “I wanted to know whether this was a discernibly measurable aspect impacting on citations.”

Hudson used an econometric package program, STATA, and statistical modeling to examine the REF data. The results found that citations increased with titles that used colons, and declined with the use of question marks. “Evidently asking the reader a question is not an optimal strategy,” says Hudson.

Different strokes

Headline length and style varied with disciplines. For example, titles on public health articles were often longest, averaging 117 characters. This was followed by clinical medicine and agriculture. Philosophy and economics papers had the shortest titles. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of sociology papers had a colon in their title, compared to less than one in ten mathematics titles. “People working in that discipline will be influenced by what they read in journals and that includes the style of the title.”

Apart from title characteristics, Hudson found the number of authors on papers was much greater in the sciences than the social sciences, which were in turn higher than in the arts and humanities. “Even within the sciences there are substantial differences, with mathematicians tending to work in small groups, whilst clinical medicine often saw many more collaborators.”

Hudson’s previous research on economics papers found a link between papers with fewer authors and shorter titles, which had higher rates of citations. However, the impact of writing style on a paper’s citation rate over time is hard to measure, he says.

Getting your research noticed

Hudson says his work shows that it takes more than just high-quality research for a paper to reach its intended audience. “There are many black holes in excellent journals, such as papers with few citations. And equally there are many highly-cited papers in what people might think of as lesser journals,” he says.

“What matters most is the quality of the research and the paper. However, given that, if you have a high-quality output, why not do all you can to promote it.”

6 Important Tips on Writing a Research Paper Title

When you are searching for a research study on a particular topic, you probably notice that articles with interesting, descriptive research titles draw you in. By contrast, research paper titles that are not descriptive are usually passed over, even though you may write a good research paper with interesting contents. This shows the importance of coming up with a good title for your research paper when drafting your own manuscript.

Importance of a Research Title

The research title plays a crucial role in the research process, and its importance can be summarized as follows:

Why do Research Titles Matter?

Before we look at how to title a research paper, let’s look at a research title example that illustrates why a good research paper should have a strong title.

Imagine that you are researching meditation and nursing, and you want to find out if any studies have shown that meditation makes nurses better communicators. You conduct a keyword search using the keywords “nursing”, “communication”, and “meditation.” You come up with results that have the following titles:

Benefits of Meditation for the Nursing Profession: A Quantitative Investigation
Why Mindful Nurses Make the Best Communicators
Meditation Gurus
Nurses on the Move: A Quantitative Report on How Meditation Can Improve Nurse Performance

All four of these research paper titles may describe very similar studies—they could even be titles for the same study! As you can see, they give very different impressions.

Title 1 describes the topic and the method of the study but is not particularly catchy.
Title 2 partly describes the topic, but does not give any information about the method of the study—it could simply be a theoretical or opinion piece.
Title 3 is somewhat catchier but gives almost no information at all about the article.
Title 4 begins with a catchy main title and is followed by a subtitle that gives information about the content and method of the study.

As we will see, Title 4 has all the characteristics of a good research title.

Characteristics of a Good Research Title

According to rhetoric scholars Hairston and Keene, making a good title for a paper involves ensuring that the title of the research accomplishes four goals as mentioned below:

It should predict the content of the research paper .
It should be interesting to the reader .
It should reflect the tone of the writing .
It should contain important keywords that will make it easier to be located during a keyword search.

Let’s return to the examples in the previous section to see how to make a research title.

As you can see in the table above, only one of the four example titles fulfills all of the criteria of a suitable research paper title.

Related: You’ve chosen your study topic, but having trouble deciding where to publish it? Here’s a comprehensive course to help you identify the right journal .

Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper Title

When writing a research title, you can use the four criteria listed above as a guide. Here are a few other tips you can use to make sure your title will be part of the recipe for an effective research paper :

Make sure your research title describes (a) the topic, (b) the method, (c) the sample, and (d) the results of your study. You can use the following formula:

[ Result ]: A [ method ] study of [ topic ] among [ sample ] Example : Meditation makes nurses perform better: a qualitative study of mindfulness meditation among German nursing students

Avoid unnecessary words and jargons. Keep the title statement as concise as possible. You want a title that will be comprehensible even to people who are not experts in your field. Check our article for a detailed list of things to avoid when writing an effective research title .
Make sure your title is between 5 and 15 words in length.
If you are writing a title for a university assignment or for a particular academic journal, verify that your title conforms to the standards and requirements for that outlet. For example, many journals require that titles fall under a character limit, including spaces. Many universities require that titles take a very specific form, limiting your creativity.
Use a descriptive phrase to convey the purpose of your research efficiently.
Most importantly, use critical keywords in the title to increase the discoverability of your article.

Resources for Further Reading

In addition to the tips above, there are many resources online that you can use to help write your research title. Here is a list of links that you may find useful as you work on creating an excellent research title:

The University of Southern California has a guide specific to social science research papers: http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title
The Journal of European Psychology Students has a blog article focusing on APA-compliant research paper titles: http://blog.efpsa.org/2012/09/01/how-to-write-a-good-title-for-journal-articles/
This article by Kristen Hamlin contains a step-by-step approach to writing titles: http://classroom.synonym.com/choose-title-research-paper-4332.html

Are there any tips or tricks you find useful in crafting research titles? Which tip did you find most useful in this article? Leave a comment to let us know!

Hairston, M., & Keene, M. 2003. Successful writing . 5th ed. New York: Norton.
University of Southern California. 2017. Organizing your social sciences research paper: choosing a title . [Online] Available at: http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title

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I am doing a research work on sales girls or shop girls using qualititative method. Basicly I am from Pakistan and writing on the scenario of mycountry. I am really confused about my research title can you kindly give some suggestions and give me an approperaite tilte

Hi Zubair, Thank you for your question. However, the information you have provided is insufficient for drafting an appropriate title. Information on what exactly you intend to study would be needed in order to draft a meaningful title. Meanwhile, you can try drafting your own title after going through the following articles our website: https://www.enago.com/academy/top-10-tips-on-choosing-an-attractive-research-title/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/writing-a-good-research-title-things-to-avoid/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/ We would be happy to give you feedback and suggest changes if required. Did you get a chance to install our free Mobile App? https://www.enago.com/academy/mobile-app/ . Make sure you subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://www.enago.com/academy/subscribe-now/ .

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(I need your reply asap coz we will be doing the chap. 1 tomorrow. Thank u in advance. 🙂 )

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Hi Joan, Thank you for your question. We are glad to know that you found our resources useful. Your feedback is very valuable to us. You can try drafting your own title after going through the following articles on our website: https://www.enago.com/academy/top-10-tips-on-choosing-an-attractive-research-title/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/writing-a-good-research-title-things-to-avoid/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/

We would be happy to give you feedback and suggest changes if required. Did you get a chance to install our free Mobile App? https://www.enago.com/academy/mobile-app/ . Make sure you subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://www.enago.com/academy/subscribe-now/ .

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I need help. I need a research title for my study about early mobilization of the mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thank you for posting your query on the website. When writing manuscripts, too many scholars neglect the research title. This phrase, along with the abstract, is what people will mostly see and read online. Title research of publications shows that the research paper title does matter a lot. Both bibliometrics and altmetrics tracking of citations are now, for better or worse, used to gauge a paper’s “success” for its author(s) and the journal publishing it. Interesting research topics coupled with good or clever yet accurate research titles can draw more attention to your work from peers and the public alike. You can check through the following search results for titles on similar topics: https://www.google.com/search?q=early+mobilization+of+the+mechanically+ventilated+patients+in+the+icu&rlz=1C1GCEU_enIN907IN907&oq=&aqs=chrome.0.69i59.4920093j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 .

We hope this would be helpful in drafting an attractive title for your research paper.

Please let us know in case of any other queries.

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50 Useful Academic Words & Phrases for Research

Like all good writing, writing an academic paper takes a certain level of skill to express your ideas and arguments in a way that is natural and that meets a level of academic sophistication. The terms, expressions, and phrases you use in your research paper must be of an appropriate level to be submitted to academic journals.

Therefore, authors need to know which verbs , nouns , and phrases to apply to create a paper that is not only easy to understand, but which conveys an understanding of academic conventions. Using the correct terminology and usage shows journal editors and fellow researchers that you are a competent writer and thinker, while using non-academic language might make them question your writing ability, as well as your critical reasoning skills.

What are academic words and phrases?

One way to understand what constitutes good academic writing is to read a lot of published research to find patterns of usage in different contexts. However, it may take an author countless hours of reading and might not be the most helpful advice when faced with an upcoming deadline on a manuscript draft.

Briefly, “academic” language includes terms, phrases, expressions, transitions, and sometimes symbols and abbreviations that help the pieces of an academic text fit together. When writing an academic text–whether it is a book report, annotated bibliography, research paper, research poster, lab report, research proposal, thesis, or manuscript for publication–authors must follow academic writing conventions. You can often find handy academic writing tips and guidelines by consulting the style manual of the text you are writing (i.e., APA Style , MLA Style , or Chicago Style ).

However, sometimes it can be helpful to have a list of academic words and expressions like the ones in this article to use as a “cheat sheet” for substituting the better term in a given context.

How to Choose the Best Academic Terms

You can think of writing “academically” as writing in a way that conveys one’s meaning effectively but concisely. For instance, while the term “take a look at” is a perfectly fine way to express an action in everyday English, a term like “analyze” would certainly be more suitable in most academic contexts. It takes up fewer words on the page and is used much more often in published academic papers.

You can use one handy guideline when choosing the most academic term: When faced with a choice between two different terms, use the Latinate version of the term. Here is a brief list of common verbs versus their academic counterparts:

Although this can be a useful tip to help academic authors, it can be difficult to memorize dozens of Latinate verbs. Using an AI paraphrasing tool or proofreading tool can help you instantly find more appropriate academic terms, so consider using such revision tools while you draft to improve your writing.

Top 50 Words and Phrases for Different Sections in a Research Paper

The “Latinate verb rule” is just one tool in your arsenal of academic writing, and there are many more out there. But to make the process of finding academic language a bit easier for you, we have compiled a list of 50 vital academic words and phrases, divided into specific categories and use cases, each with an explanation and contextual example.

Best Words and Phrases to use in an Introduction section

1. historically.

An adverb used to indicate a time perspective, especially when describing the background of a given topic.

2. In recent years

A temporal marker emphasizing recent developments, often used at the very beginning of your Introduction section.

3. It is widely acknowledged that

A “form phrase” indicating a broad consensus among researchers and/or the general public. Often used in the literature review section to build upon a foundation of established scientific knowledge.

4. There has been growing interest in

Highlights increasing attention to a topic and tells the reader why your study might be important to this field of research.

5. Preliminary observations indicate

Shares early insights or findings while hedging on making any definitive conclusions. Modal verbs like may , might , and could are often used with this expression.

6. This study aims to

Describes the goal of the research and is a form phrase very often used in the research objective or even the hypothesis of a research paper .

7. Despite its significance

Highlights the importance of a matter that might be overlooked. It is also frequently used in the rationale of the study section to show how your study’s aim and scope build on previous studies.

8. While numerous studies have focused on

Indicates the existing body of work on a topic while pointing to the shortcomings of certain aspects of that research. Helps focus the reader on the question, “What is missing from our knowledge of this topic?” This is often used alongside the statement of the problem in research papers.

9. The purpose of this research is

A form phrase that directly states the aim of the study.

10. The question arises (about/whether)

Poses a query or research problem statement for the reader to acknowledge.

Best Words and Phrases for Clarifying Information

11. in other words.

Introduces a synopsis or the rephrasing of a statement for clarity. This is often used in the Discussion section statement to explain the implications of the study .

12. That is to say

Provides clarification, similar to “in other words.”

13. To put it simply

Simplifies a complex idea, often for a more general readership.

14. To clarify

Specifically indicates to the reader a direct elaboration of a previous point.

15. More specifically

Narrows down a general statement from a broader one. Often used in the Discussion section to clarify the meaning of a specific result.

16. To elaborate

Expands on a point made previously.

17. In detail

Indicates a deeper dive into information.

Points out specifics. Similar meaning to “specifically” or “especially.”

19. This means that

Explains implications and/or interprets the meaning of the Results section .

20. Moreover

Expands a prior point to a broader one that shows the greater context or wider argument.

Best Words and Phrases for Giving Examples

21. for instance.

Provides a specific case that fits into the point being made.

22. As an illustration

Demonstrates a point in full or in part.

23. To illustrate

Shows a clear picture of the point being made.

24. For example

Presents a particular instance. Same meaning as “for instance.”

25. Such as

Lists specifics that comprise a broader category or assertion being made.

26. Including

Offers examples as part of a larger list.

27. Notably

Adverb highlighting an important example. Similar meaning to “especially.”

28. Especially

Adverb that emphasizes a significant instance.

29. In particular

Draws attention to a specific point.

30. To name a few

Indicates examples than previously mentioned are about to be named.

Best Words and Phrases for Comparing and Contrasting

31. however.

Introduces a contrasting idea.

32. On the other hand

Highlights an alternative view or fact.

33. Conversely

Indicates an opposing or reversed idea to the one just mentioned.

34. Similarly

Shows likeness or parallels between two ideas, objects, or situations.

35. Likewise

Indicates agreement with a previous point.

36. In contrast

Draws a distinction between two points.

37. Nevertheless

Introduces a contrasting point, despite what has been said.

38. Whereas

Compares two distinct entities or ideas.

Indicates a contrast between two points.

Signals an unexpected contrast.

Best Words and Phrases to use in a Conclusion section

41. in conclusion.

Signifies the beginning of the closing argument.

42. To sum up

Offers a brief summary.

43. In summary

Signals a concise recap.

44. Ultimately

Reflects the final or main point.

45. Overall

Gives a general concluding statement.

Indicates a resulting conclusion.

Demonstrates a logical conclusion.

48. Therefore

Connects a cause and its effect.

49. It can be concluded that

Clearly states a conclusion derived from the data.

50. Taking everything into consideration

Reflects on all the discussed points before concluding.

Edit Your Research Terms and Phrases Before Submission

Using these phrases in the proper places in your research papers can enhance the clarity, flow, and persuasiveness of your writing, especially in the Introduction section and Discussion section, which together make up the majority of your paper’s text in most academic domains.

However, it's vital to ensure each phrase is contextually appropriate to avoid redundancy or misinterpretation. As mentioned at the top of this article, the best way to do this is to 1) use an AI text editor , free AI paraphrasing tool or AI proofreading tool while you draft to enhance your writing, and 2) consult a professional proofreading service like Wordvice, which has human editors well versed in the terminology and conventions of the specific subject area of your academic documents.

For more detailed information on using AI tools to write a research paper and the best AI tools for research , check out the Wordvice AI Blog .

Research Voyage

Research Tips and Infromation

05 Simple Tricks to Avoid Research Papers with the Same Name

Introduction

Reasons for research papers having the same name, search for similar titles, use a unique identifier, include middle initials or names, use a unique affiliation, communicate with other authors, can i change my paper title after publication due to name duplication, whether papers with the same name come under plagiarism.

In order for scientists to share their discoveries and improve knowledge in their fields, research papers are an essential component of the scientific community.

Research papers often go through a thorough peer-review procedure before being published in academic journals or conference proceedings to ensure their quality and validity.

Despite this stringent procedure, it is feasible for two research articles to share the same name. This can occur when two distinct sets of authors perform independent research on the same subject and use the same name for their works.

This article will examine the causes of research papers having the same name and offer suggestions for avoiding confusion.

If global research is undertaken, it is typical for various research teams to separately look into the same phenomenon or issue.

A study on a new drug’s impact on a certain disease, for instance, might have the same name as another study on the same drug-disease interaction, but it might be approached differently or employ different research methods.

A research article discussing a novel image compression technique, for instance, might share the same name as a paper discussing a related video compression algorithm in the discipline of computer science.

It can also occur when the authors of a publication publish the same work in another journal or conference under a new name or with a little revision.

Having the same name appear in multiple articles is a common occurrence that is not specific to any one field or discipline.

How can I make My Paper Easily Distinguishable?

It’s important to make your research paper easily distinguishable so that readers can find it easily. While having the same name as another paper is not necessarily a problem, it can make it more difficult for people to locate your article and increase the chances of them finding the other one instead. This could lead to missed opportunities for your work to be discovered.

Therefore, it’s recommended to choose an appropriate and distinctive title that will help readers locate and engage with your paper by reading the abstract.

I have written an article on Research Paper Title: 03 Simple Steps to Make it Easily Discoverable , which will guide you on how you can select appropriate titles for your research papers.

Avoiding the use of the same name for research papers before publication can be a challenge, especially in fields with many researchers and publications. Here are some steps you can take to minimize the risk of duplicate names:

Before finalizing a title for your research paper, search online databases to see if any other papers have similar titles. This will help you avoid using the same title as another paper and reduce the likelihood of confusion.

Many journals require authors to include a unique identifier such as an ORCID iD, ResearcherID, or Scopus Author ID when submitting a paper. This helps to differentiate authors with the same name and ensures that their work is correctly attributed.

Please visit my blog post on Why ORCID is Important for Research Scholars and Academicians? . In the blog post I have discussed about the importance of ORCID for research scholars.

Including middle initials or names in author, names can also help to differentiate between authors with the same name. For example, instead of using “John Smith” as the author’s name, you could use “John D. Smith” or “John David Smith”.

If you have a common name, including your affiliation in your author name can also help to differentiate your work from others with the same name. For example, instead of using “John Smith” as the author’s name, you could use “John Smith (University of XYZ)”.

If you discover that another author has the same name as you, consider reaching out to them to discuss how you can differentiate your work. You may be able to collaborate on joint projects or agree on different author names to avoid confusion.

By taking these steps, you can help to minimize the risk of using the same name for research papers before publication and ensure that your work is correctly attributed.

It depends on the policy of the journal and the particular circumstances. After an article has been published, certain journals could permit authors to modify the title, while others might not.

The journal editor should be contacted right once if the authors learn that their publication’s title is identical to one another work that has already been published. The editor will then assess the circumstances and decide whether the paper’s title needs to be modified.

If the journal permits title changes, the authors should take great care to select a new title that appropriately captures the essence of the article.

The authors should think about incorporating other information, such as the names of the authors or the year of publication when referring to their article in order to minimize confusion if the journal does not let the title be changed. They should also use the paper’s DOI, which can be used to uniquely identify a particular manuscript.

I have written an article on Research Paper Title: 03 Simple Steps to Make it Easily Discoverable . Please visit the blog post to understand how one can choose a persuasive and easily discoverable title for their research paper.

Research paper titles that are identical do not always amount to plagiarism. The misuse of another person’s ideas or works without giving due credit is known as plagiarism. It may involve paraphrasing without citing the source, copying text verbatim from another source, or passing off someone else’s work as your own.

However, it could be seen as academic dishonesty if the authors of a work purposefully use the same title as another article with the objective to mislead or deceive readers. It’s crucial to remember that in these situations, the authors shouldn’t exactly copy the title; instead, they should choose an alternative title that still captures the essence of the essay while differing from the original.

Additionally, it would be considered plagiarism if the authors purposefully used the same title and copied a significant amount of text, figures, tables, or ideas from another article without providing appropriate citations.

Authors should make sure that their study is original, as well as the title of their work, and they should provide credit where credit is due. Authors can prevent plagiarism and guarantee that their work is correctly recognized by adhering to standards.

I have written a blog post on The Consequences of Plagiarism: What You Need to Know ? Please go through the same to understand in-depth details of plagiarism and how to overcome the same.

It’s crucial to remember that, even though it is conceivable for two research articles to have the same name, there are steps you may take to prevent confusion. Readers and scholars can quickly identify and access certain publications by incorporating extra details like the names of the authors or the year of publication and by utilizing digital object identifiers (DOIs) .

Additionally, by picking a distinctive name for their articles or, if it’s possible, putting a differentiating feature in the name, writers can prevent name duplication. By doing these actions, authors can help to ensure that their paper has a distinctive title and that it is not already published work.

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Academic search engines have become the number one resource to turn to in order to find research papers and other scholarly sources. While classic academic databases like Web of Science and Scopus are locked behind paywalls, Google Scholar and others can be accessed free of charge. In order to help you get your research done fast, we have compiled the top list of free academic search engines.
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28 Best Academic Search Engines That make your research easier

#1. Google Scholar

#2. ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)

#3. Wolfram Alpha

#4. iSEEK Education

#5. BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine)

#7. Science.gov

#8. Semantic Scholar

#9. RefSeek

#10. ResearchGate

#11. DataONE Search (formerly CiteULike)

#12. DataElixir

#13. LazyScholar – browser extension

#14. CiteseerX – digital library from PenState

#15. The Lens – patents search

#16. Fatcat – wiki for bibliographic catalog

#17. Lexis Web – Legal database

#18. Infotopia – part of the VLRC family

#19. Virtual Learning Resources Center

#21. WorldWideScience

#22. Google Books

#23. DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

#24. Baidu Scholar

#25. PubMed Central

#26. MEDLINE®

Defunct Academic Search Engines

#28. Scizzle

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The top list of academic research databases

2. Web of Science

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Best Google Scholar Alternatives

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