lPreparing citations and reference lists in APA format can be a heavy workload for anyone writing an article, thesis, or monograph. In the past, the preparation and organization of references was done manually: each name, date, semicolon had to be carefully written, depending on the type of source used. This process consumed a lot of time and energy, especially when the research had more than a dozen bibliographic references.
Thanks to technological development, today there is a wide variety of applications, paid and free, that automate this entire process, making the search and management of references possible with a few clicks. One of them, and my favorite, is Paperpile, a modern application developed in 2012 by three computational biologists who sought to simplify the work of researchers.
Unlike other reference managers, Paperpile is made to work from the cloud and integrate with Google Docs, a complete text editor that can be used from any cell phone, tablet or computer. This translates into great benefits and cost savings: you get 15 GB free in Google Drive to store all the PDFs and resources necessary for research in the cloud. This will allow all your documents to be available from anywhere with an Internet connection and you will not depend on a single computer to work. By integrating with Google Docs, it is not necessary to purchase Microsoft Word to write the article or research, and you will gain access to the superior options that Google Docs offers such as text translation, editing and real-time collaborative work on the document.
How to add bibliography in Paperpile
It is very easy to install Paperpile. You just have to download its Chrome browser extension () and the application will automatically connect with your Google account to enable the option to make references from Google Docs.
Once installed, Paperpile will enable different methods for adding bibliography. These are the most important:
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- Extension button: Clicking the extension button will add the PDF or web page being reviewed.
- Add to Paperpile: This is a button that will appear next to addresses, books, PDFs and resources.
- Seeker: Paperpile also has a powerful bibliography search engine. By simply adding the author name, key term or DOI code, the application will connect to the most important scientific databases such as: PubMed, arVix (repository of pre-print research), Google Scholar, DeepDyve, INSPIRE, JSTORE, Paperpile Shared, Web of Science, ERIC, and will download all the information from the requested paper. The search engine is available from the Paperpile platform and from the menu within Google Docs.
- Importer: There is no need to start from scratch with Paperpile. You can import reference lists and folders from Mendeley, Zotero and EndNote in a few simple steps.
Once the research has been added, Paperpile will analyze each document and in a matter of seconds will add all the necessary bibliographic data (name, year, publisher, etc.) and download the document in PDF format to your Google Drive account.
In my experience, its reference search engine is much more powerful and agile than the Mendeley search engine. A few days ago I searched for research on the treatment of panic disorder and not only found the complete reference, but also downloaded the entire PDF from , the social network for researchers. This is something that none of the other reference managers have been able to do.
Paperpile also allows you to categorize papers into folders, subfolders, tags, and has the option to share specific folders with other researchers.
How to cite citations and compile a list of bibliographic references
To insert bibliographic citations you only need to click on the option insert quote or use the key combination (Windows: CTRL+ALT+P; on Mac: Command ⌘ + Shift + P) and type the author or title of the research. Paperpile will add the citation with the author’s name and the year of publication in the desired format, in our case APA format. One of the coolest features of Paperpile is that the insert quote Not only can you add references that were previously stored, but you can also search in real time for new references. This option is very useful when we have a document that could not be found by another application and demonstrates the superiority of Paperpile as a cloud application to search for information.
The best way to understand all this is with an example. I put together a video demonstrating the options the app has for adding in-text citations and how it compiles the reference list:
A few months ago when Alejandra and I were invited to collaborate on an investigation, our first option was to install Mendeley because it was the best-known application for this type of task, but we had to quickly abandon it due to its incompatibility with Google Docs and the limited reference search engine. that it offers. Paperpile was the answer to our research needs and is one of the most powerful reference search engines I have ever come across. This application can be an option not only for those who use Google Docs as their main text editor but also for Microsoft Word users, who can prepare all their references in Google Docs and then export it in Word to finish the formatting details and presentation.
Paperpile offers a full month trial and then offers an annual subscription of $35.88 (2.99 per month) a very affordable price for any student or researcher who wants to make their research work a little easier. By paying for this subscription you not only get access to one of the best reference management platforms, but you will also support a small team of researchers who have put all their effort into helping other researchers in the arduous but rewarding world of research.
to start testing it.
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