Complete SciIntel ResearchAI student guide: start, write, cite, finish

This is the full path from first login to a finished manuscript package. It is written for undergraduates and anyone new to SciIntel ResearchAI. Read it once, then use the shorter posts when you need one step only.

ResearchAI helps you structure, search, draft, cite, check, and export. You still own the ideas, the reading, and what you submit.

Chapter 1 — Words you will see (what each one means)

• Project — your research workspace (title, questions, sources, writing, export).
• Discovery — place to pick a research type and get title ideas, then create a project.
• Command Center (Command tab) — hub that shows stages and AI tools such as Structure idea and Structure questions.
• Overview — form where you save your research idea, research questions, objectives, hypotheses, and methods.
• Research question — the main question your study tries to answer. Keep it clear and specific.
• Objective — what you will do to answer the question (measure, compare, explore, and so on).
• Hypothesis — a testable prediction (use when your design needs one).
• Literature / Library — places to find, upload, and attach academic papers.
• Source — a paper or document attached to your project.
• RAI key — short citation ID like [RAI-000001] that ResearchAI uses inside drafts.
• Writing Studio — section-by-section writing with Save, AI draft, Improve, and Export.
• Research OS — richer workspace with modes: Mission, Write, Library, Cite, Review, Export, and more.
• Grounded draft — AI draft that tries to use your attached sources (not empty guessing).
• Integrity — checks that claims and citations look consistent. Not a university plagiarism tool.
• Submission — checklist and cover-letter prep. It does not send your paper to a journal for you.
• Zotero — popular reference manager. You can connect it and save or sync paper metadata.

Chapter 2 — Start the project (with or without Discovery)

Need a title? Sidebar → Discovery → choose research type (for example Final Year Project) → type your topic → Suggest titles → pick one → Create project.

Already have an approved title? Sidebar → Projects → type the title → Create project. Skip Discovery.

Chapter 3 — Turn the idea into research questions

• Open the project → Command tab (or sidebar Command Center).
• Optional: write a rough idea, then click Structure idea (this can save the idea).
• Click Structure questions. AI proposes primary and secondary questions.
• Important: copy the useful questions — they are proposed, not auto-saved.
• Open Overview → paste into Research questions (one per line) → Save changes.
• Add matching objectives in Overview so each question has a clear aim.

Chapter 4 — Build your library (get papers into the project)

• Literature (sidebar): upload a PDF or paste text → it is indexed and gets an RAI key.
• Sources tab (inside the project): Attach an existing library document, or Search and Import papers.
• Research OS → Library: search scholarly results, then Import + OA PDF, Metadata only, or Save to memory.
• Get more papers by searching again with a tighter query, importing more hits, uploading PDFs, or syncing from Zotero.

Tip: attach at least a few good papers before you ask AI to draft. Grounded drafting works better with real sources.

Chapter 5 — Draft with AI (Writing Studio and Research OS)

• Writing Studio: open a section → AI draft → read carefully → edit → Save. Use Improve for clarity, academic tone, concise, or expand.
• Research OS → Write: use Grounded draft for source-aware text, Continue here to extend, Suggest next for the next move, then Save.
• Never submit an AI draft unread. Fix facts, add your voice, and check every citation.

Chapter 6 — Put citations in from the library

• Best place: Research OS → Write → Cite (or Insert cite) to place an [RAI-…] key from attached sources.
• Grounded draft / AI draft can insert RAI keys when evidence is available.
• In classic Writing Studio you can also type the key yourself, for example [RAI-000001].
• Research OS → Cite formats bibliography styles. Citation Explorer helps look up keys.

Chapter 7 — Save and sync with Zotero

• Settings → Zotero → paste your Zotero API key and user ID → Connect Zotero (create keys at zotero.org/settings/keys).
• In Research OS → Library, on a search hit click Save to Zotero.
• Use Sync to project to pull Zotero items into SciIntel (metadata; PDFs may not come across).
• You can also paste BibTeX or RIS into Library import.

Chapter 8 — Finish the whole project (do not stop halfway)

• Keep writing section by section until Introduction, Methods, Results (if any), Discussion, and Conclusion are done.
• Integrity tab (or Research OS → Review): Run audit and Scan manuscript. Fix weak claims.
• Export from Writing Studio or Research OS → Export (DOCX, PDF, HTML, Markdown; Research OS also offers LaTeX).
• Journals tab: shortlist possible venues if you will publish.
• Submission tab: mark checklist items, draft cover letter, set status toward Ready / Submitted.
• Use Command Center stages to track where you are (Manuscript → Integrity → Submission).

Done means: questions saved, sources attached, sections written and reviewed, integrity checked, file exported, submission checklist complete.

The posts below go deeper on each chapter if you want smaller lessons.