Welcome to Scholar Sync

What you need: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, or Opera browser.

1. Open your web browser (Chrome recommended).
2. Go to the Chrome Web Store by typing chrome.google.com/webstore in your address bar.
3. In the search box, type "Scholar Sync" and press Enter.
4. Find the Scholar Sync extension (purple icon) and click on it.
5. Click the blue "Add to Chrome" button.
6. A popup will appear—click "Add extension".
7. The Scholar Sync icon will appear in your toolbar (top right).
8. If you can't see it, click the puzzle piece icon (🧩) and pin Scholar Sync.

Your account uses two things: Your university email (so colleagues can find you) and a 4-digit PIN (to keep your account secure).

Setting up for the first time:

1. Click the Scholar Sync icon in your browser toolbar (look for the purple icon, or click the puzzle piece 🧩 to find it).
2. The popup will show a text box asking for your email.
3. Type your university or institutional email (e.g., john.smith@university.ac.uk).
4. Press Enter or click the confirm button.
5. You'll be asked to create a 4-digit PIN. Choose something memorable but not too obvious (avoid 1234 or your birthday!).
6. Enter your PIN again to confirm it.
7. You'll see a green "✓ Verified" badge appear—you're all set!

This is the easiest method. Scholar Sync automatically detects papers on academic websites.

Supported Academic Sites:

• arXiv - Preprints and research papers
• IEEE Xplore - Engineering and technology
• ACM Digital Library - Computer science
• Springer - Multi-disciplinary research
• MDPI - Open access journals
• Elsevier (ScienceDirect) - Major publisher
• Wiley - Scientific journals
• Nature & Science - High-impact journals
• Taylor & Francis - Social sciences and humanities
• PubMed/PMC - Medical and biomedical research
• JSTOR - Humanities and social sciences
• SAGE Journals - Social sciences

How to save a paper:

1. Go to any supported academic website and find a paper.
2. Open the paper's full page (click the title).
3. Look at the Scholar Sync icon in your browser toolbar—if the paper is detected, you'll see "Paper detected" when you click it.
4. Click the Scholar Sync icon. The popup will show auto-filled details including the title, authors, abstract, and more.
5. Rate the paper on three criteria: Clarity (how well-written), Impact (how significant), and Usefulness (how relevant to your work).
6. Tick "I've read this paper" if you've finished reading it.
7. Add your own notes in the text box—write down key findings, quotes, or why you saved it.
8. Choose which reading list to save it to from the dropdown menu.
9. Click "Save Paper" and it will appear in your dashboard immediately!

If automatic detection doesn't work, you can manually enter paper details.

1. While on any webpage (even if Scholar Sync doesn't detect a paper), click the Scholar Sync icon in your toolbar.
2. Click the "Details" tab at the top of the popup.
3. You'll see empty fields for paper information. Fill in whatever you know:
• Title: The paper's full title (required)
• Authors: List of authors, separated by commas
• Publication Date: When it was published
• Journal/Conference: Where it appeared
• DOI: Digital Object Identifier (if available)
• Abstract: Paper summary
• Keywords: Main topics covered
4. At minimum, you only need the Title. Everything else is optional but helps you find and organize papers later.
5. After entering details, switch back to the "Rate" tab.
6. Add your ratings (Clarity, Impact, Usefulness) and notes.
7. Select a reading list and click "Save Paper".

When Scholar Sync detects a paper on an academic website, it automatically detects comprehensive information so you don't have to type anything. Here's what it finds:

Core Information (Always Extracted):

• Title: The paper's full title, cleaned and formatted
• Authors: All authors listed on the paper
• Publication Date: When the paper was published
• Journal/Conference: Where the paper appeared
• DOI: Digital Object Identifier (if available)
• Paper URL: Direct link to the paper

Extended Details (When Available):

• Volume, Issue, Pages: Publication specifics for proper citation
• Publisher: Who published the journal or conference
• ISSN: International Standard Serial Number
• Abstract: The paper's full summary (cleaned and formatted)
• Keywords: Main topics and research areas
• Language: The paper's language
• Article Type: Whether it's a research article, review, conference paper, etc.

Want to see exactly what Scholar Sync found? Here's how:

1. When you're on a paper's webpage, click the Scholar Sync icon.
2. Look at the status message at the top:
• "Paper detected • Ready to save" (green dot ✅) - Scholar Sync successfully found the paper
• "No paper detected" (red dot ❌) - Scholar Sync couldn't find paper details on this page
3. If detected, click the "Details" tab to see everything that was extracted.
4. Scroll through the fields—you'll see title, authors, abstract, DOI, keywords, and more already filled in.
5. If something looks wrong, you can edit it directly in the Details tab before saving.

Reading lists help you organize papers by project, module, or topic. You can have as many as you need!

1. Open your dashboard (the main Scholar Sync web page).
2. In the left sidebar, look for the "My Papers" section.
3. Click the "Manage Lists" button below your list of reading lists.
4. You'll see all your existing lists displayed as cards.
5. Click the green "+ Create List" button at the top.
6. A popup appears asking for details:
• Name: Give it a clear name (e.g., "Dissertation Chapter 2", "Module 101 Readings", "Cybersecurity Papers")
• Privacy: Choose Public (🌍 anyone who follows you can see it) or Private (🔒 only you can see it)
7. Click "Create List".
8. Your new list immediately appears in the sidebar!

You can assign papers to multiple lists, making them appear in different places depending on your needs.

Method 1: From the Dashboard

1. Find the paper you want to move in your dashboard.
2. Click anywhere on the paper card to expand it and see more details.
3. Look for the "Move to List" dropdown button.
4. Click it and select the reading list you want to move (or add) the paper to.
5. The paper now appears in that list!

Method 2: When Saving a Paper

1. While saving a paper from the browser extension, look for the reading list dropdown in the popup.
2. The dropdown shows all your reading lists (📚 My Reading List, etc.).
3. Select the list you want, or choose "+ Create new list..." to make a new one on the spot.
4. The paper will be saved to your selected list(s).

You can change whether a reading list is public or private at any time.

1. Go to your dashboard and click "Manage Lists" in the sidebar.
2. Find the list you want to change. Each list shows a card with its name, privacy status, and paper count.
3. Look for the privacy toggle button:
• If it's currently Private (🔒), the button says "Make Public"
• If it's currently Public (🌍), the button says "Make Private"
4. Click the privacy toggle button.
5. The change happens immediately—you'll see the icon change from 🔒 to 🌍 (or vice versa).

Be careful—deleting a list is permanent!

1. Go to "Manage Lists" in your dashboard sidebar.
2. Find the list you want to delete.
3. Click the red delete button (🗑️) on the list's card.
4. A confirmation dialog will appear asking "Are you sure?"
5. Click "Yes, Delete" to confirm.
6. The list disappears from your sidebar immediately, and all papers in it are removed from that list (but papers aren't deleted—they remain in other lists or "All Papers").

Following other researchers lets you see their public reading lists and discover papers they find valuable.

1. Open your dashboard.
2. In the left sidebar, find the "Following" section.
3. Click "Manage Following".
4. A new view opens showing everyone you currently follow (if any).
5. Click the "+ Follow New User" button.
6. A popup appears asking for an email address.
7. Enter the researcher's email address. Important: They must already be using Scholar Sync for this to work!
8. Click "Follow User".
9. You'll see a green success message: "✅ Now following [their-email]".
10. Their name appears in your "Following" sidebar. Click it to see their public papers!

Shared lists are perfect for research groups, study teams, or collaborative projects. Everyone can add papers, rate them, and see each other's notes.

To create a shared list:

1. In your dashboard sidebar, find the "Shared Lists" section at the bottom.
2. Click the "+ Create Shared List" button (white plus icon).
3. A popup appears with several fields:
• Name: Give your shared list a clear name (e.g., "Research Group - Cybersecurity", "Study Group Papers")
• Add Collaborators: Enter the email addresses of people you want to add. You can add multiple emails separated by commas or spaces.
• Description: (Optional) Add a brief description of what this list is for
4. Click "Create List".
5. The list is created with a unique ID and appears in your "Shared Lists" section immediately.
6. All collaborators you added are automatically granted access.
7. To invite more people later, click on the list and select "Manage Sharing" to get the unique list ID and share it with others.

If someone has created a shared list and wants you to join, they'll give you a unique list ID. Here's how to use it:

1. Get the shared list ID from the person who created the list (usually a long string of letters and numbers, at least 10 characters).
2. In your dashboard, go to the "Shared Lists" section in the sidebar.
3. Click the orange "Join Shared List" button.
4. A popup appears asking for the list ID.
5. Paste or type the ID into the text box.
6. Click "Join List".
7. Scholar Sync checks if the ID is valid and if you're not already a member.
8. If successful, you'll see a confirmation message and the shared list appears in your sidebar immediately.
9. You now have full access to all papers in that list and can start adding your own!

BibTeX is a format used by reference managers and LaTeX. Scholar Sync makes it easy to export your papers for use in essays, theses, and research papers.

How to export:

1. Open your dashboard and navigate to the view you want to export:
• A specific reading list (e.g., "Dissertation Papers")
• "All Papers" to export everything
• A followed user's public papers
• A shared list
2. Look at the top bar of your dashboard—you'll see an "Export to BibTeX" button.
3. Click the button.
4. A .bib file automatically downloads to your computer.
5. The filename follows this pattern: scholarsync_[context]_[date].bib
   For example: scholarsync_dissertation_2025-12-18.bib

What's included in the export?

• Standard citation fields: title, authors, year, journal, volume, issue, pages
• Identifiers: DOI, ISSN, URL
• Rich content: abstract, keywords, language
• Your Scholar Sync ratings: clarity, impact, usefulness (stored as custom fields)

Using the exported file:

• With LaTeX: Place the .bib file in your project folder and reference it with \bibliography{scholarsync_...}
💡

Context-Aware Exports

Scholar Sync is smart about what you export. If you're viewing "My Reading List" and click export, only those papers are exported. If you're viewing all papers, everything exports. This helps you create targeted bibliography files for specific projects.

Scholar Sync has a separate add-in for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint that makes citing papers incredibly easy. It's not part of the Chrome extension—you need to install it separately from the Office Add-ins store.

First-time setup:

1. Open Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.
2. Go to the Insert tab in the ribbon.
3. Click "Get Add-ins" or "Office Add-ins".
4. Search for "Scholar Sync" in the store.
5. Click "Add" to install it.
6. The Scholar Sync button appears in your ribbon.

How to insert citations (2-click citing!):

1. Click the Scholar Sync button in the Word/PowerPoint ribbon.
2. A sidebar opens showing your entire paper library from Scholar Sync.
3. Use the search box to find the paper you want to cite (search by title or author).
4. Click the paper in the list—it highlights.
5. Click "Insert Citation".
6. A style picker appears—choose your citation style:
• APA (7th edition)
• Harvard
• MLA
• Chicago
• Vancouver
• ...and 2000+ more styles!
7. The citation appears at your cursor position, properly formatted.
8. Repeat for each paper you want to cite.

How to generate a bibliography:

1. After inserting all your citations, position your cursor where you want the bibliography (usually at the end).
2. In the Scholar Sync sidebar, click "Generate Bibliography".
3. Your complete reference list appears, formatted in your chosen citation style.
4. All papers you cited are automatically included.

Rate how clear and understandable the paper is:

• 1-2 stars (Red): Confusing, poorly structured, hard to follow the arguments or methodology.
• 3 stars (Amber): Acceptable but could be clearer. Some sections are harder to understand.
• 4-5 stars (Green): Well-written, clear methodology, easy to understand even for non-experts.

Rate how important this paper is to its field:

• 1-2 stars (Red): Incremental work, narrow scope, unlikely to influence future research.
• 3 stars (Amber): Solid contribution but not groundbreaking.
• 4-5 stars (Green): Major contribution, likely to be highly cited, advances the field significantly.

Rate how useful this paper is for YOUR specific research:

• 1-2 stars (Red): Not relevant to your work, won't cite it.
• 3 stars (Amber): Somewhat relevant, might reference it for background.
• 4-5 stars (Green): Highly relevant, will definitely cite, essential reading for your project.

Note: A paper can have high Impact but low Usefulness if it's excellent but not relevant to your specific research.