Help
How to use EzyCite
From your first search to a fully mapped literature review — here's the step-by-step workflow.
Search for a topic or paper
Go to the home page and type a topic, paper title, author name, or paste a DOI directly into the search bar. Hit Enter.
Tip: Use semantic mode (toggle bottom-right of the search box) when you want to describe a concept rather than match exact keywords.
Browse results and open a paper
Results appear ranked by relevance. Click any paper to open a drawer showing its abstract, authors, journal, citation count, and open access status.
Tip: Click the external link icon to open the full paper on its publisher page or a free PDF when available.
Save papers to your library
Click the bookmark icon on any result or in the paper drawer to add it to your library. The counter in the top nav updates instantly.
Tip: Save at least 3–5 papers before building the graph — the more you add, the richer the citation network.
Explore the citation network graph
Go to Library. EzyCite automatically builds a force-directed graph from your saved papers. Each node is a paper — lines between nodes are citation links. Node size = influence (PageRank score).
Tip: Scroll to zoom, drag to pan, click any node to open that paper. Use Fit to reset the view.
Discover similar papers
Below the graph, EzyCite lists suggested papers discovered through bibliographic coupling — papers that share many of the same references as your saved ones. Add them to your library with one click.
Tip: Adding suggested papers and rebuilding the graph iteratively is the best way to find every important paper in a field.
Export your references
When you're ready, click Export at the bottom of your library. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, or RIS. Copy to clipboard or download as a file.
Tip: Use BibTeX or RIS for LaTeX / Zotero / Mendeley. Use APA or MLA for Word documents.
Cite while you write in Google Docs
Install the EzyCite add-on for Google Docs, generate an API token in Settings, and paste it into the add-on sidebar. Your whole library appears next to your document — place your cursor, click Cite, and the in-text citation is inserted in your chosen style (APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, or BibTeX). Click Insert Bibliography once and it keeps itself up to date as you add or remove citations.
Tip: Changing the style dropdown and clicking Apply converts every existing citation and the bibliography to the new style in one go.
Common questions
Can I import papers I already have in Zotero or Mendeley?
Export your library from Zotero or Mendeley as a .bib file, then click "or import BibTeX" on the home page or the Import BibTeX button in Library. EzyCite will look up each paper by DOI and add it automatically.
Why is a paper missing from the graph?
The graph uses up to 10 of your saved papers to build the network. If a paper has very few citation links in OpenAlex (common for very new or niche papers), it may appear as an isolated node with no connections.
My library disappeared — what happened?
If you were browsing without an account, your library lives in that browser's local storage — clearing browser data or switching devices loses it. Sign in with Google to sync your library to your account so it follows you across devices and into the Google Docs add-on.
How do I set up the Google Docs add-on?
Install EzyCite from the Google Workspace Marketplace, then go to Settings on ezycite.vercel.app and generate an API token. In any Google Doc, open Extensions → EzyCite → Open sidebar and paste the token. Your saved papers appear immediately — the token is shown only once, so copy it right away.
The Cite button doesn't insert anything in my document
Click inside the document text first so your cursor has a position, then click Cite. If the sidebar shows an 'Invalid token' message instead, generate a fresh token in Settings and reconnect.
Can I change citation style after I've already cited papers?
Yes. Pick a new style from the dropdown in the add-on sidebar and click Apply — every in-text citation in the document converts to the new style, and the bibliography regenerates to match. IEEE numbering also re-flows automatically when you remove a citation.
How do I search by DOI?
Paste the DOI directly into the search bar in any of these formats: bare DOI (10.xxxx/xxxxx), full URL (https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx), or with a prefix (doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx). EzyCite detects it automatically and skips to the exact paper.
What does semantic search do differently?
Boolean (default) search matches your exact keywords. Semantic search uses AI to understand the meaning of your query, expand it with related terms, and find papers that match the concept — even if they use different wording.