research topic tools

• 11 Best Blog Topic Research Tools (Free and Paid) + Tutorial

Written by Ankit Singla

3K Followers

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by Ankit Singla

Are you spending too much time searching for blog topic ideas?

Great blog topics are essential for success, but finding the right ideas can be challenging without the proper tools.

In this post, I’ll introduce you to the best blog topic research tools, both free and paid, based on over a decade of blogging experience.

Let’s go!

Blog Topic Research Tools

• Semrush (Paid)
• Mangools (Paid)
• LowFruits .io (Paid)
• Surfer (Paid)
• Reddit (Free)
• AnswerThePublic (Free)
• AlsoAsked (Free)
• Twitter (Free)
• Quora (Free)
• Search Response (Free)
• QuestionDB (Free)

1. Semrush (Paid)

Topic research with Semrush is an absolute pleasure since it provided me with tons of great content ideas over the years. The topics are also incredibly diverse, ranging from question-based ideas to eye-catching comparison titles. 

Let me show you how I use it.

To follow along, start by creating your free 14-day trial account if you haven’t already.

Log in to your account, select ‘Content Marketing,’ and click ‘Topic Research.’  

Enter a broad topic or keyword that’s relevant to the content you’re trying to create. For example, if you want to produce content about fishing, enter “ fishing tips ” or something similar.  

Choose your target country and click ‘Get content ideas’ to complete this step.

To “borrow” topic ideas from competitors, click ‘ Enter domain to find content on ‘ and enter your competitor’s blog URL. This will prompt Semrush to identify your competitor’s top-performing content.

Within seconds, Semrush will generate dozens of potential topic ideas based on your initial query. Each idea is sorted into cards, which contain the topic’s online traffic potential and headline templates you can use. 

If a particular topic catches your attention, click ‘Show more’ to reveal more useful insights. This includes additional headline ideas, the topic’s “ keyword difficulty ” rating, along with related questions and searches that will help readers understand your topic.

Want to get more topic ideas out of Semrush?

You can use the “ Mind Map ” view of the Topic Research tool to quickly discover interesting subtopics. This includes question-based topics and potential title ideas you can customize. 

To obtain topic ideas from competitors, Semrush lets you analyze their blogs for their most popular content. For this, go to ‘Organic Research’ from the main menu and enter your competitor’s domain. 

In the organic research report, you can check your competitor’s top pages and long-tail keywords. Both sections are great for discovering in-demand blog topic ideas .

Not sure how to turn long-tail keywords into blog topics? 

Here’s what I usually do. 

Let’s say I want to target the keyword “trout fishing tips.” I simply combine it with popular blog post title formats, like: 

• Top 10 Trout Fishing Tips for Beginners
• Trout Catching Ultimate Guide: Trout Fishing Tips You Need to Know
• Trout Fishing Tips and Tools for Rivers

Semrush is many things, but it’s not cheap (its entry-level plan costs $129.95 per month). The good news is, being a Master Blogging reader, you can use Semrush free for 14 days. 😉

2.  Mangools (Paid)

Mangools wins as my second favorite topic research tool. It offers three tools that can help you find great blog topics: SERPChecker , SiteProfiler , and KWFinder .

Looking for great topics that get high rankings?

SERPChecker by Mangools is a SERP analysis tool that evaluates popular content on Google.

To use it, log in to your Mangools account and select ‘SERPChecker’ from the main menu. 

Just enter a relevant search query, hit ‘Analyze SERP,’ and wait for SERPChecker to pull in the top-ranking results. 

In addition to popular content, SERPChecker also scrapes useful information to help you prioritize the hottest topics from the best websites, like Domain Authority (DA), total number of backlinks, featured snippets, and more. 

You can also get content topic ideas straight from competitors through SiteProfiler. This is the Mangools version of Semrush’s Organic Research tool, which can scan your competitor’s website for top-performing content ideas.

From your Mangools dashboard, click ‘SiteProfiler’ from the main menu and enter your competitor’s domain URL. 

Scroll down to the ‘Top content’ section to find your competitor’s best posts. 

Feel free to use these topics for your own blog or combine them with original ideas to create something better. 

Lastly, you may use KWFinder to obtain long-tail keyword ideas, which you can easily convert into blog post topics. Just head to ‘KWFinder’ from the main menu, enter a keyword or broad topic, and click ‘Find keywords.’ 

Within seconds, you’ll find dozens of long-tail keyword ideas you can use to create blog post topics. 

Just like Semrush, Mangools is a premium tool that requires a monthly subscription. You can check their different plans and prices here . 

Luckily, you can save almost $10 per month on a basic subscription using my 20% Mangools discount code.

3. LowFruits.io (Paid)

Find blog topic ideas that are easy to rank using LowFruits — a keyword research tool specifically built to find easy-to-target keywords.

I used this tool to elevate the rankings of my own posts on Google’s second page, which were eventually bumped to the first page and now generate a steady stream of organic traffic.

To use LowFruits for topic research, log in to your account and head to the ‘KWFinder’ from the main dashboard. 

Enter a “ seed keyword ,” which is any phrase or word relevant to the topic you want to research, and click ‘Find keywords.’ 

Once the initial research is complete, click the ‘Access’ button to reveal potential topic ideas around your seed keyword.

LowFruits starts you off with a list of topic ideas that can be baked straight into your headlines. For example, the seed keyword “fishing tips” will get you the following: 

LowFruits also helps evaluate the popularity of topics by tracking important metrics, such as their estimated monthly search volume , average word count , and Cost Per Click (CPC) . The analysis also explores the topic’s “ weak spots ” or topics that are easy to dominate in search engine results. 

To run a topic analysis, select the check boxes of the topics you want and click the ‘SERP Extract and Analyze’ button in the bottom toolbar. 

Content topics are automatically sorted by LowFruits based on the number of “weak spots” in search engine results. These pertain to content with low-medium DA, forum threads, or social media posts — all of which don’t prioritize SEO. 

In other words, these are topics where you can easily outrank your competitors. Prioritize these topics and create content with SEO in mind to gain rankings.  

To find other low-competition topics, you can filter out topics that websites with a low DA rank for. Just click ‘DA < 10’ or ‘DA <20’ in the filters toolbar. 

To find topics that align with your target audience’s objectives (make a purchase, compare products, etc.), use the search intent filter. Choose between high-intent, pre-purchase, post-purchase, and comparison to find the right topics for your goal.

For even more topics, expand on your current topic and find subtopics by checking the ‘Suggestions’ and ‘Questions’ tabs. 

4. Surfer (Paid)

Surfer lets you combine topic research and content optimization into a single, seamless workflow. I’m particularly impressed with its powerful AI writing assistant, which is capable of instantly generating ideas for content sections, headings, and keywords for content.

To find topics with Surfer, go to ‘Keyword Research’ from the main menu. 

Enter a seed keyword and click ‘Create Keyword Research’ to generate relevant topic clusters (groups of posts about subtopics linked to a “pillar page,” which is about the main topic).

Let’s say your seed keyword is “WordAI.” Here are some of the topic ideas you can obtain from Surfer.

As an added bonus, Surfer also includes useful metrics like the topic’s monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, and audience intent. These metrics will help you handpick topics that have the most traffic potential. 

My favorite Surfer feature is the “ Content Editor ,” which is accessible directly from Google Docs via a browser add-on. This lets you access most of its useful features for content creation, including suggested keywords, heading ideas, and the AI writing assistant. 

Surfer also lets you find topics that perform well in SEO through “ SERP Analyzer. ” This will help you find more topics based on common phrases, questions, and — of course — the Google search results.

5. Reddit (Free)

Reddit is a goldmine of community-driven topic ideas. My approach is to use specific search operators on Google. 

First, look for a subreddit related to your niche. Simply use the search bar, enter your main topic, and look for communities from the suggestions.

Once you find a relevant subreddit, copy its URL. 

On Google use the “site:” search operator, paste the subreddit’s URL, and enter keywords to quickly find topic ideas. 

For example, use the search query below to find topic ideas from the “r/Fishing” subreddit:

Find various topic ideas by experimenting with different keywords. Don’t forget to visit the actual Reddit post to gain insights on the kind of information readers want to see. 

6. AnswerThePublic (Free)

AnswerThePublic is a unique topic research tool that focuses on finding question-based content ideas. 

All I have to do is launch AnswerThePublic, enter 1-2 words, pick a target country, set a language, and click ‘Search.’ 

AnswerThePublic extracts all the relevant questions asked by users around the specified topic. You can then easily convert these questions into articles that provide the answers. 

By default, AnswerThePublic suggestions appear using mind map visualizations. If I want to know more about the topic, I simply click a question to load the search results and take inspiration from the top pages. 

For example, if I click “how to get better at fishing,” Google will take me straight to these results:

7. AlsoAsked (Free)

AlsoAsked is a good alternative to AnswerThePublic for topic research. It scans Google for “People Also Ask” questions and compiles them into a single list—making it easier to choose relevant blog topics. 

You can go deeper by clicking the ‘Plus’ icon next to any question. For example, let’s click the ‘Plus’ button next to “How do you catch big fish?”

This prompts AlsoAsked to collect more related questions, which you can use as topics for your blog. 

8. Twitter (Free)

To find trending topic ideas, I occasionally tap into the latest discussions on Twitter — now rebranded as “X.”

After creating an account, run a search using a keyword or hashtag to start looking for topic ideas. Scroll down the results to find popular topics or switch to the ‘Latest’ tab to find trends you can cover in your blog. 

Twitter is perfect for finding newsworthy topics that can capture your target audience’s attention. But if you’re looking for more “ evergreen ” topics, consider attaching informational keywords like “ tutorial ,” “ tips ,” or “ guide ” to your search query. 

9. Quora (Free)

For question-based topic ideas, one of the best places to scan would be Quora . Its advanced search feature automatically pulls up topic and question recommendations while you type.

To identify popular topics on Quora, look for posts with more “ upvotes ” than other results. 

It also helps to inspect posts with a high number of comments to discover ideas, tools, resources, and valuable insights from the community. 

Also Read : How To Get Traffic To Your Blog From Quora?

10. Search Response (Free)

Search Response features a collection of tools built for topic research and SEO content planning. 

Let me ask you a question, have you seen “ People Also Ask ” and “ People Also Searched For ” sections in Google search results?

I’m talking about these:

These are the topic ideas that Search Response extracts.

Just pick the right tool from Search Response’s homepage. For example, if you want to obtain topics from “People Also Ask” suggestions, click ‘Go To PAA Tool.’

From there, just enter a seed keyword like “fishing tips” and click the magnifying glass icon. 

Search Response will provide you with a list of questions you can use as blog topics.

To help you choose topics, Search Response includes useful metrics like monthly search volume, CPC, and search volume trend. 

To analyze topic ideas in bulk, Search Response lets you export results as CSV files. Or, just click on the column headers to quickly sort topics based on a specific metric. 

11. QuestionDB (Free)

QuestionDB is another topic research tool that focuses on questions that internet users ask. I have recently discovered this tool, but I’m already impressed by its ability to generate tons of topic ideas and simple, clutter-free interface. 

To conduct topic research with QuestionDB, enter a seed keyword or phrase and click ‘Generate.’ 

You should get enough questions to fuel your content ideation process for weeks. 

Although QuestionDB works fast and provides a ton of topic ideas, you need the paid version to unlock the search volume and difficulty metrics. These pieces of data are crucial for determining the best topics to cover for getting more traffic or attaining higher search engine rankings

As a workaround, I use it alongside a standalone keyword research tool like Ubersuggest or Keyword Magic Tool by Semrush. This way, I don’t have to miss out on QuestionDB’s compelling topic ideas and Semrush’s content research capabilities.

Here’s what I do…

On QuestionDB’s results page, click ‘Download’ to save a copy of the question ideas.

Open the downloaded file using a spreadsheet app (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) and copy the entire first column. This is the column that contains your question-based topics.

Moving on to Semrush, go to ‘Keyword Manager’ from the main menu and click ‘create a regular list’ to continue.

Give your keyword list a name and click ‘Create list.’ When done, click ‘Add keywords’ in the top-right corner.

This will open a pop-up window where you can manually add your question ideas.

Next, paste your QuestionDB results into the keyword field.

Lastly, click ‘Add keywords’ and wait for Keyword Manager to pull in the data. Your new report should now have valuable metrics that will help you find profitable topics for your blog.

Final Words

There are tons of ways to uncover great topic ideas for your blog. And, in most cases, it’s all about using the right tools. 

The list above contains my go-to topic research tools for bloggers. It keeps me supplied with fresh, attention-grabbing topics that not only get traffic, but also provide my audience with valuable information. 

Overall, I highly recommend choosing at least one paid tool like Semrush, Mangools, and Surfer for topic research. 

You can start today without spending a single cent using Semrush’s 14-day free trial offer .

Using a paid topic research tool will also uncover metrics that help you pick profitable ideas for your blog. This includes search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent. 

Of course, you can use as many free topic research tools as you want. However, as I demonstrated with QuestionDB, it’s still a good idea to combine free tools with a paid one for effective topic research.

Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting us.

Ankit Singla

Ankit Singla is a full-time blogger, YouTuber, author, and public speaker. He founded and leads Master Blogging . With over 13 years of blogging expertise, he has assisted numerous aspiring bloggers in achieving their dreams of creating successful blogs.

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The 11 Best Blog Topic Research Tools To Find Great Content Ideas in 2024

L ooking for the best blog topic research tools?

There are a wealth of options available to you, and I know that can also cause decision fatigue. Don’t worry—I’ve been in the blogging space for over a decade and have tested nearly every blog topic/keyword research tool you can find.

In this guide, I’ll share with you 11 different free and paid options I’ve had success with and describe how you, too, can use them in your blogging journey to rank and grow your audience.

Let’s get started!

In This Guide:

• 1. Semrush – An all-in-one premium tool with a database of 25 billion keywords for topic research.
• 2. WPBeginner Keyword Generator – A free keyword ideas tool helping you to organize ideas into sections.
• 3. Ahrefs – A popular SEO tool with premium features like Content Explorer for quick topic analysis.
• 4. AnswerThePublic – A freemium tool that help you generate tons of questions relating to your content ideas.
• 5. BuzzSumo – A Content Analyzer shows popular content for social media inspiration.
• 6. Keyword Tool – A tool generates long-tail keywords for free, but with limited data visibility.
• 7. Ubersuggest – A limited but popular free keyword research and competitor analysis tool.
• 8. Google Trends – Access insights into search term popularity for timely topics.
• 9. Quora – A free platform to discover questions for blog topic inspiration.
• Bonus: HubSpot Blog Idea Generator – A free tool that offers basic topic suggestions.
• Bonus: MonsterInsights – An awesome freemium tool that helps you analyze your blog’s performance to refine topic ideas.

The 11 Best Blog Topic Research Tools

When starting a blog , you need to come up with many topics.

After all, success in the SEO game typically involves throwing a bunch of topics at a wall and seeing what sticks (see our guide on keyword research for beginners ). Just note that you should always target topics that appeal to your audience and be able to provide answers and solutions to their questions and problems.

But if you have trouble figuring out what topic to write about, these blog topic research tools will help you easily generate ideas that interest your readers.

1. Semrush : Best Paid Blog Topic Research Tool

Semrush is one of the best tools on the market for performing keyword research, checking how well your blog posts are ranking , doing competitor research, and much more.

And with the biggest database of keywords on the market (25 billion keywords in fact), you can also use Semrush to easily research topic ideas for your blog.

With Semrush’s Topic Research Tool, you can type in a topic to automatically generate tons of information and ideas around it. Here’s a great video to help you out!

In the example below, we typed in the topic “fitness” and hit the Get content ideas button. Then, the tool displays “cards” of relevant content topics found on the web.

You can click on each card to view more helpful information like the best-performing articles for that topic, headline ideas , “People also ask” questions, and related searches.

Using the Keyword Magic Tool, you can also figure out what keywords people are searching for related to your topic.

Here, we entered the topic “best cardio workout” into the Keyword Magic Tool:

We got a list of relevant terms that people are searching the web for, along with the volume, keyword difficulty, and other important data.

2. WPBeginner Keyword Generator Tool (Free)

WPBeginner Keyword Generator is a completely free tool that lets you easily discover new keywords and topic ideas for your blog.

All you need to do is enter your main topic keyword into the tool and hit the ‘Analyze’ button. Then, the tool will generate 300+ new keyword ideas that people are searching for in Google, related to your topic.

You can browse the list of keyword ideas, which are organized into 3 sections:

• Alphabet  – Alphabetical list of related keywords that people search for in Google.
• Prepositions  – Related keywords that include prepositions like can, near, is, to, etc.
• Questions  – Related long tail keywords in the form of questions.

You can also download the list of keywords as a CSV file to use in a spreadsheet software like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.

The best part is that you don’t need to create an account to use the WPBeginner Keyword Generator and there are no daily limits

WPBeginner also offers other free tools, including a Blog Idea Generator , Keyword Density Checker , Website SEO Analyzer , and more.

3. Ahrefs (Paid)

Ahrefs is another premium, popular SEO tool that lets you track and optimize your search engine rankings. It has features like a site explorer, keyword explorer, blog auditor, and more.

There’s also a Content Explorer feature that will help you generate new topic ideas quickly. Simply enter a topic idea into the search field, and the Content Explorer will find and analyze the top-performing blog content related to your topic.

You can sort the results by organic traffic, referring domains, domain rating, social shares, and traffic value.

With each result, you can also dive into more details like the word count, backlinks , and organic keywords. All of these insights will help you improve your blogging strategy and general content creation process to beat your competitors.

4. AnswerThePublic (Limited Free)

AnswerThePublic is a keyword tool that will give you content ideas in the form of questions.

Enter a topic you want to search for, and this tool will display search questions and suggested autocomplete searches in the form of a visual cloud, like in the example below.

Aside from questions, you can also view results for prepositions, comparisons, alphabeticals, and related searches.

When it’s challenging to come up with fresh blog topic ideas , knowing the questions and keywords your readers search in Google can be a goldmine of information. Not only does it allow you to get to know your audience better, but it also helps you find blog topics you can use to answer their questions and provide solutions to their problems.

5. BuzzSumo (Limited Free)

BuzzSumo offers a Content Analyzer tool that will show you what content related to your topic is getting the most shares on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.

This is useful because when you learn which blog posts in your niche are the most popular topics for readers, it will help you come up with ideas that are also likely to perform well on social media .

You can filter the results by a certain time period, such as the past 6 months, quarter, month, week, and 24 hours.

And if you have a YouTube channel , BuzzSumo also has a YouTube Content Analyzer that will pull the top videos related to your topic so you can study the competition and get new ideas.

6. Keyword Tool (Limited Free)

Keyword Tool is a free keyword planner that helps you find relevant keywords and topic ideas to use for your blog.

This tool uses Google Autocomplete to generate up to 750 long-tail keywords for every search term, so you have plenty of content ideas to sift through without paying a dime. You don’t need to create an account to use this tool, either. As soon as you start typing keywords, it will display relevant suggestions.

Aside from Google, you can also search for keywords from Bing, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, Instagram , and more.

But you aren’t able to see important data like search volume. For that, you would have to upgrade to a paid plan.

7. Ubersuggest (Limited Free)

Ubersuggest is another free keyword research tool that allows you to look up different keywords and spy on your competitors.

When you enter your keyword, Ubersuggest will display a list of ideas related to it. You can see the volume, trend, SEO difficulty, and more, for each keyword.

You can view the Google Search Results for each keyword as well, which will show you which websites and articles are ranking in the first 10 positions.

It also has a Content Ideas section that displays content from across the web with high social media shares. You can use these articles and headlines for inspiration.

With Ubersuggest, you only get 3 free searches a day. For more searches and features, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium plan.

8. Google Trends (Free)

Google Trends is a free data exploration tool that analyzes the popularity of search queries in Google. It tells you what search terms are popular across various regions, languages, and time periods so you know what’s trending in your industry.

You can even compare different search terms to see which topic is more popular:

This tool is a great way to gain insight into what people are searching for and what trends they’re interested in at the moment. Then, you can apply these trends to your content marketing strategy and create blog posts that are relevant and timely.

Along with keyword trends, you can also view the trends for images , videos, stories, and even Google shopping.

If you like to write about current or seasonal topics that are time-sensitive in nature, then Google Trends is a great option for you.

9. Quora (Free)

Quora is a popular question-and-answer platform where users can ask anything they want and receive answers from other users.

Because it’s full of questions, it’s a great method for generating helpful topics for your blog. You can see questions asked by your target audience, so you know what they’re curious about and what they need help with.

For example, if you run a blog that’s all about WordPress , you can find out what WordPress beginners are struggling with and create blog posts to answer their questions.

Plus, by setting up a Quora profile and answering users’ questions, you can establish yourself as an authority in your industry. And if you optimize your bio and profile, you can promote your blog and drive more traffic to your site.

Bonus: HubSpot Blog Idea Generator (Limited Free)

HubSpot Blog Idea Generator is a free topic idea generator that instantly produces ideas when you enter a keyword or keywords.

You can add up to 5 nouns in the search field. You’ll then receive a week’s worth of potential blog post ideas (5 ideas) with headlines chosen by the platform that are likely to perform well in search. It’s pretty basic but it’s enough to get your creative juices flowing.

If you want to get a year’s worth of blog post ideas from the HubSpot Blog Idea Generator, then you’ll need to create an account.

Bonus: MonsterInsights (Free + Paid)

MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. It’s trusted by 3,000,000+ professionals to monitor their website’s performance and collect valuable insights to grow their business. The best part about this plugin is that you can view these important analytics right from your WordPress dashboard.

So, how does MonsterInsights help you come up with blog topic ideas that will convert?

With this plugin, you can see what content on your blog already performs well so you can continue creating similar, relevant topics you know will resonate with your readers.

For example, if one of your top-performing posts is a tutorial on how to start a photography blog , you can expand on that topic by coming up with subtopics related to it. Since your readers loved the original post, they’re likely to enjoy your new posts on the subject too.

MonsterInsights also gives you a ton of other valuable information that will help you learn more about your website visitors and what they’re looking for so you can keep them coming back.

You can view metrics like what outbound links get the most clicks, what keywords users searched for, the top-performing affiliate links, and much more.

When researching topic ideas for your blog, it’s essential to know what’s currently performing well on your website and what isn’t so that you can make the necessary changes and continue to improve your blogging strategy .

Note: You can get started with the free version of MonsterInsights . For more advanced features, you can upgrade to the Pro version .

Why Should You Research Topics for Your Blog?

In case you need a friendly reminder, here are some of the keys to keep in mind as you research topics, and why the process is so important. 

• Attract the Right Audience. If you write general topics that appeal to anyone and everyone, you’ll fail to build a solid, niche audience that keeps coming back. Researching topics allows you to create content that resonates with your readers and helps them trust your brand for solutions and information.
• Learn What Your Readers Want. Keyword research and blog topic research tools allow you to see what keywords, phrases, and questions your audience types into search engines. This helps you create relevant content that your readers are already interested in, which will help you drive more targeted traffic to your blog and boost conversions.
• Improve SEO. You have a higher chance of ranking in search engines if you use the right keywords and phrases in your content. Most blog topic research tools will help you find the keywords that can help your blog reach the first page of Google and other search engines.

Now that we know the main benefits of researching blog topics, let’s dive into the tools that will make this process easier.

Instead of having to search the internet far and wide to figure out topic ideas that will convert, you can use these blog topic research tools to get instant ideas.

Best Blog Topic Research Tools in Closing

That’s a wrap!

We hope these blog topic research tools will help you discover a ton of new content ideas that perform well with your readers.

Feel free to also check out our guide on how to write a blog post . It’s packed with expert tips on how to write a blog post that converts.

And while you’re here, sign up for our email newsletter  so you can get helpful content like this sent right to your inbox!

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i like that quora .it is a popular question and answers basement where users are asking any question they want receive from another users . thanks for sharing this post.

very Informatic blog keep posting

Thank you for great content. I will also share with my friends.

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• Search Engine Optimisation

6 Best Topic Research Tools

The best topic research tools should be easy to use and offer suggestions or insights within a few clicks.

Topical SEO  is what drives the growth of a website’s  topical authority . Keywords are still alive but topics are what search engines use to index and rank web pages, for the most part, today. In order to improve your  content depth , your focus topics must be carefully chosen and written about. This is where  topic research tools  come in handy.

Nowadays,  keyword research tools  are very easily available and with some tweaking, most can be used for topic research, too. Yet, they may be a little too literal and intentionally too close to the initial seed phrase. Topics are broader concepts with a  keyword universe  sitting right under. Remember that topics are abstract subject matters expressed using keywords — therefore, topics and keywords work together, not against each other!

The  best topic research tools  should be easy to use in a few clicks. Generally, you type in your core topic and expect key phrases, questions, and other related topics in return. Some keyword research tools are real-time and fast, while others take a tad more time but provide more accurate results.

1. Keyword Planner

Google is by far the best search engine ever, but it is also an advertising machine. The giant has gathered so much insight from search queries and the trillions of web pages indexed that they have its own tool for topic research. Using  Keyword Planner  is very easy since their recent 2018 update.

Type in one or a group of topic ideas into the search box, and  instantly receive a list of related sub-topics and key phrases to write about  (or advertise against). And, this tool is virtually free — you just need to have topped up your Google Ads account, even for a dollar!

The only con with this tool is that the suggestions will often be very close variations of the seed topic. So it remains very narrow. See the screenshot below, I entered  Caffeine  and most suggestions contain the word  caffeine  in them. Although this was to be expected, we do not want to stuff our content with a single core word. There are still some welcomed variations such as  Coffee  or inflections like  caffeinated . Remember that using a wide range of terms helps with boosting your topic coverage.

2. WikiBrowser

Our free topical research tool! WikiBrowser allows you to  visualize Wikipedia pages in a truly refreshing manner . We remove all textual content to focus on related Wikipedia pages. Indeed, a given topic is defined by the keywords used to express it, but even more so by the topics it is a neighbor of.

Little aside here: topic neighbors are how modern algorithms like classifiers find topics. They put all concepts in a three-dimensional matrix (vector space) and see which ones are close to each other.  German Shepherd  and  Dog  would obviously be closer than  Dog  and  Computer .

This tool makes total sense. Type the page name, hit enter, and visualize what truly matters when you are doing your topic research:

• a topic’s thesaurus-like outline
• a list of ranked concepts
• keywords pertaining to the topic

Overview of our popular WikiBrowser, one of the best free topic research tools out there!

For instance, if you want to be authoritative on the topic of  German Shepherds , you must also discuss the  Herding Group  it belongs to,  Search-and-Rescue  tasks and training, as well as  Police dogs  and many other related subjects.

3. Also Asked

AlsoAsked  is a  free keyword research tool  with an inexpensive generous pro plan that scours the web searching for questions related to a given seed keyword. It is a great way to come up with dozens of topically-relevant questions and select a few to add to existing or future blog posts. Additionally, such questions are great new content ideas as some may be so broad that they can become new pieces of content in their own right.

People tend to use real questions in order to find answers, as opposed to simple keywords. For instance, a person could use queries such as “What are the differences between arabic and robusta coffee beans?“. Google tends to show  featured snippets with a short answer  to whatever question was asked by the user.

When you write a blog post or a  content brief , you want to find the most relevant questions you could include in the article to featured in these above-the-fold answer boxes. They are a huge driver of traffic (they appear above the #1 result), and shouldn’t be ignored.

4. Answer The Public

When you know the key phrases you want to cover,  Answer The Public  gives you search engines’  autosuggest data in a stunningly visual way . So once you submit your topic, it automatically calls Google servers (it takes a few seconds), and then displays common questions, and other search queries associated with your seed topic. Some topics really yield no results like  topical authority  (how sad, ha!) but others will get you hundreds of hits.

Check it out, it is a cool way to find some common questions to answer within the body of your blog post, or even pick some questions and answer them with a full article each. There is no search volume data on  Answer The Public , but you can export the data as or spreadsheet, to then copy and paste it on Google Ads Keyword Planner to get the historical search volume for each suggestion.

The data is sorted by question tag (what, how, which, who, when, where, etc) but there are also suggestions that are preposition-based. This is an overall helpful tool for common topics. You could complete the data yourself by typing your phrase on Google and look at the recommended searches, the “People also ask” box, and so on. All the contextual data from your search helps you understand what people want to know, so you can better cover it in your blog post.

5. sense2vec

Topical SEO is so new because algorithms required to detect topics within textual content have only been perfected recently. Before, such algorithms were somewhat inaccurate and tremendously hungry in terms of computing power. Sense2vec is one of those algorithms and a tool has been provided by the machine learning company  explosion.ai .

Sense2vec is both a  natural language processing method of discovering topics , but also a topic research tool if you want to  use their demo . It’s totally free and although not designed or built for SEO purposes, it does the job!

In their own words, the sense2vec demo “read every comment posted to Reddit in 2015 and built a semantic map”. What does that mean exactly? Well, without getting into too many details, the algorithm read all Reddit comments and extracted the main keywords ( noun phrases  mainly). But each time, the algorithm looked at the closest neighbors and took such factor into consideration when building the knowledge graph.

So when you type in a topic name or keyword, the application finds the associated entity in the model and  returns all the co-occurring neighbors that were found in these millions of Reddit comments . Because it is based on a huge amount of data, noise and irrelevant neighbors simply disappear. You may get an odd result here and there but overall, it’s great!

To wrap up this article, I just want to recommend every content marketer to adopt a wholesome topical SEO strategy. What I mean by that is simple. Take a step back from your article-centric approach. Do a lot of research independently of any singular blog post. Find focus topics you want authority over, create pillar pages, make long-form evergreen articles, shorter articles, and so on.

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The Ultimate Guide to Topic Research: Tools, Techniques and More

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In content creation, mastering topic research is key. It helps you beat the competition and engage your audience. This guide offers tools, techniques, and workflows for strong content ideas. Ready to upgrade your strategy? You can then create high-quality, relevant content that truly connects.

What is Topic Research?

Topic research involves identifying and analyzing subjects that interest your target audience. It also includes exploring sources for trends, questions, and interests. These findings guide content creation. By knowing what topics are popular and relevant, businesses can create engaging, effective content that meets their audience’s preferences.

• Why is Topic Research Important?

Researching topics is key for several reasons. First, it uncovers gaps in current content, enabling unique and valuable content creation. Moreover, it shows what interests your audience, keeping your content engaging. Effective research boosts engagement, traffic, and conversions.

• Content Strategy & Planning

Adding topic research to your content strategy is key for a successful marketing campaign. First, find popular topics and keywords. Then, use them to plan a content calendar. This calendar should match your audience’s interests and search habits. Doing this makes your content timely and relevant. It also boosts its search engine performance , ensuring steady traffic and engagement.

• Improve SEO & Organic Traffic

One of the primary benefits of thorough topic research is its impact on SEO and organic traffic. By identifying the right keywords and topics, you can optimize your content to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). High-ranking content attracts more organic traffic, which is crucial for building a sustainable online presence. Effective topic research helps in understanding what your audience is searching for, allowing you to create content that meets their needs and improves your site’s visibility.

• Create Engaging Content

Creating engaging content is the ultimate goal of topic research. By understanding your audience’s interests and pain points, you can develop content that resonates with them on a deeper level. Engaging content not only captures attention but also encourages interaction, sharing, and returning visits. It helps build a loyal audience base and enhances your brand’s authority and credibility.

Topic Research Techniques

• 1. Keyword Research Fundamentals

Keyword research is a cornerstone of effective topic research. It involves understanding the intent behind search queries, which can be informational, navigational, or transactional. Informational searches seek knowledge, navigational searches aim to find a specific website, and transactional searches indicate a readiness to make a purchase. By identifying relevant keywords, you can align your content with what your audience is searching for. Assessing keyword difficulty and search volume helps determine the potential success of targeting specific terms. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs are invaluable for this aspect of topic research.

• 2. Brainstorming Techniques

Brainstorming is a vital part of topic research. Mind mapping is a creative way to generate ideas, connecting related concepts visually. Analyzing existing content can reveal gaps and opportunities, showing what has already been covered and what can be improved or expanded upon. Keeping an eye on industry trends and news ensures that your topics are timely and relevant, capturing the current interests of your audience. These techniques collectively enhance your ability to generate fresh and engaging topics for your content strategy.

• 3. Evaluating Topic Potential

Evaluating the potential of a topic is crucial for successful content planning. The first step is to ensure the topic is relevant to your audience and niche, as content that resonates with your readers is more likely to perform well. Conducting a content gap analysis helps identify untapped topics that your competitors may have overlooked. This involves examining what your audience needs and what hasn’t been sufficiently covered. Tools like BuzzSumo and SEMrush can aid in this process, providing insights into content performance and gaps.

Incorporating these techniques into your topic research will enhance your ability to create content that not only attracts but also retains your audience.

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Essential Tools for Topic Research

• Free Tools for Topic Research

1. Google Trends

Google Trends is an invaluable free tool for topic research. It provides insights into what people are searching for in real time. By analyzing search trends, you can identify rising topics and adjust your content strategy accordingly. Google Trends also allows you to compare different search terms and see how their popularity changes over time, making it easier to pinpoint high-interest topics.

2. Answer the Public

Answer the Public is another excellent free tool for topic research. It visualizes search queries and questions people have around a specific keyword. This tool is particularly useful for understanding the specific concerns and interests of your target audience. By exploring these questions, you can create content that directly addresses the needs and curiosities of your audience, enhancing engagement and relevance.

3. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest offers a robust set of features for free, making it a great tool for topic research. It provides keyword suggestions, search volume data, and competitive analysis. Ubersuggest also offers insights into the content that performs well in your niche, helping you to identify successful content strategies and uncover gaps you can fill with your unique content.

• Paid Tools for Topic Research

Ahrefs is a comprehensive paid tool for topic research. It offers in-depth keyword analysis, backlink tracking, and content research features. With Ahrefs, you can explore high-ranking content in your niche, analyze competitors’ strategies, and identify keywords that can boost your search engine rankings. Its robust data and analytics make it a go-to resource for advanced topic research and SEO strategy.

SEMrush is another powerful paid tool for topic research. It provides extensive keyword research capabilities, competitive analysis, and insights into trending topics. SEMrush’s Topic Research tool generates ideas based on your core keywords and shows the most popular subtopics, related questions, and headlines. This helps you create comprehensive and engaging content that resonates with your audience.

3. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a premium tool that excels in content and topic research. It allows you to find the most shared content across social media platforms, analyze competitors, and discover influencers in your industry. BuzzSumo’s data-driven approach helps you understand what types of content perform best, enabling you to craft compelling topics that drive engagement and shares.

• Comparing Free vs Paid Tools for Topic Research

When comparing free vs. paid tools for topic research, it’s essential to consider your specific needs and budget. Free tools like Google Trends, Answer the Public, and Ubersuggest are excellent for getting started and can provide valuable insights without any financial investment. They are ideal for small businesses or individuals with limited budgets.

On the other hand, paid tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and BuzzSumo offer more advanced features and in-depth data analysis . These tools are worth the investment if you require comprehensive insights, competitive analysis, and detailed keyword data. For larger businesses or those serious about content strategy and SEO, paid tools can significantly enhance your topic research process and overall content performance.

Advanced Topic Research Strategies

• Using Social Media for Insights

Social media platforms are gold mines for topic research. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer real-time insights into trending discussions. By monitoring hashtags, trending topics, and industry influencers, you can identify what your audience is interested in. Social media listening tools can help you track mentions and sentiment, providing valuable data for your content strategy. Incorporating insights from social media into your topic research can help you create content that resonates with your audience.

• Leveraging Forums and Communities (e.g., Reddit, Quora)

Forums and online communities are treasure troves of information. Reddit and Quora are prime examples where users actively discuss a wide range of topics. By exploring these platforms, you can uncover common questions, concerns, and interests within your niche. Participating in these discussions not only helps in topic research but also establishes your presence in the community. Use the insights gained from these platforms to address specific pain points and create highly relevant content.

• Conducting Surveys and Polls

Surveys and polls are direct ways to gather insights from your target audience. By asking specific questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of their preferences, challenges, and needs. Tools like SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and social media polls can be used to conduct these surveys. Analyzing the responses will give you concrete data to guide your topic research. This method ensures that your content is aligned with the actual interests and needs of your audience.

• Utilizing Google Analytics and Search Console

Google Analytics and Search Console are powerful tools for advanced topic research. Google Analytics provides data on what content is currently attracting traffic and engaging your audience. You can analyze metrics such as page views, bounce rate, and time on page to understand what topics are performing well. Search Console helps you identify the keywords and search queries that are driving traffic to your site. By combining data from both tools, you can refine your topic research to focus on high-performing areas and uncover new opportunities. These insights enable you to create content that meets the demands of your audience and improves your search engine rankings.

Topic Research Workflow

• Define Your Content Goals

Before diving into topic research, it’s crucial to define your content goals. This initial step sets the foundation for your entire content strategy. Start by identifying what you aim to achieve with your content. Are you looking to increase website traffic, boost engagement, or establish thought leadership? Clear goals help guide your topic research and ensure that the topics you choose align with your overall objectives. By setting specific, measurable goals, you can tailor your content to meet the needs of your audience and achieve your business objectives effectively.

• Research & Brainstorm Topics

Once your goals are defined, the next step in the topic research workflow is to research and brainstorm potential topics. Utilize various tools such as keyword planners, industry forums, and competitor analysis to gather ideas. Look for trending topics, frequently asked questions, and gaps in the current content landscape. During this phase, creativity is key. Encourage team brainstorming sessions to generate a wide array of topic ideas. Combining data-driven research with creative brainstorming ensures a comprehensive list of potential topics that resonate with your audience and support your content goals.

• Refine & Prioritize Topics

With a list of potential topics in hand, the next step is to refine and prioritize them. Evaluate each topic based on relevance, audience interest, and alignment with your content goals. Consider factors such as search volume, competition, and your unique perspective or expertise. Prioritizing topics helps focus your efforts on creating high-impact content. It’s essential to balance quick wins with long-term strategic content. Refining your topics ensures that you are investing time and resources into content that offers the most value to your audience and your business.

• Create a Content Calendar

The final step in the topic research workflow is to create a content calendar. A well-structured content calendar organizes your topics into a clear schedule, outlining when and how each piece of content will be produced and published. This helps maintain a consistent posting schedule, ensuring that your content strategy is executed effectively. Include deadlines, assigned authors, and publication dates in your calendar. Planning ahead with a content calendar not only keeps your team on track but also allows for better coordination and integration of your topic research efforts into your overall marketing strategy.

Mastering topic research is essential for creating effective content strategies. By defining your goals, researching and brainstorming ideas, refining and prioritizing topics, and organizing them into a content calendar, you can ensure your content resonates with your audience and achieves your business objectives. Implementing these steps will streamline your content creation process and help you produce high-quality, impactful content consistently.

• Q: What are the top 10 research topics for students?

Popular research topics for students include climate change, artificial intelligence, mental health, renewable energy, cybersecurity, space exploration, genetic engineering, digital marketing, virtual reality, and sustainable development.

• Q: What are good topic research topics for students?

Good topics for student research include social media impacts, renewable energy sources, climate change effects, mental health in schools, AI applications, and technological advancements in healthcare.

• Q: Can you provide examples of topic research?

Examples of topic research include studying the impact of social media on youth, analyzing renewable energy’s future, and exploring AI’s role in modern medicine.

• Q: What is a good topic research tool?

A good topic research tool is Ahrefs, known for its comprehensive keyword analysis, competitor insights, and content gap identification, aiding in effective topic research.

• Q: Where can I find topic research PDFs?

Topic research PDFs are often available through academic databases, research journals, and educational websites that provide comprehensive guides and studies on various subjects.

• Q: Are there any free topic research tools?

Yes, free topic research tools include Google Trends, Answer the Public, and Ubersuggest, which offer insights into trending topics and keyword analysis.

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What is Topic Research

Topic research is a pivotal element in content strategy, guiding creators to topics that resonate with their audience while optimizing for search engines. It involves the analysis and exploration of subjects that your audience is interested in. SEO topic research ensures that the content is not only engaging but also ranks well on search engines, driving organic traffic to your website. Topic Finder is your ally in this journey, offering insights into trending topics and aiding in uncovering those hidden gems that boost your content's relevance and visibility. Navigate the landscape of content creation with confidence and precision, making every piece a step towards your SEO goals.

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Topic Research: The Tools and Process You Need to Generate Content Ideas

11 min read Filed Under: Content Marketing

It’s that time of the week again. The moment every content marketer dreads.

You sit in front of your computer and a blank page stares back at you.

The title reads “Content Topics for the Coming Week”.

You stand there, brain completely frozen, desperately trying to think of something you haven’t recently said. A fresh new topic – that elusive beast…

It doesn’t need to be this way. In fact, topic research can be an easy structured process that leaves you inspired and motivated rather than tired and deflated.

Today, I want to share some of my go-to tools that make topic research a breeze.

Topic research vs. keyword research – what’s the difference?

Some marketers conflate keyword research and topic research. However, there are substantial differences.

Keyword research is done by SEO experts. It tries to understand the specific phrases people use when discussing a given topic. The end goal is to rank for those keywords that are related to the brand or that will expose new qualified users to the brand.

Topic research is done by content marketers. It tries to understand what topics our target audience is interested in . It doesn’t study the specific phrases as much as it tries to combine them into relevant topics. The end goal is to inform the content plan so that the brand creates content of value to its target.

How to do topic research?

This will be a very short guy as there isn’t much to talk about in terms of process. What you need to do is:

• Get a notebook at the ready or open a file on your computer.
• Fire up your go-to topic research tools.
• Insert a general keyword and see what related phrases and questions pop up.
• Gradually go deeper, trying out more long-tail phrases to research different facets of the topic.
• All along the way, take note of interesting topics you can cover in your content.
• Combine these topics into topic clusters and figure out which ones you want to cover.
• Draft your short-term content plan with these topics in mind.

Obviously, this is a very high-level process, but it’s not easy to go into a lot of detail. The whole idea is to allow enough time for divergent research, trying to note down as many different elements for your topic as possible. Only later will you be doing some convergent actual planning where you take into account:

• Is the topic closely related to your product? You’ll probably start with topics that are close enough to your brand. Then you can organically nudge the reader to learn about your solution.
• Is the topic of real interest to your specific target audience? The fact that a topic pops up during research doesn’t necessarily mean your persona will be researching it. You’ll need to make the call based on your prior knowledge of your target reader’s interests.
• How close to the actual moment of purchase someone interested in the topic is likely to be? Most often, you’d want to start by focusing on topics that show up in the middle or bottom of the purchase funnel. In this way, you’ll be able to naturally pitch your product in your content and drive direct business results. Once your content marketing efforts have proven themselves useful to the business, you’ll gain more freedom to write about topics earlier in your customer’s journey.

My free topic research tools of choice

So where do you start when doing topic research? Here are the tools I usually use.

Your readers will go to Google to find answers. So you can go to Google to find questions.

Let’s say I’m the content marketer for an online retailer that sells outdoor equipment. I want to figure out what topics I should cover on my blog that will cater to the interests of hiking enthusiasts.

First off, I check auto-complete for interesting ideas:

“Hiking quotes” might be an interesting content type for my Instagram account. “Hiking calories burned’ can be a curious blog post to draft out. However, if a person is interested in burning calories, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are ready to buy from my store. So I’ll probably do a roundup post of “hiking boots” as a start.

Then, I’ll hit enter and see a marvelous list of questions people are interested in – in the People also ask search box:

At first, you’ll only see 3-4 questions but the more you click on the expanding results, the more the list gets populated. I see here “What should you not take on a hike?’ which is a curious question – it draws attention and fuels curiosity. I’ll add it to my list of topics.

At the bottom of the SERP I see a related searches list:

It’s not too helpful in this case, but I’ll still keep an eye on it, just in case.

Ubersuggest

You can use a pro tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs for topic research. But if you’re not willing to spend around $100/month, you might want to start with a free alternative. Ubersuggest is just that. It’s a pretty powerful little tool that lets you access a lot of information in exchange for registration.

You will first see a general keyword overview – to a content marketer, the most interesting element of that is the seasonality trend. I see that I’m best suited to share hiking-related content during the summer months.

Then I will go to the Keyword Ideas section and find a wealth of information there. Ubersuggest basically does something similar to the Google stalking I demonstrated in the previous step but on steroids. The Suggestions and Related tabs present phrases that start with the keyword I entered or contain it within the key phrase:

“Hiking trails near me” is a popular search. This means I can write a few blog posts about the popular trails in my e-store’s region and attract the attention of avid hikers. Maybe I can also add some equipment suggestions for the different routes?

The Questions tab is where a lot of the money lies when it comes to topic research. You can already guess that it shows questions with my keyword:

I see some interesting questions that will make for nice blog posts. “Why hiking is good for you” can even turn into a nice infographic. And “How much water you need while hiking?” can be very useful to my audience while also promoting some of the water bottles in my catalog.

The Prepositions and Comparisons tabs are usually less interesting but that doesn’t mean there are no gems to be found there:

“Hiking with dogs”, “hiking with toddlers”, and “hiking and running shoes” all make it to my topic list. The cool thing is that when you click the phrase, you also see the top 10 search results. You can click through to see what content people are interested in seeing around the topic and what formats are popular – is it just blog posts, are there YouTube videos ranked there, etc.

As you can see, I’m only interested in the phrases and the topics hidden behind them. I’m keeping an eye out at the volume and keyword difficulty for context, but my goal here is not to rank for these keywords – it’s to create relevant content first and foremost.

Answer the Public

When we’re talking about relevant content, the best source of ideas are the questions your reader might ask. And Answer the Public is a tool that reveals these questions in a structured way.

It’s dead simple – you type in a phrase and you get a detailed list of questions that contain that phrase. When you click the Data tag on the results pag you’ll see a neat list of suggestions:

You can find a wealth of ideas here and this is probably the tool that’s responsible for the most topics added to my research notes. Continuing with the hiking example, I can find very specific questions like “Can hiking cause miscarriage?” or “Will hiking shoes stretch?” In the Alphabeticals list you will also find a few neat ideas like “hiking knee support” that can even let me push specific products from my imaginary e-shop.

Question DB

Answer the Public will convince you of the power questions have in your topic research. QuestionDB is another source for question-based ideas. The tool started off with a database of some 4 million questions sourced from Reddit but has now grown to scrape questions from other sites, as well. 

In any case, the reason I go to QuestionDB is because the question here are substantially different from the other sources on the list. And topic research is fuelled by diversity:

After checking the tool, I’ve added completely new content ideas like photography equipment for hikers and “hiking trails safe for women hiking alone”.

KeywordTool.io

KeywordTool.io lets you research content specifically on YouTube. Obviously the results there will be quite different than what you can find for text-based content:

For example, seeing “hiking music” here gives me an idea to create a Spotify playlist with music that my readers might like for a trip to the mountains. Who said that “content” means blog posts only?

Finally, I would also look at Reddit Keyword Research Tool . It is another tool that will give you alternative results. The way it works is that it looks for the most popular keywords within a given subreddit (the site’s equivalent of a niche topic forum).

Since it doesn’t rely on traditional keyword research, it shows you some great topics you might otherwise miss:

For example, when I see the “ point and shoot ” topic, I understand that photography and hiking go well together. I might provide some advice on camera equipment – and the best backpacks that work for it.

Get ready to write

You need just 40-50 minutes of doing topic research to prepare a list with great content ideas. And the more time you spend on it, the more specific your ideas will get and the more useful your content will be to your target users.

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Next-Level Content: 35+ Research Tools and Strategies to Push Your Ideas Further

Sometimes when you get a good content idea, you can feel it. You just know that it’s fully formed, ready to be executed, and sure to be a hit.

Other times, the idea isn’t quite so clear. Maybe it’s only a partial idea, or you’re not quite sure what actually creating it would look like.

Anyone who’s dipped their toes in the content marketing pool knows that creating content can be incredibly taxing of our creativity. Worth it , but time consuming.

Luckily, there are plenty of strategies and tools for getting new ideas , fleshing out existing ideas and evolving good ideas into awesome ones.

In this post, we’ll walk through tons of different tools and strategies (35+!) to take your ideas further. Read on to learn how to find, validate, research and execute more killer ideas in less time.

From good to great: 5 ways to make the most of any idea

Let’s say you’ve already identified your target audience and created reader personas . You know which topics they’re most interested in and have created a giant list of content ideas based on this intel.

Now to determine which ideas are going to resonate with and engage your audience most. Here are five methods to try:

• Use your metrics: Once you’ve built a bit of a following and published enough content to serve as a benchmark , you can turn to metrics to determine what your audience is responding to. Metrics such as time on page ( SumoMe’s Content Analytics and Heat Map tools are great for this), click-throughs, bounce rate, and rate of return visits (i.e. how many times a reader visits your site after the post you’re measuring) can help helpful content KPIs.
• Ask your editor or a friend. This post was originally going to be a list of tools. When I submitted my initial outline, Courtney suggested I add the advice you’re reading right now, about evolving ideas. Brainstorming and talking ideas through with people who have differing perspectives can evolve an idea into an awesome one.
• Find points of idea intersection. Can two or three of your topic ideas be combined to create one monster piece? Or maybe there are points from each idea that can be turned into a normal-sized but more valuable piece of content.
• Research what’s already been written. No need to reinvent the wheel. Do a quick Google search for all of your validated ideas. See what’s already been written on and what has been said. How can you add your own twist and perspective to the topic ?
• Leverage your research and remain open minded. Once you think you’ve nailed down an idea and started conducting the research necessary to write the piece, you may stumble across new information that has you second guessing the topic. Let your idea to twist and turn to grow and become something else. As long as it still accomplishes your goals, you’ll be better off letting the idea take on a life of its own.

You can then take these findings and apply them when qualifying and prioritizing your list of ideas. Now that you’ve got a plan for zeroing in on good ideas and taking them to the next level, let’s get to the research tools and strategies.

Keep a swipe file with bookmarking tools

Bookmarking tools are especially useful when you know your topic buckets or general categories. When you’re browsing the web, you can save interesting articles and resources and add them to your swipe file or collection of resources that will be helpful when it comes time to produce your content. Having an established library of resources to reference creates efficiencies in conducting research. Here are a few bookmarking tools I like:

• Pocket ( Chrome Extension ): I love Pocket. It’s free to use and available on the web and mobile. Best part is, if you download your Pocketed stories via the app when you have service or wifi, they’re then available offline so you can read them on the train, for example. If you’d like to save these resources forever, you can pay $4.99/month for Premium.
• Pinboard.in ( Chrome Extension ): At $11/year, Pinboard feels a bit more like a research tool than Pocket does. It’s handy because you can search your own pins, or pins from the public like you would a search engine. You can also see how many times each piece of research has been pinned.
• Kifi : Kifi is a new community around resource sharing that’s free to join. You can create public or private libraries, and follow people. I really like how information is organized within the libraries with color coding and tagging.

Pro tip: Proper tagging is crucial to making the most of these tools so that all saved content is easily discoverable and organized according to your preferred workflow. Keep tags consistent among tools to save time and to keep yourself organized.

Get inspired by industry news and conversations

Once you have general topic buckets in mind (i.e. community strategy, remote work, or e-commerce, for example) and a tagging system in place, you can start to narrow down what your go-to resources are.

To get you started, here are some great places to find information, news and conversations on a variety of topics.

Forums and communities

• GrowthHackers : Great discussions and articles around anything marketing.
• Inbound.org : Covers anything inbound and content marketing, and has developed a very dedicated community with AMAs and native blog posts.
• Quora : The ultimate Q&A forum. The engagement on Quora can be unreal.
• Reddit : Once you’ve found your groove on Reddit, you’ve struck gold. To avoid being overwhelmed, definitely stick with relevant subreddits. Check out this list Kevan at Buffer put together . Potentially the most active communities on the Internet, here are Reddit’s engagement stats for one day:

Niche search engines

• Topsy: Search popular stories around a given topic.
• BuzzSumo : Identifies influential pieces measured by social shares on any given topic searched.

Curation platforms

• Buffer Suggestions and Daily by Buffer : One of my favorite places to find high-quality content on a variety of topics including marketing, entrepreneurship, lifehacks, and more, including Buffer’s own picks. You can also directly add the stories to your social queue, which is pretty handy. ?
• The Latest : Polls influencers for the top links shared on Twitter each day.
• This. : A forum where all members only post one piece of content per day — so you know it’s going to be good!
• Quibb : An invite-only community popular among startup folks.
• Feedly : Today’s go-to RSS feed.
• Flipboard : A favorite among iPad users, Flipboard creates a beautiful flip book with articles relevant to your interests.
• Swayyy.co: See what articles are most popular among your networks on any given topic.
• Sidebar.io : A hand-curated list of links from around the web.

Social networks and content platforms

• Slideshare : Slideshare is perfect for data and stat-packed content in an easily digestible form. Some people and organizations use it to house slides from presentations, others use it solely for repurposing content into more digestible pieces. Some of my favorite slides come from Rand Fishkin of Moz and Kapost .
• Twitter lists: Make a list of all the people or brands you follow on Twitter that share valuable information as it relates to your focus areas. Then, when it comes time to produce your piece, you can quickly scan the feed for anything that jumps out to you. Here’s my list of go-to content pros and people discussing community experience .
• Medium : This has become one of my favorite places to find unique stories around all sorts of different topics, including everything from entrepreneurship to music discovery.

Newsletters

• Crew : Great for research-heavy stories on freelance workflows, entrepreneurship, work-life balance, and more.
• Remotive : From Buffer’s own Rodolphe Dutel , Remotive provides resources to remote workers and digital nomads across the globe.
• SwissMiss : By far one of my favorite blogs and newsletters, Tina Roth Eisenberg shares unique products and designery things that will make anyone’s life better. Great for content inspiration!
• Brain Pickings : Maria Popova’s blog and newsletter is the ultimate literary and art nerd’s bible, with pieces of psychology and science sewn throughout.
• Austin Kleon : Best-selling author Austin Kleon’s weekly newsletter might have THE most interesting links around the web.
• Paul Jarvis’ Sunday Dispatch : A mix of personal anecdotes and research. If nothing else, Paul’s Sunday Dispatch will inspire you to get moving on that piece of content!
• CloudPeeps : Ok, so personal plug here. ? We’re now sending weekly emails with our latest content and resources that will be helpful to anyone interested in freelance and remote work, community building, habits, and more!

Those are just my personal favorites. Check out these 25 newsletters for shareable content from Kevan.

Pro tip: Set up a filter in your inbox to file newsletters in a folder associated with the topic bucket it’s relevant to. That way when it comes time to write your piece, you can quickly peruse the latest issues for information that might be helpful.

Collaborate with your team

Others on your team are likely a pretty great source for ideas, news and resources. Make it easy for your team to share with you as they stumble across valuable information.

At CloudPeeps, we have a #readinglist channel within Slack —our preferred team collaboration and messaging platform—that we use for sharing interesting articles and resources. You can then mark these messages with a star to be able to view them later.

You could also collaborate with your team by making a shared library within a platform like Kifi, discussed earlier.

Crowdsource from your circles

If you already have a topic in mind, it’s likely that it’s really on your mind. Next time you attend an event or chat with a friend, ask questions around that topic—even if the person you’re speaking with is not an expert! The differing perspective might help you to evolve your idea into one a specific audience wants or needs. (Make sure to carry your notebook!)

Another option is to ask the groups you’re active in on Facebook, LinkedIn, listservs, Slack Groups, etc. for insights. I have written entire pieces based on findings from a Slack Group of content marketers that I formed a while back, including this winter reading list .

Gather the data

Adding some stats, facts or other science-based research to your topic is a great way to flesh out an idea and to make your content more persuasive .

There are plenty of free research databases online that will allow you to discover the cold hard facts on any topic. These will also be helpful in vetting information gathered from your networks:

• Google Scholar
• Academia.edu
• A list of academic databases and search engines via Wikipedia

Another trick is to refine your Google search to only include results from .gov or .edu sites:

Build a research habit

Like most other things in life, content research comes more naturally when it is a habit. Try carving out a certain amount of time each day or week for your research.

Better yet, implement if-then planning to build this habit. For example, you could make an if-then rule for yourself, such as: “If I hit a wall writing an article, I will spend five minutes researching a new topic.” Or “If I take a coffee break, I will read two articles.”

Personally, I carve out time (~20 min) in the morning, at lunch, and before signing off each day for browsing forums and catching up on saved articles. So for me, one of my if-then rules is “If I wrapped up my work for the day, I will research remote working habits for 15 minutes before I pack up.”

Have more tips or tools to add? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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Research Question Generator: Best Tool for Students

Stuck formulating a research question? Try the tool we’ve made! With our research question generator, you’ll get a list of ideas for an academic assignment of any level. All you need to do is add the keywords you’re interested in, push the button, and enjoy the result!

Now, here comes your inspiration 😃

Please try again with some different keywords.

Why Use Research Question Generator?

The choice of research topic is a vital step in the process of any academic task completion. Whether you’re working on a small essay or a large dissertation, your topic will make it fail or fly. The best way to cope with the naming task and proceed to the writing part is to use our free online tool for title generation. Its benefits are indisputable.

• The tool generates research questions, not just topics
• It makes questions focused on your field of interest
• It’s free and quick in use

Research Question Generator: How to Use

Using our research question generator tool, you won’t need to crack your brains over this part of the writing assignment anymore. All you need to do is:

• Insert your study topic of interest in the relevant tab
• Choose a subject and click “Generate topics”
• Grab one of the offered options on the list

The results will be preliminary; you should use them as an initial reference point and refine them further for a workable, correctly formulated research question.

Research Questions: Types & Examples

Depending on your type of study (quantitative vs. qualitative), you might need to formulate different research question types. For instance, a typical quantitative research project would need a quantitative research question, which can be created with the following formula:

Variable(s) + object that possesses that variable + socio-demographic characteristics

You can choose among three quantitative research question types: descriptive, comparative, and relationship-based. Let's consider each type in more detail to clarify the practical side of question formulation.

Descriptive

As its name suggests, a descriptive research question inquires about the number, frequency, or intensity of something and aims to describe a quantitative issue. Some examples include:

• How often do people download personal finance apps in 2022?
• How regularly do Americans go on holidays abroad?
• How many subscriptions for paid learning resources do UK students make a year?

Comparative

Comparative research questions presuppose comparing and contrasting things within a research study. You should pick two or more objects, select a criterion for comparison, and discuss it in detail. Here are good examples:

• What is the difference in calorie intake between Japanese and American preschoolers?
• Does male and female social media use duration per day differ in the USA?
• What are the attitudes of Baby Boomers versus Millennials to freelance work?

Relationship-based

Relationship-based research is a bit more complex, so you'll need extra work to formulate a good research question. Here, you should single out:

• The independent variable
• The dependent variable
• The socio-demographics of your population of interest

Let’s illustrate how it works:

• How does the socio-economic status affect schoolchildren’s dropout rates in the UK?
• What is the relationship between screen time and obesity among American preschoolers?

Research Question Maker FAQ

In a nutshell, a research question is the one you set to answer by performing a specific academic study. Thus, for instance, if your research question is, “How did global warming affect bird migration in California?," you will study bird migration patterns concerning global warming dynamics.

You should think about the population affected by your topic, the specific aspect of your concern, and the timing/historical period you want to study. It’s also necessary to specify the location – a specific country, company, industry sector, the whole world, etc.

A great, effective research question should answer the "who, what, when, where" questions. In other words, you should define the subject of interest, the issue of your concern related to that subject, the timeframe, and the location of your study.

If you don’t know how to write a compelling research question, use our automated tool to complete the task in seconds. You only need to insert your subject of interest, and smart algorithms will do the rest, presenting a set of workable, interesting question suggestions.

Educational resources and simple solutions for your research journey

Top 16 Digital Tools That Every Researcher Should Know About

Using digital tools for researchers effectively can be the difference between an average and an excellent piece of research. But today, with the long list of research tools available online, it is only natural for busy researchers to be baffled when it comes to making the right choice for specific needs. With considerations of time, cost, effectiveness and quality, there is a lot to check before you make the choice. We don’t want you to spend hours just looking for the best tools for researchers, so we’ve rounded up some of the most effective digital tools for researchers to make your life simpler.

In this comprehensive article, we have compiled a list of 16 useful online tools for researchers at various stages of the research journey. These tools will streamline your research process, help you stay organized, and provide you with easy access to the information you need. From reference management software to digital libraries, these cutting-edge tools cater to the needs of both experienced and novice researchers alike. Whether you’re working on a major research project or just starting out, this blog will help you get ahead of the curve and make your research journey a tad (we aren’t making big promises) bit easier.

Table of Contents

Why are digital tools for researchers important

Before any digital tools for researchers were introduced, academics had to rely on old-school manual methods that were typically time-consuming, labor-intensive, and also limited in scope. For instance, you had to subscribe to journals or physically visit libraries and spend hours searching and sifting through tomes before finding the most relevant information. And once that was done, the process of organizing, storing, and referencing data was another challenge you had to overcome.

In contrast, online tools for researchers offer a wealth of information and resources at your fingertips today. With the option to search and access vast amounts of knowledge with a few clicks, researchers are able to boost their efficiency and effectiveness at work.

And it’s not just limited to online tools for researchers that allow you to easily store, organize, and manage information, there are a number of tools that can help you hone your writing, check for plagiarism, find the right journal, collaborate with other researchers, and share your knowledge, ideas, and resources. The rapid development of digital tools for researchers have revolutionized the way researchers work, making way for faster innovation and more groundbreaking research.

Types of tools for researchers

There are various types of online tools for researchers to choose from. These tools can be classified into various categories such as planning and management of research projects, literature search, data collection and analysis, reference management, editing and paraphrasing, and collaboration and communication. These digital tools for researchers have revolutionized the way academics work, adding to their time, productivity and effectiveness; this in turn makes research more accessible, efficient, and collaborative. Let’s take a look at some top tools for researchers across these key stages in the researcher journey.

Reference Management Tools

Reference management tools are great time saving tools for researchers. Not only do they allow you to create a library of relevant articles, they help you format your references, detect duplicate entries and replace incomplete references, and even share articles with other researchers. Furthermore, they are also extremely useful tools for researchers when it comes to correctly linking sources and citing referenced articles.

Among the top reference management tools for researchers, Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote are the most widely used.

Zotero has quickly become one of the must-have tools for researchers to capture and preserve high-quality publication data from various sources, including journal articles, websites, newspapers, and PDFs. Its integration with popular Word processors such as Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs allows you to efficiently manage citations and bibliographies as you write. The software’s built-in PDF reader enables you to identify and extract cited quotations and comments, which can be directly saved as notes. What sets Zotero apart is its advanced search feature, which enables users to perform complex searches, such as locating articles added in the last month by mentioning a specific keyword and creating auto-updating collections. Zotero can also identify retracted papers and sends out an alert when you attempt to cite a retracted paper.

Zotero follows the freemium model, where one can get 300 MB in the free version with additional storage available for a fee starting at $20/year .

An offering by Elsevier, Mendeley is among the best reference management tools for researchers that combines an intuitive, user-friendly interface with powerful organizational features. With Mendeley, you can store and manage sources, take notes, collaborate with others, and discover new research in your field. Mendeley’s PDF viewer has an excellent, easy-to-use, built-in capability with the option of editing a document simultaneously with other Mendeley users. ‘Mendeley Notebook’, a feature of Mendeley, helps you collate all your highlights and notes from multiple PDFs. ‘Mendeley Cite’, another of its features, is a citation plugin for Microsoft Word that lets you insert references and bibliographies into your document.

Mendeley is a free citation and paper management tool with up to 2 GB of cloud storage. It has a desktop application, mobile app, and Chrome browser extension, making it a top choice among tools for researchers.

Mendeley offers both a free and a premium version, where users get 2 GB in the free version and additional storage space with pricing starting at $55/year .

Endnote is one of the paid reference management tools for researchers. It allows researchers to insert citations into the text, and simultaneously creates a bibliography with its “Cite While You Write” feature in Microsoft Word. Additionally, one can align and format the article as per the target journal requirements using its “Manuscript Matcher” feature. You can also conduct large-scale literature reviews with Endnote’s powerful analysis tools. Endnote is available in the cloud and accessible anywhere, providing researchers with the flexibility to work from any location.

Endnote offers a range of pricing options, starting at $124.95/year . It is one of the must-have tools for researchers keen on saving time and energy!

Academic Writing Tools

If you are not taking advantage of academic writing tools for researchers, well, you’re missing out on a lot. The range of things academic writing tools can do for you is astonishing – language editing, abstract writing, plagiarism checking and so much more! While there are a number of online tools for reseachers that can help improve your academic writing, here are our top choices in this category that you should know about.

iThenticate

iThenticate by Turnitin is an online plagiarism checker designed specifically for researchers and academics to review their manuscripts prior to journal submission and publication. iThenticate is one of the most popular tools for researchers looking to check their writing for originality and ensure they have cited all sources appropriately.

With its advanced plagiarism detection technology, iThenticate compares a submission to an extensive database of web pages and scholarly content before producing a similarity score and report. Researchers can use this report to eliminate any inadvertent instances of plagiarism and other blunders in their research papers.

The price for an iThenticate license starts at $100 for a manuscript and is valid for multiple plagiarism checks for this single document over a year. If you need to check more than one manuscript, you can opt for an annual license at a higher price.

One of the well-known tools for researchers, Scholarcy is an innovative AI engine that helps you analyze different sections of an article, filter out the noise, and deliver a precise structured summary of the research. Scholarcy doesn’t just condense papers into referenced lay summaries, it highlights key claims and statistics mentioned in the research paper that are most useful to your work.

It also extracts all the tables and figures and links to their cited location in the text, saving researchers hours of time searching for the most relevant papers. The smart AI engine is also a great tool for researchers looking to generate lay summaries that can help promote their research to a broader audience

You can use the free Scholarcy browser extension on Chrome or Edge to create summary flashcards online or build your own personal interactive library with a subscription of $7.99 per month.

Scrivener is among the underrated tools for researchers that can help make researchers’ lives simpler if used effectively. It has a user-friendly interface that allows researchers to easily organize their research notes, documents, and outlines. Scrivener gives you three ways to organize your projects: the Binder – which lets you manage folders and text, the Outliner – which helps you outline your research before you write it, and the Corkboard – to help you plan and organize your ongoing tasks.

Scrivener also has a mobile app that syncs with your devices ensuring everything is in one place. This makes it a great option for those who want to walk around and research ideas or take notes on your phone.

Scrivener offers a free trial period, with lifetime licenses available from $63.56 for MacOS and Windows.

Paperpal is as multifaceted as a Swiss Knife and stands tall among online academic writing tools for researchers. With in-depth language and grammar checks, instant and precise academic translations, relevant subject-specific writing recommendations, and critical technical checks, its suite of tools has you covered from the first draft itself. Use the Paperpal for Word plug-in and improve your language as you write in Microsoft Word, including real-time suggestions on vocabulary and phrasing.

Turn to Paperpal for Web to enhance your content with instant checks to ensure error-free language and grammar, clarity, and readability. Choose Paperpal for Manuscript if you have a manuscript ready for submission; its comprehensive language and technical checks ensure your work meets journal guidelines by flagging problem areas that could lead to desk rejection.

The best part about Paperpal, also something that makes it different from other more generic grammar editing tools, is that it is tailored for researchers and academic writing. You can get up to 500 edits for free on Paperpal for Word and Web or enjoy unlimited support at just $99 per year. Paperpal for Manuscript gives you an edited version of your article with suggestions in track changes for just $29.

Project Management Tools

There are several online tools for researchers to manage and organize their work, including keeping track of task completion, setting deadlines, and just having everything in one place. Four tools for researchers that must be there in your productivity kit are Trello, GanttPRO, Evernote, and My Research Projects.

You can use Trello to visually organize your ideas on its boards with the help of interactive cards. These cards can be used in multiple ways – you can create lists, assign tasks, message and tag those you are collaborating with, link files, add due dates–all on the virtual “back” of the card. You can also drag cards between lists, copy cards that you use often (or rather, use the cards as templates), and send cards to other boards. Basically, you can see your entire research process on a single Trello board.

This is a useful tool for researchers involved in large collaborative projects that span the globe. Trello has a free version that offers limited features with pricing models starting at $5 a month.

GanttPRO is another tool for researchers that helps you organize your thoughts better. A Gantt chart timeline on GanttPRO is the best way to visualize tasks, know their start and end dates, and track your progress along the way. The vertical and horizontal axes in a Gantt Chart present a visual summary of how various aspects of your research project are progressing, which allows you to address specific tasks that need extra or immediate attention.

GanttPRO is hosted in the cloud, which makes is easily accessible. It offers users a free trial with the option to choose from plans starting at $7.99 per month.

A productive way to jot down notes and ideas and sort through your research materials, Evernote is one of the most popular online tools for researchers. With Evernote, you can organize your research by a simple notebook structure to keep similar notes together or creating tags and folders for specific purposes.

You can save webpages, articles, or screenshots to your Evernote notebook and use the handy multimedia feature to enhance these by adding new text, images, documents, and even audio messages captured with its inbuilt recorder. Evernote also helps you sync your notes across devices so you can manage your notes across multiple platforms.

The basic version of Evernote lets you create and save notes but has limitations on storage space. You can buy more storage by opting for a paid subscription plan, which is currently available from $5.83 a month at ongoing discounted prices.

My Research Projects

My Research Projects by Researcher.Life is designed for researchers and helps you plan, manage, and communicate your work effectively. It promises end-to-end support in transforming your research into a well-written manuscript with suggestions on suitable journals for your research and guidance on the most relevant literature to cite. You can use the comprehensive submission readiness check to ensure your manuscript meets journal guidelines, with checks for language quality, structural completeness, clarity and consistency, and mandatory declarations. You can also generate detailed article summaries to help you convey your research findings more effectively.

My Research Projects lets you check one manuscript and get a detailed report for free by subscribing to Researcher.Life. You can unlock premium checks for multiple manuscripts by upgrading to the Prime Pack for $99 a year.

Academic Search Engines

As researchers you are expected to keep up with the latest developments in your own and related research fields. Yet, with the exponential growth in research output, this is far from easy. This is what makes academic search engines invaluable to academics searching for relevant scientific information. They use keywords to help researchers find, access and read about the latest most relevant research, including peer-reviewed articles, genuine information, author home pages, and university websites.

Google Scholar, R Discovery, and Scopus are our top tools for researchers in this category.

R Discovery

R Discovery is a strong contender when it comes to the best literature search and reading tools for researchers. An AI-powered app for researchers, R Discovery boasts of an expanding library of research content that includes over 100 million research papers across 9.5 million topics and more than 32,000 journals worldwide. It uses your topics of interest to create a personalized reading feed, with suggestions on top reads, smart summaries, and other features to help you discover the right research in minutes.

This includes open access articles, preprints, and pay-walled content (accessible through institutional credentials) across all major subject areas, including biology, medicine, philosophy, political science, environmental science, social sciences, and psychology. The best part is that this app for researchers continually upgrades its features and eliminated predatory journals to ensure you have access to reliable research that works for you.

R Discovery is one of the many tools for researchers developed by Researcher.Life and is completely free to install and use. It is available on both mobile and web, allowing for streamlined reading on your preferred device.

Google Scholar

If you’re an academic, you probably have used Google Scholar sometime in your research journey. It is one of the most used tools for researchers and acts as an online search engine for academics looking for scholarly literature and relevant sources to cite. It is tailored for academics, which means you can use different keywords to look up various research articles, theses, books, and conference papers to support your research study.

Researchers can also search for authors, journals, and other titles and can even create an account to save their search results. The one drawback here though is that you will need to keep searching until you find related research, and even then you will still need to browse through these individually to find the most relevant content for your research topic.

Another popular academic search tool for researchers is Scopus, an offering by Elsevier that is very similar to Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic. The largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed research with over 1.7 billion cited references, Scopus houses content indexed from more than 25,000 active titles and 7,000 publishers, all carefully vetted and selected by an independent review board.

With Scopus, you can look for articles, journals, and any other sources that will help you write better research. You can also refine your literature search by filtering for author name or affiliation among others. Scopus also has analytical tools to help you visualize and compare research data – that is, you can view author, journal, and article impact metrics through the detailed research output and trends reports that Scopus provides.

Scopus works as an API that can be integrated into an institution’s repository or research information management systems. While it is free to use for non-subscribers, there is limited access to content with additional costs to access paywalled articles on this platform.

Journal Selection Tools

Given the enormous number of scholarly journals around and new ones coming up every year, it can be hard to select the best journal for your research paper. Despite its challenges, the process of finding the perfect journal, which is respected, relevant, and reliable, is one of the most critical tasks to get right for researchers. This is why good online journal finders are invaluable tools for researchers.

Elsevier’s Journal Finder tool and the Global Journal Database (GJD) are two pretty effective journal selection tools for researchers.

Journal Finder

The Journal Finder tool by Elsevier, one of the largest publishers of peer-reviewed journals across disciplines, is a great solution for authors looking to shortlist journals for their work. Just use relevant keywords, titles, or your research paper abstract to get a list of recommended Elsevier journals that publish research similar to yours.

Its intelligent machine learning algorithm uses terms specific to the corresponding research field to generate the best matches for your article. You can choose from the top of the list or sort this further using filters based on your preferences. The Journal Finder also lists journals with open-access publishing options and those that cover multidisciplinary research fields.

Elsevier can be used for free to search for journals related to your research.

Global Journal Database

The Global Journal Database, developed by Researcher.Life, comprises of more than 43,000 journals indexed in reputed public directories like Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Scopus, and Web of Science. Researchers can search for relevant journals using the title or ISSN, similar topics, research paper abstracts, and even manuscripts; the advanced AI engine will use this to generate the best journals for you.

Each journal recommendation comes with a detailed journal report that has key information about shortlisted journals, including publisher details, journal metrics, author instructions, the editorial review process, and even a list of the latest articles published. With the Global Journal Database, you can see where your preferred journal is indexed and browse its publishing history to better understand its scope. The broad journal coverage, multiple search modes, and detailed journal reports make this an exceptional tool for researchers, simplifying and speeding up the often-daunting journal selection process.

The Global Journal Database is available free with a Researcher.Life Essentials Pack subscription.

Wrapping Up

Researchers everywhere are on a quest to uncover new insights and come up with ground-breaking research. Choosing the right digital tools for researcher and using these effectively can make your journey from brainstorming to breakthroughs a smoother, easier, and faster one.

If you’re looking for a seamless transition between various tools, choose Researcher.Life, which brings together innovative solutions to accelerate and optimize each stage of your research journey. Turn to Paperpal the next time you’re perplexed by language nuances, swipe through R Discovery’s reading recommendations to keep up with the latest developments, manage your research effectively with My Research Projects, or find the right journal for your paper with the Global Journal Database. Experience Researcher.Life and its many bespoke tools for researchers.

Researcher.Life is a subscription-based platform that unifies the best AI tools and services designed to speed up, simplify, and streamline every step of a researcher’s journey. The Researcher.Life All Access Pack is a one-of-a-kind subscription that unlocks full access to an AI writing assistant, literature recommender, journal finder, scientific illustration tool, and exclusive discounts on professional publication services from Editage.  

Based on 21+ years of experience in academia, Researcher.Life All Access empowers researchers to put their best research forward and move closer to success. Explore our top AI Tools pack, AI Tools + Publication Services pack, or Build Your Own Plan. Find everything a researcher needs to succeed, all in one place –  Get All Access now starting at just $17 a month !    

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The 11 best technology tools for researchers.

Research is a meticulous, painstaking process. But thanks to the help of technology ( https://www.bairesdev.com/insights/it-outsourcing-services/ ), the pain is lessened. No matter your field — whether it’s biology or computer science — there’s a tool out there to help you organize your notes, cite your sources, find important articles, connect with colleagues, and more.

Here’s a selection of 11 of the most useful ones.

This free tool wants to be “your personal research assistant.” It’s a free-to-use citation manager that helps you collect, organize, keep track of, cite, and share your research. You can also sync your research across devices, as Zotero offers integrations with browsers and Word processors.

The largest database of abstracts and citations of peer-reviewed research literature in the world, Scopus includes more than 36,000 titles. It covers subjects such as physical, life, social, and health sciences, with numerous publishers from around the world. It’s free to search for author profiles, as well as claim and update your own. Non-subscribers can also view journal rankings and metrics.

3. QuickCalcs

From GraphPad, QuickCalcs allows you to compute statistical analyses for a variety of data: categorical, continuous, statistical distributions, random numbers, and chemical and radiochemical. You’ll simply choose the category and type of calculator, enter the data, and view your results — all within your browser.

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique code consisting of letters, numbers, and special characters assigned to articles so that others can find them online. With Zenodo, you can receive a free DOI for your research, whether it’s a paper, article, essay, blog post, and nearly anything you can think of. Using it, you can share it with a thriving online community of researchers in all kinds of fields.

EndNote is an all-in-one tool for managing your references and citations. You can share your references with teams and keep track of edits and changes, comb resources to find the right ones for you, and create and format bibliographies. The software is packed with other features, including automatic link and reference updating to keep your citations current.

6. ReadCube

Here’s a web, mobile, and desktop platform that will help you manage your research across your devices. You can find, read, and annotate materials and preserve your notes and lists on your phone, laptop, or whatever device you’re using.

7. ResearchGate

Along with offering free access to research in your field, ResearchGate enables you to connect with others in the scientific community. You can share your work and collaborate with others in the industry, as well as get feedback.

You’re also able to see statistics on the impact of your work and the audience it’s garnering, along with receiving alerts when your connections publish new work. It’s completely free to register, too.

8. Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a free search engine that indexes academic research across a wide array of disciplines and formats, including journals, books, articles, dissertations, and more. It’s free to use for everyone, whether you’re a student or simply a curious person. Some articles are also free to read, while others require a login — although you’ll still generally be able to read the abstract either way.

9. F100Prime

Find news and recommendations for articles you should read about work in your field. Along with receiving the recommendations, you’ll get a quick summary of why you should read them. You can also follow local experts and get alerts about the articles they recommend, as well as save searches and get notified when works matching your interests and criteria become available.

Run by Cornell University, arXiv is a free, open-access repository of more than 1.5 million scholarly preprints that are accessible online. It covers fields including computer science, physics, economics, mathematics, statistics, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, and electrical engineering and systems science.

11. SJ Finder

Not only can you browse more than 30,000 accredited journals with existing research through SJ Finder, but you can also receive recommendations on journals that are best suited to publishing your own articles based on keywords in your paper’s title and abstract. The platform also helps you find a community, including labs, research partners, reviewers, and more.

Instant citations, connections with others in your field, access to peer-reviewed journal articles — what could be better? Research is grueling work, but with the help of these tools, you’ll streamline the process tenfold.

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Maximize your research potential: Top 20 research tools you need to know

In today’s digital age, with a plethora of tools available at our fingertips, researchers can now collect and analyze data with greater ease and efficiency. These research tools not only save time but also provide more accurate and reliable results. In this blog post, we will explore some of the essential research tools that every researcher should have in their toolkit.

From data collection to data analysis and presentation, this blog will cover it all. So, if you’re a researcher looking to streamline your work and improve your results, keep reading to discover the must-have tools for research success.

Revolutionize your research: The top 20 must-have research tools

Research requires various tools to collect, analyze and disseminate information effectively. Some essential research tools include search engines like Google Scholar, JSTOR, and PubMed, reference management software like Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote, statistical analysis tools like SPSS, R, and Stata, writing tools like Microsoft Word and Grammarly, and data visualization tools like Tableau and Excel.  

1. Google Scholar –  Google Scholar is a search engine for scholarly literature, including articles, theses, books, and conference papers.

2. JSTOR –  JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

3.PubMed – PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics.  

4. Web of Science : Web of Science is a citation index that allows you to search for articles, conference proceedings, and books across various scientific disciplines.  

5. Scopus – Scopus citation database that covers scientific, technical, medical, and social sciences literature.  

6. Zotero: Zotero is a free, open-source citation management tool that helps you organize your research sources, create bibliographies, and collaborate with others.

7. Mendeley – Mendeley is a reference management software that allows you to organize and share your research papers and collaborate with others.

8. EndNote – EndNoted is a  software tool for managing bibliographies, citations, and references on the Windows and macOS operating systems.  

9. RefWorks – RefWorks is a  web-based reference management tool that allows you to create and organize a personal database of references and generate citations and bibliographies.

10. Evernote –   Evernote is a digital notebook that allows you to capture and organize your research notes, web clippings, and documents.

11. SPSS – SPSS is a statistical software package used for data analysis, data mining, and forecasting.

12. R – R is a free, open-source software environment for statistical computing and graphics.

13. Stata – Stata is a  statistical software package that provides a suite of applications for data management and statistical analysis.

Other helpful tools for collaboration and organization include NVivo, Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. With these tools, researchers can effectively find relevant literature, manage references, analyze data, write research papers, create visual representations of data, and collaborate with peers.  

14. Excel –   Excel is spreadsheet software used for organizing, analyzing, and presenting data.

15. Tableau – Tableau is a data visualization software that allows you to create interactive visualizations and dashboards.

16. NVivo – Nviva is a software tool for qualitative research and data analysis.

17. Slack – Slack is a messaging platform for team communication and collaboration.

18. Zoom –   Zoom is a video conferencing software that allows you to conduct virtual meetings and webinars.

19. Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that allows you to chat, share files, and collaborate with your team.

20. Qualtrics – Qualtrics is an online survey platform that allows researchers to design and distribute surveys, collect and analyze data, and generate reports.

Maximizing accuracy and efficiency with research tools

Research is a vital aspect of any academic discipline, and it is critical to have access to appropriate research tools to facilitate the research process. Researchers require access to various research tools and software to conduct research, analyze data, and report research findings. Some standard research tools researchers use include search engines, reference management software, statistical analysis tools, writing tools, and data visualization tools.

Specialized research tools are also available for researchers in specific fields, such as GIS software for geographers and geneticist gene sequence analysis tools. These tools help researchers organize data, collaborate with peers, and effectively present research findings.

It is crucial for researchers to choose the right tools for their research project, as these tools can significantly impact the accuracy and reliability of research findings.

Summing it up, researchers today have access to an array of essential research tools that can help simplify the research process. From data collection to analysis and presentation, these tools make research more accessible, efficient, and accurate. By leveraging these tools, researchers can improve their work and produce more high-quality research.

Written by Prasad D Wilagama

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Top 21 must-have digital tools for researchers

Last updated

12 May 2023

Reviewed by

Jean Kaluza

Research drives many decisions across various industries, including:

Uncovering customer motivations and behaviors to design better products

Assessing whether a market exists for your product or service

Running clinical studies to develop a medical breakthrough

Conducting effective and shareable research can be a painstaking process. Manual processes are sluggish and archaic, and they can also be inaccurate. That’s where advanced online tools can help. 

The right tools can enable businesses to lean into research for better forecasting, planning, and more reliable decisions. 

• Why do researchers need research tools?

Research is challenging and time-consuming. Analyzing data , running focus groups , reading research papers , and looking for useful insights take plenty of heavy lifting. 

These days, researchers can’t just rely on manual processes. Instead, they’re using advanced tools that:

Speed up the research process

Enable new ways of reaching customers

Improve organization and accuracy

Allow better monitoring throughout the process

Enhance collaboration across key stakeholders

• The most important digital tools for researchers

Some tools can help at every stage, making researching simpler and faster.

They ensure accurate and efficient information collection, management, referencing, and analysis. 

Some of the most important digital tools for researchers include:

Research management tools

Research management can be a complex and challenging process. Some tools address the various challenges that arise when referencing and managing papers. 

.css-10ptwjf{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;background:transparent;border:0;color:inherit;cursor:pointer;-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-10ptwjf:disabled{opacity:0.6;pointer-events:none;} Zotero

Coined as a personal research assistant, Zotero is a tool that brings efficiency to the research process. Zotero helps researchers collect, organize, annotate, and share research easily. 

Zotero integrates with internet browsers, so researchers can easily save an article, publication, or research study on the platform for later. 

The tool also has an advanced organizing system to allow users to label, tag, and categorize information for faster insights and a seamless analysis process. 

Messy paper stacks––digital or physical––are a thing of the past with Paperpile. This reference management tool integrates with Google Docs, saving users time with citations and paper management. 

Referencing, researching, and gaining insights is much cleaner and more productive, as all papers are in the same place. Plus, it’s easier to find a paper when you need it. 

Acting as a single source of truth (SSOT), Dovetail houses research from the entire organization in a simple-to-use place. Researchers can use the all-in-one platform to collate and store data from interviews , forms, surveys , focus groups, and more. 

Dovetail helps users quickly categorize and analyze data to uncover truly actionable insights . This helps organizations bring customer insights into every decision for better forecasting, planning, and decision-making. 

Dovetail integrates with other helpful tools like ​Slack, Atlassian, Notion, and Zapier for a truly efficient workflow.

Putting together papers and referencing sources can be a huge time consumer. EndNote claims that researchers waste 200,000 hours per year formatting citations. 

To address the issue, the tool formats citations automatically––simultaneously creating a bibliography while the user writes. 

EndNote is also a cloud-based system that allows remote working, multiple-user interaction and collaboration, and seamless working on different devices. 

Information survey tools

Surveys are a common way to gain data from customers. These tools can make the process simpler and more cost-effective. 

With ready-made survey templates––to collect NPS data, customer effort scores , five-star surveys, and more––getting going with Delighted is straightforward. 

Delighted helps teams collect and analyze survey feedback without needing any technical knowledge. The templates are customizable, so you can align the content with your brand. That way, the survey feels like it’s coming from your company, not a third party. 

SurveyMonkey

With millions of customers worldwide, SurveyMonkey is another leader in online surveys. SurveyMonkey offers hundreds of templates that researchers can use to set up and deploy surveys quickly. 

Whether your survey is about team performance, hotel feedback, post-event feedback, or an employee exit, SurveyMonkey has a ready-to-use template. 

Typeform offers free templates you can quickly embed, which comes with a point of difference: It designs forms and surveys with people in mind, focusing on customer enjoyment. 

Typeform employs the ‘one question at a time’ method to keep engagement rates and completions high. It focuses on surveys that feel more like conversations than a list of questions.

Web data analysis tools

Collecting data can take time––especially technical information. Some tools make that process simpler. 

For those conducting clinical research, data collection can be incredibly time-consuming. Teamscope provides an online platform to collect and manage data simply and easily. 

Researchers and medical professionals often collect clinical data through paper forms or digital means. Those are too easy to lose, tricky to manage, and challenging to collaborate on. 

With Teamscope, you can easily collect, store, and electronically analyze data like patient-reported outcomes and surveys. 

Heap is a digital insights platform providing context on the entire customer journey . This helps businesses improve customer feedback , conversion rates, and loyalty. 

Through Heap, you can seamlessly view and analyze the customer journey across all platforms and touchpoints, whether through the app or website. 

Another analytics tool, Smartlook, combines quantitative and qualitative analytics into one platform. This helps organizations understand user behavior and make crucial improvements. 

Smartlook is useful for analyzing web pages, purchasing flows, and optimizing conversion rates. 

Project management tools

Managing multiple research projects across many teams can be complex and challenging. Project management tools can ease the burden on researchers. 

Visual productivity tool Trello helps research teams manage their projects more efficiently. Trello makes product tracking easier with:

A range of workflow options

Unique project board layouts

Advanced descriptions

Integrations

Trello also works as an SSOT to stay on top of projects and collaborate effectively as a team. 

To connect research, workflows, and teams, Airtable provides a clean interactive interface. 

With Airtable, it’s simple to place research projects in a list view, workstream, or road map to synthesize information and quickly collaborate. The Sync feature makes it easy to link all your research data to one place for faster action. 

For product teams, Asana gathers development, copywriting, design, research teams, and product managers in one space. 

As a task management platform, Asana offers all the expected features and more, including time-tracking and Jira integration. The platform offers reporting alongside data collection methods , so it’s a favorite for product teams in the tech space.

Grammar checker tools

Grammar tools ensure your research projects are professional and proofed. 

No one’s perfect, especially when it comes to spelling, punctuation, and grammar. That’s where Grammarly can help. 

Grammarly’s AI-powered platform reviews your content and corrects any mistakes. Through helpful integrations with other platforms––such as Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter, and LinkedIn––it’s simple to spellcheck as you go. 

Another helpful grammar tool is Trinka AI. Trinka is specifically for technical and academic styles of writing. It doesn’t just correct mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and grammar; it also offers explanations and additional information when errors show. 

Researchers can also use Trinka to enhance their writing and:

Align it with technical and academic styles

Improve areas like syntax and word choice

Discover relevant suggestions based on the content topic

Plagiarism checker tools

Avoiding plagiarism is crucial for the integrity of research. Using checker tools can ensure your work is original. 

Plagiarism checker Quetext uses DeepSearch™ technology to quickly sort through online content to search for signs of plagiarism. 

With color coding, annotations, and an overall score, it’s easy to identify conflict areas and fix them accordingly. 

Duplichecker

Another helpful plagiarism tool is Duplichecker, which scans pieces of content for issues. The service is free for content up to 1000 words, with paid options available after that. 

If plagiarism occurs, a percentage identifies how much is duplicate content. However, the interface is relatively basic, offering little additional information.  

Journal finder tools

Finding the right journals for your project can be challenging––especially with the plethora of inaccurate or predatory content online. Journal finder tools can solve this issue. 

Enago Journal Finder

The Enago Open Access Journal Finder sorts through online journals to verify their legitimacy. Through Engao, you can discover pre-vetted, high-quality journals through a validated journal index. 

Enago’s search tool also helps users find relevant journals for their subject matter, speeding up the research process. 

JournalFinder

JournalFinder is another journal tool that’s popular with academics and researchers. It makes the process of discovering relevant journals fast by leaning into a machine-learning algorithm.

This is useful for discovering key information and finding the right journals to publish and share your work in. 

Social networking for researchers

Collaboration between researchers can improve the accuracy and sharing of information. Promoting research findings can also be essential for public health, safety, and more. 

While typical social networks exist, some are specifically designed for academics.

ResearchGate

Networking platform ResearchGate encourages researchers to connect, collaborate, and share within the scientific community. With 20 million researchers on the platform, it's a popular choice. 

ResearchGate is founded on an intention to advance research. The platform provides topic pages for easy connection within a field of expertise and access to millions of publications to help users stay up to date. 

Academia is another commonly used platform that connects 220 million academics and researchers within their specialties. 

The platform aims to accelerate research with discovery tools and grow a researcher’s audience to promote their ideas. 

On Academia, users can access 47 million PDFs for free. They cover topics from mechanical engineering to applied economics and child psychology. 

• Expedited research with the power of tools

For researchers, finding data and information can be time-consuming and complex to manage. That’s where the power of tools comes in. 

Manual processes are slow, outdated, and have a larger potential for inaccuracies. 

Leaning into tools can help researchers speed up their processes, conduct efficient research, boost their accuracy, and share their work effectively. 

With tools available for project and data management, web data collection, and journal finding, researchers have plenty of assistance at their disposal.

When it comes to connecting with customers, advanced tools boost customer connection while continually bringing their needs and wants into products and services.

What are primary research tools?

Primary research is data and information that you collect firsthand through surveys, customer interviews, or focus groups. 

Secondary research is data and information from other sources, such as journals, research bodies, or online content. 

Primary researcher tools use methods like surveys and customer interviews. You can use these tools to collect, store, or manage information effectively and uncover more accurate insights. 

What is the difference between tools and methods in research?

Research methods relate to how researchers gather information and data. 

For example, surveys, focus groups, customer interviews, and A/B testing are research methods that gather information. 

On the other hand, tools assist areas of research. Researchers may use tools to more efficiently gather data, store data securely, or uncover insights. 

Tools can improve research methods, ensuring efficiency and accuracy while reducing complexity.

Should you be using a customer insights hub?

Do you want to discover previous research faster?

Do you share your research findings with others?

Do you analyze research data?

Start for free today, add your research, and get to key insights faster

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Selecting a Research Topic: Overview

• Refine your topic
• Background information & facts
• Writing help

Here are some resources to refer to when selecting a topic and preparing to write a paper:

• MIT Writing and Communication Center "Providing free professional advice about all types of writing and speaking to all members of the MIT community."
• Search Our Collections Find books about writing. Search by subject for: english language grammar; report writing handbooks; technical writing handbooks
• Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Online version of the book that provides examples and tips on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and other writing rules.
• Select a topic

Choosing an interesting research topic is your first challenge. Here are some tips:

• Choose a topic that you are interested in! The research process is more relevant if you care about your topic.
• If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
• Background reading can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic. 
• Review the guidelines on topic selection outlined in your assignment.  Ask your professor or TA for suggestions.
• Refer to lecture notes and required texts to refresh your knowledge of the course and assignment.
• Talk about research ideas with a friend.  S/he may be able to help focus your topic by discussing issues that didn't occur to you at first.
• WHY did you choose the topic?  What interests you about it?  Do you have an opinion about the issues involved?
• WHO are the information providers on this topic?  Who might publish information about it?  Who is affected by the topic?  Do you know of organizations or institutions affiliated with the topic?
• WHAT are the major questions for this topic?  Is there a debate about the topic?  Are there a range of issues and viewpoints to consider?
• WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national or international level?  Are there specific places affected by the topic?
• WHEN is/was your topic important?  Is it a current event or an historical issue?  Do you want to compare your topic by time periods?

Table of contents

• Broaden your topic
• Information Navigator home
• Sources for facts - general
• Sources for facts - specific subjects

Start here for help

Ask Us Ask a question, make an appointment, give feedback, or visit us.

• Next: Refine your topic >>
• Last Updated: Jul 30, 2021 2:50 PM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic

Research Question Generator for Students

Our online topic question generator is a free tool that creates topic questions in no time. It can easily make an endless list of random research questions based on your query.

Can't decide on the topic question for your project? Check out our free topic question generator and get a suitable research question in 3 steps!

Please try again with some different keywords.

• 👉 Why Use Our Tool?

💡 What Is a Topic Question?

✒️ how to write a research question.

• 📜 Research Question Example

🔗 References

👉 why use our topic question generator.

Our research topic question generator is worth using for several reasons:

• It saves you time. You can develop many ideas and formulate research questions for all of them within seconds.
• It is entirely free. Our tool doesn’t have any limits, probation periods, or subscription plans. Use it as much as you want and don’t pay a cent.
• It is download- and registration-free. Use it in any browser from any device. No applications are needed. You also don’t have to submit any personal data.
• It’s easy to use. You can see an explanation for every step next to each field you need to fill in.
• You can easily check yourself. Spend a couple of seconds to check your research question on logic and coherence.

A research topic question is a question you aim to answer while researching and writing your paper. It states the matter you study and the hypothesis you will prove or disprove. This question shares your assumptions and goals, giving your readers a basic understanding of your paper’s content.

It also helps you focus while researching and gives your research scope and limitations. Of course, your research question needs to be relevant to your study subject and attractive to you. Any paper will lack an objective and specificity without an adequately stated research question.

Research Topic Vs. Research Topic Question

‘Research topic’ and ‘research question’ are different concepts that are often confused.

	A is a broad area. It doesn’t reveal the objective of your paper but states what you will study. It is rather the field of your research than a narrow hypothesis.	A gives your paper an objective and states what correlations and factors you study. It is usually narrower and deeper than a research topic.

Research Question Types: Quantitative and Qualitative

Another essential differentiation to know – there are quantitative and qualitative research questions.

• Quantitative research questions are more specific and number-oriented. They seek clear answers such as “yes” or “no,” a number, or another straightforward solution. Example: How many senior high school students in New York failed to achieve the desired SAT scores due to stress factors?
• Qualitative research questions can be broader and more flexible. They seek an explanation of phenomena rather than a short answer. Example: What is the role of stress factors in the academic performance of high school senior students who reside in New York?

Now let’s get to know how to create your own research question. This skill will help you structure your papers more efficiently.

Step 1: Choose Your Research Topic

If you’ve already received general guidelines from your instructor, find a specific area of knowledge that interests you. It shouldn’t be too broad or too narrow. You can divide it into sub-topics and note them. Discuss your topic with someone or brainstorm to get more ideas. You can write down all your thoughts and extract potential issues from this paragraph or text.

Step 2: Research

After you’ve chosen a topic, do preliminary research . Search for keywords relevant to your topics to see what current discussions are in the scientific community. It will be easier for you to cross out those ideas that are already researched too well. In addition, you might spot some knowledge gaps that you can later fill in. We recommend avoiding poorly researched areas unless you are confident you can rely solely on the data you gather.

Step 3: Narrow Your Topic

At this stage, you already have some knowledge about the matter. You can tell good ideas from bad ones and formulate a couple of research questions. Leave only the best options that you actually want to proceed with. You can create several draft variations of your top picks and research them again. Depending on the results you get, you can leave the best alternatives for the next step.

Step 4: Evaluate What You’ve Got

Evaluate your topics by these criteria:

• Clarity . Check if there are any vague details and consider adjusting them.
• Focus . Your research matter should be unambiguous , without other interpretations.
• Complexity . A good topic research question shouldn’t be too difficult or too easy.
• Ethics . Your ideas and word choice shouldn’t be prejudiced or offensive.
• Relevance . Your hypothesis and research question should correspond with current discussions.
• Feasibility . Make sure you can conduct the research that will answer your question.

Step 5: Edit Your Research Question

Now you can create the final version of your research question. Use our tool to compare your interpretation with the one produced by artificial intelligence. Though you might change it based on your findings, you must create a perfect statement now. You need to make it as narrow as possible. If you don’t know how to make it more specific, leave it till you get the first research results.

📜 Research Question Generator: Examples

Compare a good and bad research question to understand the importance of following all rules:

	This research question doesn’t give any specific details about the research. It is so broad that it can refer to many things, such as malicious software, fishing, or spending too much time online. It is also rather hard to get accurate data with such a large quantity of social media users.
	This research question clearly states the subject and scope of research. The limitations given in the statement help to get more plausible research results.

Thank you for reading till the end. We hope you found the information and tool useful for your studies. Don’t forget to share it with your peers, and good luck with your paper!

Updated: May 24th, 2024

• The Writing Center | How to Write a Research Question | Research Based Writing
• How to Write a Research Question: Types, Steps, and Examples | Research.com
• Pick a Topic & Develop a Research Question – CSI Library at CUNY College of Staten Island Library

Research Title Generator

Looking for a research title generator? Try this tool! It can make a research topic or question for your proposal, essay, or any other project. 100% free, no registration required.

• Type a word or a phrase on which you want to focus your research.
• Click the button “Generate.”
• Pick the research topic from the list or generate more by clicking the same button.

Struggling with writing? We can help you out and deliver a paper within 3 hours! Learn More

Have you ever asked yourself why you need to spend hours looking for a perfect research topic? You could have just picked a random idea and go with it. But we know that your inner voice is telling you to work on it harder, and it is right!

Here is why:

First of all, the wrong topic can lead to struggles with gathering and analyzing information. If you are not knowledgeable in the chosen field, you might end up spending most of the precious time studying it! What’s more, beginners can find themselves trapped if the topic appears to be overcomplicated. Again, it might be too late when you realize it.

Moreover, a research topic that doesn't fire you up and seems boring can be considered a failure. After spending days on it, you just end up burned out because the issue you are researching doesn’t motivate you any longer…

Therefore, try to make this lengthy process as pleasant and fun as possible. Put some effort into coming up with a decent research topic.

How can you do so?

To avoid all these horrible things described above, you should just check out our research paper topic generator ! Our team created it because we care about students and researchers like you. We can't let your precious work fail.

The whole process of writing an academic paper would benefit from a correctly selected topic. But picking up a quality research topic is not an easy thing to do. So getting some help with it might be a good idea. And our generating tool is a real catch. No more struggles, no more worries! You don’t have to believe us, just try it!

• Good Topic Qualities
• Research Question
• 6 Research Title Tips

Brainstorming

Freewriting, what is a good research topic.

Good research topics don’t just lie around; you have to look for them. You may use some lists of ideas according to the area. Since there is an excellent research topic generator on our website, you don’t have to be concerned about it.

But the question is: What is a good topic?

Let’s suppose you have already used our generator and found the research topic. Sometimes it might not meet your requirements and needs some adjustments.

There are a few moments you need to keep in mind while improving your topic.

Qualities of a Good Research Topic

Let's consider the main attributes a good research topic should:

Do you know how people become successful by setting distinct goals? It works the same with research. A good topic should be able to set up goals and objectives for you.

Once again, working on the issue that you are just slightly familiar with is just a waste of time. Instead of actually writing your paper, you would waste time trying to educate yourself on the topic.

There are specific criteria you should have received. For example, your tutor expects you to highlight some issues or discuss a case. So try to make these requirements when picking a topic. If you need help, you can always use our topic idea generator.

It gives you a chance to switch from one subcategory to another, while still sticking to the main idea. Moreover, it provides you an abundance of sources and information. However, there is a downside.

If you feel overwhelmed and lost in the flow in information, narrowing down your topic might help. Our narrow topic generator can become your loyal helper with this! Once you have a specific area of research, it can help you keep on track and see the aim clearly. But be careful; if the topic is too narrow, finding reliable sources might become problematic.

Do a quick check up on every potential topic before you start writing your paper! It needs to have plenty of credible sources, such as books, articles, and journals, to work with.

As we already discussed, burnouts are a real thing. If you are not interested in a topic, your whole research process can turn into a dreadful duty.

From a Research Topic to a Research Question

The next important step after narrowing down your research topic is turning it into a question. Why? Having a question can guide you towards the aim of your studies.

Think about it:

When you have a question, you already have a clear picture of how a conclusion looks like. Moreover, it is a neat way to check the relevance of your topic. If you pick a good and narrow subject, Google struggles to give a simple answer. Then you know that your research topic is debatable. It shows that the idea relies on thorough analysis, reflection, and examination. And we are going through all these processes below.

To generate a research question from a topic, start asking yourself "why" and "how" concerning your research topic. After that, double-check the relevance of the question. Analyze why it matters.

Without evaluation, you don't know whether your question is good enough. Therefore, try to determine whether it is clear, specific, and complex. The last one is especially important.

If you ask a general question, there is nothing else to do than just answer "yes" or "no." Open-ended questions, on the other side, require much more research and effort, which makes your work more valuable.

Just to guide yourself a little bit more, you can imagine a debate on the issue you chose. How will you answer this question? What counterarguments might your opponent have? Does your support evidence look persuasive enough?

However, if your brain needs a break after all these steps, you can use some help from our tool. This generator can inspire you to ask the right questions!

Make a Research Title: 6 Tips

There are a few characteristics of a good research topic that we have discussed in the previous sections. However, we know you don't just want a "good" title; you want a perfect one!

To create something practical and impressive, you should take into account a few more aspects:

• the method that you implement in your study
• the findings

For example:

“Quantitative research of the positive effects of everyday meditation on the emotional well-being among Yale students.”

Here you can see the topic (everyday meditation), the research method (quantitative), sample (Yale students), and the outcome (positive effects).

It is pretty much the ultimate formula for a great title. And guess what? With the help of our generator, a research paper title can be created in a few minutes!

Your title should be from 5 to 15 words, so try not to exceed the limit. Save all the details you want to include for the thesis statement. The title should be catchy but informative. Then your readers can get a glimpse of your research paper and get interested.

Replace a few words for more precise terms, make it sound more official. Keep in mind that the tone of your title should reflect the tone of your paper.

For instance, see the title, "Many people get better sleep after using blue light filter glasses." Here, too vague terms like "many people" and "better" should be replaced

which will ensure that your paper can be found during a keywords search. Such a simple thing can significantly boost the popularity and relevance of your research paper.

of your educational institution. If you're editing your research paper for an academic journal or a particular project, consider their criteria as well. Do it before you start writing. It is easier than trying to tailor your finished work to a specific outline or word limit.

for a reader and predicts the core message accurately. If the title is boring, the value of your paper automatically drops because readers are not involved.

Even after you have used our research topic generator, you should go through these tips to double-check your title!

How to Come up with a Research Idea?

Remember the moment you found out about your assignment? The first thing you did (we hope at least) was to read the requirement carefully. However, we bet you had a crisis when it was time to find a topic for your writing... We feel you. It is not so easy to come up with argumentative research paper topics.

In the following section, you can find four methods on how to gather ideas for research. These techniques allow you to estimate how much you already know about the subject. And if it seems too little, you can still switch to a different area on this stage of writing.

Nevertheless:

You shouldn’t miss the main points of using generating methods! The ideas you come up with can be handy for your study in the following ways:

• The insights should help you to understand which way to move. The ideas you get allow you to pick the right research question. As you already know, it serves as a roadmap during the whole writing process.
• You get more arguments. Among the abundance of topics, you can use many of them as supportive pieces of evidence. Maybe a few might be used as counterarguments.
• These ideas can help you understand how you can improve the existing topic. Just use our research idea-generating tool and then adjust the topic! Simple as that! And it is much easier than going through gazillion ideas you brainstormed with the single purpose to filter all the weak ones.

Cubing method got its name thanks to six different perspectives you use to generate some research paper ideas. It may not be the best technique to create an entirely new topic, but it helps to review the existing one from a fresh perspective.

Basically, what you do is answering six questions about the idea you've got:

• First of all, you need to describe the idea, just generally what it is about.
• Then, you contrast and compare it to some random issue.
• Come up with some associations — for instance, note down the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the idea.
• The next step is analyzing the idea. You need to think of the parts it includes.
• How can it be applied? Think about its relevance.
• Write down arguments and counterarguments. Try to be as objective as possible.

You can do all the steps at once, or you may put it away for a little bit. Sleeping with these questions helps to have a fresh look the next morning.

If you think having a lot of ideas to choose from is better than having a few weird ones, then this method is for you.

Brainstorming is one of the most effective ways to create a list of topics for research papers. It literally makes your brain work so hard it may seem like there is a storm inside of your head. Moreover, it leaves you not only with a bunch of ideas but makes you feel satisfied with your intellectual productivity.

Just as with other methods, there are some recommendations so that you get the maximum benefit from it:

• Your actions are straightforward: write down any idea related to a chosen area that comes up to your mind.
• You can find it helpful to set a time limit. Usually, it depends on how many topics you intend to generate but try not to cross the 30-minute limit. You may get not as effective as you want after the first 20 minutes.
• Don't try too hard to write down full sentences. The point is to squeeze out of your brain as many keywords and phrases as you can.
• There are no "bad" ideas in this method! Even if it seems crazy, write it down. During the process, you should remain unbiased. Only during the process of the filtration, you judge the topics and select the ones that you think meet your requirements.

Freewriting is a bit different from brainstorming. However, it is a bit more intense and has its benefits. For example, it lowers the chance that you might skip a worthy idea. If you wonder how it works, just read the description.

Just like brainstorming, freewriting is all about the flow of thoughts and setting the time limit. Moreover, there is also a set of rules that are meant to increase productivity:

• Note down everything that comes to your mind, without judging. Instead of phrases, write in paragraphs and full sentences.
• Don’t come back to correct grammar and spelling mistakes. You can even try to close your eyes to resist the temptation.
• Even if you are stuck on with one idea, just keep writing. Eventually, you will move from the seemingly dead end.
• If your first language is not English, try to use some of the words in your native language to express your thoughts more precisely.
• Set a timer for around 15-20 minutes. When you finish, choose the best idea from your paper and repeat the process but focusing on the concept you picked.

So you can see that freewriting allows you to track the flow of your thoughts to catch anything you might find worthy. It is a kind of descriptive writing, but when you describe your own mind.

Mapping is an excellent method when you already have topic ideas but don't know where to move next. It is also great for people that prefer visuals over simple lists.

There are two ways of mapping. Choose whatever seems more comfortable for you:

• The first way starts with briefly writing down any words and phrases related to your topic. It should be done on a large piece of paper because those phrases should be noted in random places. Your next task would be connecting ideas that are associated. Clustering the themes can help you with creating arguments to support your topic. Or it can assist in finding a perfect thesis question.
• The second one is all about coming up with ideas while creating the web. You would start by putting your topic in the circle in the center and then drawing a few lines from it. Then, each line needs to have a related idea. It's almost like you would narrow the subject down. After that, repeat the same with every new circle you create.

Research Title Maker FAQ

Thank you for reading the article! We hope it was useful for you. Make sure to send our research topic generator to those who are struggling with their research paper.

Updated: Apr 5th, 2024

• 4 Important Tips on Choosing a Research Paper Title: Enago Academy
• The Research Problem-Question, Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Research Guides atUniversity of Southern California
• Narrowing a Topic and Developing a Research Question: George Mason University Writing Center
• Identifying & Developing a Topic, Research Process: Research Guides at Mesa Community College
• Choosing a Topic: Purdue Online Writing Lab, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University
• How to Write a Research Question: The Writing Center Guides, George Mason University
• Brainstorming: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 5 Brainstorming Strategies for Writers: Mark Nichol for Daily Writing Tips
• Step 1 - Generate Ideas: Eric Grunwald for the Writing Process, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Library closure notice: Friday, June 28

Please note for Friday, June 28: Special Collections Firestone, Cotsen Children's Library, East Asian Library, and Mudd Manuscript Library will be closed. In Firestone Library, the Circulation Desk and Trustee Reading Room will be open as normal; however, the following areas on the first floor will be closed for a private event: Discovery Hub, Thomas-Graham Reading Room, Scribner Solarium, Dulles Reading Room, IAS/Emeritus Reading Room, 1st floor study rooms, and the Tiger Tea Room. Study areas on the other floors are available. Normal hours/service resume on Saturday, June 29.  

Notable works on LGBTQIA+ topics (2024)

Visitors to the 2023 Pride Fest spin Princeton University Library's prize wheel. Photo credit: Brandon Johnson

In recognition of Pride Month, Princeton University Library shares media recommendations by students, staff, and faculty who visited Princeton University’s Pride Fair in April 2024.

Ursula K. Le Guin (Science fiction, fantasy, poetry, essay)

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (1929-2018) was a celebrated author whose body of work includes 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children’s books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. The breadth and imagination of her work earned her six Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and SFWA’s Grand Master, along with the PEN/Malamud and many other awards . In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2016 joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America. (From ursulakleguin.com )

Everina Maxwell (Science fiction)

Everina Maxwell is the author of "Winter’s Orbit," a queer romantic space opera about a diplomat who enters into an arranged marriage to save his planet.

She grew up in Sussex, UK, which has come a long way from the days of Cold Comfort Farm and now has things like running water and Brighton Pier. She was lucky enough to live near a library that stocked Lois McMaster Bujold, Anne McCaffrey and Terry Pratchett, so spent all her spare time devouring science fiction and doorstopper fantasy, with her family’s Georgette Heyer collection always a reliable friend when the library books ran out. (from everinamaxwell.com ) 

Douglas Stuart (Novelist)

​​Douglas Stuart is a Scottish-American author and fashion designer. His debut novel, "Shuggie Bain," won the 2020 Booker Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It won both the Debut of the Year, and the overall, Book of the Year, at the British Book Awards. Shuggie Bain is to be translated into 38 languages.

In April 2022, he published his second novel, "Young Mungo." He is currently at work on new writing.

His short stories, "Found Wanting," and "The Englishman," were published in The New Yorker magazine. His essay, "Poverty, Anxiety, and Gender in Scottish Working-Class Literature" was published by Lit Hub. (From douglasdstuart.com )

Carmen Maria Machado (Science fiction, fantasy, horror)

Carmen Maria Machado is the author of the bestselling memoir "In the Dream House," the graphic novel "The Low, Low Woods," and the award-winning short story collection "Her Body and Other Parties." She has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction, the Brooklyn Public Library Literature Prize, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize. In 2018, the New York Times listed "Her Body and Other Parties" as a member of "The New Vanguard," one of "15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century." (From carmenmariamachado.com )

Chen Chen (Poetry)

Chen Chen is the author of two books of poetry, "Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency" (2022) and "When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities" (2017), both published by BOA Editions. His latest chapbook is "Explodingly Yours" (Ghost City Press, 2023). His honors include two Pushcart Prizes and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and United States Artists. He lives in Rochester, NY and teaches for the low-residency MFA programs at New England College, Stonecoast, and Antioch. (From chenchenwrites.com )

Oscar Wilde (Epigram, drama, short story)

Oscar Wilde’s rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition came during the height of the prosperity that swept through London in the Victorian Era of the late 19th century. At a time when all citizens of Britain were finally able to embrace literature the wealthy and educated could only once afford, Wilde wrote many short stories, plays, and poems that continue to inspire millions around the world. (From cmgww.com )

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

Celebrated as a masterpiece from its first publication, "A Single Man" is the story of George, an English professor in suburban California left heartbroken after the death of his lover, Jim. With devastating clarity and humour, Christopher Isherwood shows George's determination to carry on, evoking the unexpected pleasures of life as well as the soul's ability to triumph over loneliness and alienation. (From worldcat.org )

Lo Que Hay by Sara Torres (Spanish language)

The narrative debut of award-winning poet Sara Torres combines lyricism and honesty to navigate grief, love and desire, her quests and her losses. The result of this journey is a map of the many cracks that make us human; an invitation to caress without fear the scars that make us who we are. (From amazon.com )

On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong  

Brilliant, heartbreaking, tender, and highly original - poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a sweeping and shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling. "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born--a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam--and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. (Provided by the publisher).

Girlhood by Melissa Febos

In her powerful new book, critically acclaimed author Melissa Febos examines the narratives women are told about what it means to be female and what it takes to free oneself from them.

Written with Febos’ characteristic precision, lyricism, and insight, "Girlhood" is a philosophical treatise, an anthem for women, and a searing study of the transitions into and away from girlhood, toward a chosen self.

Films and TV Shows

Fellow Travelers (2023)

Follows the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world. (From imdb.com )

Love, Victor (2020-2022)

Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation. (From imdb.com )

Pride (2014)

U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. (From imdb.com )

Big Eden (2000)

Big Eden is a tiny, fictional town in northwestern Montana, as Preston Sturges or Frank Capra might have envisioned it. Timber and Cowboy country. This is the story of Henry Hart, a successful New York artist, who returns to the town of his childhood to care for the ailing grandfather who raised him. Back in Big Eden, Henry must come to terms with his relationship with Dean Stewart, his best friend from high school, as well as the object of his unrequited love. (From imdb.com )

Bottoms (2023) 

After they accidentally injure their high school's star quarterback Jeff by hitting him with a car, transforming them from awkward outcasts to overnight celebrities, best friends PJ and Josie concoct an elaborate lie about having spent time in a juvenile correction facility over the summer, and with their equally-awkward friend Hazel and teacher Mr G, they start a self-defense club for women in an attempt to lose their virginities to Brittany and Isabel, their cheerleader crushes. (From imdb.com )

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

Pennsylvania, 1993. After getting caught with another girl, teenager Cameron Post is sent to a conversion therapy center run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick, whose treatment consists in repenting for feeling "same-sex attraction." Cameron befriends fellow sinners Jane and Adam, thus creating a new family to deal with the surrounding intolerance. (From imdb.com )

Published on June 1, 2024

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The New Rules of Marketing Across Channels

• Joshua Bowers,
• Denise Linda Parris,
• Qiong Wang,
• Danny McRae,
• Francisco Guzmán,
• Mark Bolino

Strategies for navigating a new kind of communication landscape: the “echoverse.”

The Internet and AI tools are transforming marketing communications within a complex, interactive landscape called the echoverse. While marketing has evolved since the proliferation of the Internet, in the echoverse, a diverse network of human and nonhuman actors — consumers, brands, AI agents, and more — continuously interact, influence, and reshape messages across digital platforms. Traditional one-way and two-way communication models give way to omnidirectional communication. The authors integrated communication theory and theories of marketing communications to create a typology of marketing communication strategies consisting of three established strategies — 1) promotion marketing, 2) relationship marketing, and 3) customer engagement marketing — and their proposed strategy, 4) echoverse marketing. The authors also recommend three strategies for marketers to make the shift from leading messaging to guiding messaging: 1) Enable co-creation and co-ownership, 2) Create directed learning opportunities, and 3) Develop a mindset of continuous learning.

Today, companies must navigate a new kind of communication landscape: the “ echoverse .” This new terrain is defined by a complex web of feedback loops and reverberations that are created by consumers, brands, news media, investors, communities, society, and artificial intelligence (AI) agents. This assemblage of actors continuously interact, influence, and respond to each other across a myriad of digital channels, platforms, and devices, creating a dynamic where messages circulate and echo, being amplified, modified, or dampened by ongoing interactions.

• JB Joshua Bowers is Co-CEO of Pavilion Intelligence, a marketing science consultancy and upcycled timber operation. He has a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma and is a leader in new product development for enterprise and marketing technology.
• DP Denise Linda Parris is Co-CEO Pavilion Intelligence, a marketing science consultancy and upcycled timber operation. She has been a professional athlete, entrepreneur, and academic with research focused on servant leadership, societal impact, and marketing technology.
• QW Qiong Wang is the Ruby K. Powell Professor of Marketing and Associate Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business. Her research focuses on the processes and boundaries of inter-organizational issues, including the development and management of strategic partnerships, marketing strategies, and supply chain management.
• DM Danny McRae is a technology professional with over 20 years of experience in information architecture.
• FG Francisco Guzmán is Professor of Marketing at the University of North Texas’ G. Brint Ryan College of Business. His research focuses on how brands can drive social transformation.
• MB Mark Bolino is the David L. Boren Professor and the Michael F. Price Chair in International Business at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business. His research focuses on understanding how an organization can inspire its employees to go the extra mile without compromising their personal well-being.

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Customizable AI tool developed at Stanford Medicine helps pathologists identify diseased cells

The artificial intelligence technology can be trained by pathologists, giving them personalized assistance in identifying cells that might indicate diseases such as cancer or endometritis.

June 19, 2024 - By Sarah C.P. Williams

Green boxes highlight plasma cells — an indicator of infection — in a sample of the tissue lining the uterus. Zou lab and Montine lab

It’s something nearly any pathologist would welcome: a personally trained assistant that can help them identify abnormal cells in blood samples and biopsies so they can more quickly and accurately diagnose cancer or other diseases. In recent years, that kind of image analysis assistance has become more accessible than ever, thanks to artificial intelligence. But most medical AI tools are one-size-fits-all, like an assistant who can do only one job and has already been trained based on someone else’s workflow and preferences.

Now, Stanford Medicine computer scientists and physicians have collaborated to develop a new AI tool that identifies diseased cells under the microscope and can be easily customized by any pathologist. The tool, called nuclei.io, was described June 19 in Nature Biomedical Engineering .

Stanford Medicine doctors using nuclei.io to diagnose endometritis — an inflammation of the uterine lining — or metastatic colon cancer were 62% faster at making diagnoses and 72% more accurate than they were without the program, the team reported. Importantly, nuclei.io was not designed to make diagnoses on its own, but to point the pathologist more quickly toward areas that need a closer look.

“We don’t want a tool that replaces doctors, but something that collaborates well with doctors,” said James Zou , PhD, associate professor of biomedical data science and co-senior author of the paper. “We found that a pathologist assisted by the AI is much better than either the pathologist by themselves or the AI by itself.”

“As we face a growing shortage of pathologists, AI tools that work in tandem with doctors have the potential to speed up some of the more tedious, time-consuming parts of our job,” added professor and chair of pathology Thomas Montine , MD, PhD, co-senior author of the paper.

The ability to learn quickly

Pathologists, who study fluids or tissues taken from the body to help diagnose disease, are often faced with daunting search-and-find tasks as they peer through a microscope. They identify rare cells that indicate cancer, inflammation or other diseases but may be surrounded by thousands of healthy cells. Learning to pinpoint these cells and make diagnoses takes years of training.

AI tools, when given examples of healthy cells and diseased cells, can quickly learn to distinguish between the two, and many AI-based programs have been developed to analyze digital pathology images. However, once they are trained on initial data, they generally cannot be changed. A program trained to find cancer cells in the pancreas, for instance, might not find cancer cells in the lungs or immune cells, which infiltrate cancerous tissue, embedded in the colon. Moreover, a program might pinpoint fewer, more or different cells than a pathologist would like based on their usual workflow.

“Pathology is both a science and an art,” Montine said. “Every pathologist has their own idea of what a classic cell type looks like when it comes to any particular type of biopsy. In the past, AI tools have not been able to capture those individual preferences.”

Zou and Montine’s team, led by postdoc Zhi Huang, wanted to create a more fluid AI tool for pathologists that could learn and evolve as a doctor uses it — more like a real human assistant who responds to feedback. They created nuclei.io, which comes with the basic ability to differentiate cell types based on the appearance of their central nuclei, which contain the cell’s core genetic information. However, the program is also designed to learn: As it is used, nucle.io checks in frequently with the doctor about how it is performing.

“The pathologist doesn’t need any technical background to customize nuclei.io,” Zou explained. “The AI shows the clinician its predictions and asks, ‘Do you think this is correct or incorrect?’”

Thomas Montine

In less than an hour of use, the AI program learns how to recognize the cells that the individual pathologist wants to look for and highlights those cells on an image. When Stanford Medicine pathologists started testing nuclei.io, Zou’s team tracked their mouse clicks on the computer screen, indicating where they thought they saw diseased cells, as they were analyzing images.

“When they had the AI assistance, they were more targeted in where they zoomed in to the relevant regions within a large image,” Zou said. “It was no longer like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

When it came to searching for immune cells in uterine biopsy images (to diagnose endometritis) or colon cancer cells within a lymph node (to diagnose metastatic cancer), the AI assistance decreased diagnosis time from 209 to 79 seconds.

Toward better patient care

The goal of tools like nuclei.io is to ensure that patients are receiving fast and accurate diagnoses. In initial trials at Stanford Medicine, nuclei.io not only sped up pathologists’ work, but improved the accuracy of their diagnoses and decreased the frequency with which they had to request additional images from a patient sample.

Already, Stanford Medicine pathologists are testing the program’s ability to recognize other types of diseased cells.

“One of the strengths of nuclei.io is that it is agnostic to application,” Montine said. “This can be a powerful tool for interpreting any biopsy where we are trying to differentiate healthy and malignant cells. That’s not true of any other major AI tool being used in pathology right now.”

Zou, Montine and their colleagues are working with a startup company to prepare nuclei.io for deployment across the Stanford Medicine health system — and elsewhere. The tool must meet certain compatibility and security benchmarks before it can be used outside of a research setting. 

The research was supported by a Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator Award.

• Sarah C.P. Williams Sarah C.P. Williams is a freelance science writer.

About Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients. For more information, please visit med.stanford.edu .

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Advanced genetic tools help researchers id new neurodevelopmental syndrome.

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In a recent study, a Yale-led research team described for the first time a rare neurodevelopmental syndrome that begins affecting patients during infancy, and typically causes developmental delays, severe seizures, cardiac dysrhythmia, and recurring infection.

After conducting a genetic analysis on 18 individuals with similar symptoms — but for whom there was no established diagnosis — and comparing the results with other findings, the research team, led by Yale’s Saquib Lakhani and Lauren Jeffries , was able to discern the genetic roots of what they determined was a syndrome shared by all of the patients.

According to their findings, published in the journal Genetics in Medicine, the newly defined syndrome — now known as Jeffries-Lakhani Neurodevelopment Syndrome, or JELANS — arises when patients have variants in a gene called CRELD1 , which has known roles in the cardiac and immune systems but had never before been characterized in patients with neurodevelopmental symptoms.

The discovery would not have been possible, researchers say, without next-generation DNA sequencing, a tool refined within the past decade that can rapidly sequence thousands of genes or even entire genomes.

“ The advancements in DNA sequencing have completely transformed how we approach patients,” said Lakhani , clinical director of Yale School of Medicine’s Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program and senior author of the study.

With next-generation sequencing, researchers can uncover alterations in genes — also known as variants — shared by people around the world with similar symptoms. That allows them to draw connections that may have been missed when relying on symptoms alone.

In this case, and in a growing number of others, it means a disorder that had gone undiscovered is now named and defined, giving those affected by it much-needed answers and researchers a clearer route to treatment development.

Lakhani and Jeffries, an associate research scientist and medical geneticist with the Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program and lead author of the study, recently sat down with Yale News to discuss JELANS and the process of identifying a new syndrome, how the program’s “gene-centric” approach to care yielded this discovery, and how it benefits families facing these rare disorders.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

This study included numerous individuals experiencing similar symptoms. Why did you suspect that this group of symptoms might in fact be a previously unknown syndrome?

Lauren Jeffries:  It may be surprising to know that, even in 2024, while over 7,000 rare genetic disorders are already defined, the majority of our 20,000 genes are still not well understood. So, while comparing clinical notes across patients is still critical to our work, in the   Pediatric Genomics Discovery Program  we utilize a “gene-centric” approach, meaning that instead of comparing symptoms, we look for genetic differences as our first step.

In this particular case, GeneDx — a commercial lab headquartered in Connecticut that we collaborate with — had genetically screened 10 patients who had compound heterozygous variants for the  CRELD1  gene. That means that the patients had two variants in this gene, one coming from their mom and one from their dad. GeneDx then asked if we wanted to look into this further. Most of the patients in our full cohort ended up sharing the exact same change, which was remarkably suspicious.

What is needed to identify a novel syndrome?

Saquib Lakhani: In general, you need a certain number of patients and consistency in the characteristics of those patients. You also typically need basic science evidence — which could be biochemical, cell system, or animal model testing — that corroborates that the variation in the gene in question is associated with the condition in the patients you’ve identified, and that it causes some changes or abnormalities in the scientific testing. And ultimately you need to be able to get a paper describing the syndrome published, indicating that your peers have accepted the evidence defining the syndrome.

How were you able to determine the characteristics of JELANS?

Jeffries: We worked with an incredible team of researchers to find 18 patients from 14 families in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., including one who we cared for in our pediatric ICU here at Yale. When no established diagnoses were identified for them, their genetic data was analyzed under the research lens. From this deeper analysis of genetic data, the CRELD1 gene emerged as the candidate to study.

We also looked through their clinical data to see what patterns might exist. All of the patients had low muscle tone at birth. In the majority of cases, epilepsy developed by around five months of age, and all patients had seizures at some point in time. Cardiac dysrhythmias and recurrent infections were also common, and we noticed that several patients had shared facial features such as large-appearing eyes.

Lakhani: We then studied the gene in frogs. We first wanted to see what happened when we removed the gene, because that can give us a clue as to what the gene is important for. When we fully knocked out the gene, the frog embryos did not survive. But when the gene was partially knocked out, we found that there were a lot of developmental defects in these frogs. Interestingly, surviving tadpoles with the gene significantly knocked out were more susceptible to developing seizures. That showed us that CRELD1 is important for the development of the embryo overall and that if it’s limited in function, it can also increase the susceptibility to seizures.

However, these patients aren’t missing CRELD1 , they have variations in it: letter changes in the gene that result in changes to the CRELD1 protein but do not cause the protein to completely disappear. When we tested the patient forms of the protein in tadpoles, we found that they did not function the same way as the normal form of CRELD1. Taken together, the clinical and basic science data provides solid evidence that JELANS is a new syndrome caused by variants in the CRELD1 gene.

Is there additional research needed on this syndrome?

Jeffries: As more patients are identified to have JELANS, I think we’ll further refine the clinical syndrome and begin to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying the symptoms. For instance, we’ll get a better sense of whether the immune system is affected, leading to the increased risk of infection, and how common cardiac dysrhythmias are and what’s the underlying cause.

Why is it important to describe and name a syndrome beyond simply treating the symptoms?

Lakhani: The families of children with undiagnosed diseases frequently go through wandering medical diagnostic odysseys — doctor after doctor, test after test — without ever reaching an answer. Parents can go their entire lives wondering what happened to their child, whether their other children can get the disease, whether they did something to cause it. Knowing a syndrome name and the underlying genetic cause can be so powerful by bringing a sense of closure and relief to families.

Jeffries: It’s validating. It’s clarifying. With a syndrome name, families can find a community and move forward. Especially for rare disorders, in syndrome support groups families can share their stories, discuss what treatments have worked and what treatments haven’t, and just talk to other parents who understand.

Lakhani: And in some countries, it can be hard to get resources without a specific diagnosis. With a diagnosis, families may qualify for support services, so it can have practical implications even beyond the knowledge.

In this case, how will the discovery inform treatment?

Jeffries: Understanding this syndrome at the molecular level is essential for the ultimate goal of finding treatment that’s targeted and specific to this disorder and that is meaningful in helping patients thrive.

Is this an approach others can use?

Lakhani: Everyone who cares for patients should be thinking about this. For many years, as physicians we would look at certain patients and say, “They’ve got something underlying.” But we could never put our finger on it because we didn’t have a robust way to test broadly for genetic conditions; we had to just do the best we could. But we now have a tool that allows us to see if there’s a genetic explanation for a child’s condition. We no longer have to just do the best we can with limited information. We can actually try to find answers. It’s something that has had an incredible impact and it’s something we regularly encourage others to pursue.

Jeffries: And while the discovery of JELANS was through a research endeavor, we want to be clear that DNA sequencing is not just for uncovering new syndromes. Genetic testing can be ordered by a doctor and is available for patients with all sorts of descriptive diagnoses, such as autism, intellectual disability, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy, where symptoms determine the diagnosis.

A patient’s genes may reveal a more specific diagnosis than any constellation of symptoms can define; understanding the molecular cause can ultimately give patients clearer answers and, hopefully, more targeted treatments.

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Biden, Trump supporters both say the U.S. economic system unfairly favors powerful interests

Supporters of Joe Biden and Donald Trump differ on many political values, from views of immigration and gender identity to opinions about the government’s role and social safety net programs .

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand voters’ views related to economic issues in the context of the 2024 election. For this analysis, we surveyed 8,709 adults, including 7,166 registered voters, from April 8 to April 14, 2024.

Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

But Trump and Biden supporters share a fair amount of common ground when it comes to criticisms of the U.S. economic system.

According to a Pew Research Center survey of 8,709 adults – including 7,166 registered voters – conducted April 8-14, 2024:

• 85% of registered voters who support Biden say that the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests, while just 14% say the system is generally fair to most Americans.
• 62% of registered voters who support Trump say the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests, while 37% say the system is generally fair.
• Overwhelming majorities of Biden supporters also say major corporations have too much power (84%) and most make too much profit (82%).
• About two-thirds of Trump supporters (65%) say corporations have too much power. They’re about evenly split in their evaluation of business profits: 48% say business corporations make too much profit, and 51% say their profits are fair.

Views about the economic system differ by age and income

There are substantial age and income differences among Trump supporters on whether the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. These differences are more modest among Biden supporters.

Among Trump supporters

• 71% of Trump supporters ages 18 to 49 say the system unfairly favors powerful interests. A smaller majority (56%) of Trump supporters 50 and older say the same.
• Majorities of Trump supporters with lower (70%) and middle incomes (65%) also say the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. Upper-income Trump supporters are more divided: 44% say the system unfairly favors powerful interests and 55% say the system is generally fair to most Americans.

Among Biden supporters

Biden supporters overwhelmingly say the economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. More than eight-in-ten across all age and income groups say this.

Little recent change in views of the economic system

Since 2019, clear majorities of Americans have said that the U.S. economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. But the share saying this today is slightly higher than it was from 2019 to 2021. About three-quarters of all U.S. adults (74%) now say the system unfairly favors powerful interests, compared with 71% in 2021.

Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, views are essentially unchanged over this period, with 85% now saying the system unfairly favors powerful interests. However, Republicans and Republican leaners are now more likely to say the system unfairly favors powerful interests than they were a few years ago: 62% say this today, compared with 52% in 2019.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

• Economic Systems
• Government Spending & the Deficit

Ted Van Green is a research analyst focusing on U.S. politics and policy at Pew Research Center .

Economic ratings are poor – and getting worse – in most countries surveyed

Most u.s. bank failures have come in a few big waves, black americans view capitalism more negatively than positively but express hope in black businesses, trust in america: how do americans view economic inequality, citizens in advanced economies want significant changes to their political systems, most popular.

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