Researchers Guide
bulkU is an indispensable tool for academic researchers, students, and anyone involved in intensive online research. Streamline your literature reviews, manage sources efficiently, and keep your research organized.
Academic workflow focus: This guide provides practical workflows for literature reviews, source management, and exporting for citation management.
Why Researchers Love bulkU
Academic research involves managing vast numbers of URLs from databases, journals, and websites. bulkU simplifies this process, allowing you to focus on your research, not on managing tabs.
Key Benefits for Research
- Efficient Source Collection: Quickly gather URLs from multiple databases and search engines.
- Organized Literature Reviews: Use groups and tags to manage papers by topic, status, or relevance.
- Clutter-Free Workspace: Avoid having hundreds of tabs open simultaneously.
- Easy Export for Citation: Export URL lists to CSV for easy import into Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote.
- URL Notes (Pro): Jot down key findings or summaries directly on each URL.
- Session Management: Save your research session and pick up where you left off.
Focus on what matters: Researchers can save hours on source management, allowing more time for analysis and writing.
Common Research Databases
bulkU works with any online database or search engine.
Supported Platforms
- Google Scholar: Collect papers, articles, and citations.
- PubMed: Gather biomedical literature.
- JSTOR: Access academic journals, books, and primary sources.
- Scopus & Web of Science: Track citations and research output.
- University Libraries: Manage resources from your institution's online portal.
- General Search Engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.
Integration workflow:
- Perform your search on any database.
- Use the context menu to add links to a bulkU group.
- Or, copy a list of links and paste them into the extension.
- Organize with groups and tags.
- Open in batches for review.
Workflow 1: Conducting a Literature Review
A systematic literature review requires meticulous organization. bulkU makes it manageable.
Create a Project Group
In bulkU, create a new group for your research project (e.g., "Thesis Chapter 1", "AI Ethics Paper").
Gather Sources
As you search on Google Scholar, JSTOR, etc., right-click on interesting links and add them to your project group.
Initial Screening with Tags
Create tags like "to-read", "relevant", "maybe", "irrelevant".
Open URLs in small batches (5-10 at a time). Quickly read the abstract and tag each source accordingly.
Deep Dive and Note-Taking
Filter by the "relevant" tag. Open these sources one by one or in small batches for a detailed read.
Use the **URL Notes (Pro feature)** to add key takeaways, quotes, or summaries to each URL.
Update Tags
As you read, update tags to "read", "cited", or "synthesis-needed". This keeps your progress clear.
Result: A well-organized, filterable list of all your sources, with notes and status, all in one place.
Workflow 2: Source Management and Export
Keep your sources organized and ready for your citation manager.
Organize by Theme
Create different groups for different themes or chapters of your research (e.g., "Chapter 1 - History", "Chapter 2 - Methods").
Use Tags for Granularity
Within a group, use tags to specify source type ("journal-article", "book-chapter", "conference-paper") or methodology ("qualitative", "quantitative").
Export for Citation Manager
When you're ready to write, filter for the sources you plan to cite (e.g., tag "cited").
Click "Export as CSV". This creates a simple text file with one URL per line.
Import into Zotero/Mendeley
Most citation managers can import URLs from a text file or allow you to paste a list. This is much faster than adding them one by one.
Pro tip: Regularly back up your entire research collection using the "Backup All Groups" feature. Store the JSON file in a safe place like Google Drive or Dropbox.
Tag Organization Strategies for Researchers
A good tagging system is key to efficient research management.
Recommended Tag Structure
- By Status: "to-read", "reading", "read", "cited"
- By Relevance: "highly-relevant", "moderately-relevant", "background-reading"
- By Source Type: "journal-article", "book", "conference-proceedings", "thesis", "website"
- By Theme/Concept: "concept-a", "theme-b", "methodology-x"
- By Project: "project-alpha", "literature-review-2025"
Tag Color Coding
- Red: Key papers, highly relevant
- Orange: Important, but secondary
- Yellow: To read soon
- Green: Read and processed
- Blue: Background or foundational texts
Research Tips & Tricks
Leverage bulkU's features for maximum research productivity.
Tracking Citations (Snowballing)
- Create a group for a key paper.
- Add all the interesting URLs from its bibliography to the group.
- Tag them "from-[author-name]".
- This helps you trace the lineage of ideas and discover foundational research.
Collaborative Research
- Export a group as a JSON file.
- Share it with a collaborator.
- They can import it into their bulkU extension to see your organized list, including tags and notes (Pro).
Daily Research Digest
- Create a group called "Daily Digest".
- Throughout the day, add interesting articles, news, or blog posts you come across.
- Use the **Scheduled Opening (Pro feature)** to open this group automatically every morning to catch up.
Troubleshooting
Paywalled Articles
Problem: URLs from databases lead to a paywall.
Solution: Ensure you are logged into your university's library portal or VPN. bulkU opens the URLs, but you still need the correct access permissions.
Dynamic URLs
Problem: URLs from some databases are session-based and expire.
Solution: Try to find a permalink or DOI link for the article. These are stable and won't expire. Add the permalink to bulkU instead of the session-based URL.
Importing into Citation Manager Fails
Problem: Your citation manager doesn't recognize the URLs from the exported CSV.
Solution: Check the documentation for your specific citation manager. Some may require a specific format. The CSV from bulkU is a standard, one-URL-per-line file, which is widely compatible.
What's Next?
Explore more features to enhance your research workflow: