About Web of Science Research Assistant
The Web of Science Research Assistant is an AI-powered research tool that helps you discover, understand, and analyze scholarly literature using the Web of Science Core Collection.
It provides a single, seamless research experience, allowing you to move from question to insight without switching between tools. You can ask questions, explore topics, analyze research, and complete tasks such as literature reviews or journal selection, all within one continuous workflow.
One‑Box unified experience
The One‑Box experience is the main way to interact with Research Assistant.
At the top of the page, you’ll see a search bar:
“What are you researching today?”
This is your starting point for the entire research journey.
What you can do in one conversation
- Ask a research question
- Explore topics and related subtopics
- Retrieve key and seminal papers
- Create a literature review
- Analyze authors and institutions
- View trends and visualizations
- Find journal recommendations
Why this matters
You are not limited to one task at a time.
You can start anywhere, for example:
- Begin with a question → explore the topic → create a literature review
- Start with a topic → analyze trends → find a journal
Everything happens in one continuous flow, helping you move from discovery to deeper insight without restarting or changing tools.
Ways to get started
Below the search bar, you can choose a starting point depending on your goal:
- Ask a research question
- Explore a topic
- Create a literature review
- Find a journal
These are different entry points, you can continue your research journey seamlessly from any of them.
Ask a research question
Use this option to quickly answer academic questions and discover supporting research.
What it helps you do
- Get clear, evidence-based answers
- View concise summaries with references
- Find relevant papers and citations
- Explore related research
Example queries
- What is the role of mitochondria in cancer progression?
- How does climate change affect biodiversity?
- What are the latest developments in generative AI in healthcare?
- Summarize DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2022.06.013
This is the fastest way to move from a question to validated insight and supporting literature.
Explore a topic
Topic Explorer helps you understand a research area and navigate it more effectively.
What you can do
- Get a definition and overview of a topic
- Discover related topics and subtopics
- Identify leading authors and institutions
- Access top review articles
- Analyze publication trends over time
- View interactive visualizations and maps
Example queries
- Explore the topic of climate change and its subtopics
- Show related topics for machine learning in healthcare
- Key trends and research areas in renewable energy
- Main concepts and leading researchers in gene editing
You can continue asking follow-up questions to refine your understanding and explore deeper insights.
Create a literature review
Use this workflow to synthesize research on a topic.
What it provides
- A structured overview of key literature
- Insights into major themes, trends and research gaps
- Identification of research hotspots
- Formulation of hypothesis
You can modify:
- Number of articles
- Time range
- Output format
Example queries
- Create a literature review on the impact of social media on mental health
- Literature review on climate change adaptation strategies in agriculture
- Summarize key research on artificial intelligence in education
- What are the main research gaps in urban sustainability studies?
This helps you move efficiently from exploration to structured research output.
Find a journal
Use Find a Journal to identify suitable journals for publishing your work.
How it works
- Enter your manuscript details (title and abstract)
- Optionally provide a title and abstract for better recommendations
- Receive a ranked list of journals
Each result includes
- Publisher and country
- Indexing and publication details
- Additional metrics may vary based on your subscription
Example queries
- Find journals for research on climate change and public health
- Suggest journals for a paper on machine learning in finance
- Best journals to publish a study on renewable energy storage
- Find suitable journals for my manuscript on cancer immunotherapy
Visualizations and insights
Research Assistant helps you understand research through visual exploration.
- Topic maps
- Citation and co-citation networks
- Publication/Citation trends over time
- Geographic research distribution
- Word clouds and keyword insights
These visuals are explained in context, helping you interpret and act on the data.
Author and institutional insights
You can explore experts and organizations within your field.
- Identify leading researchers
- Understand research focus and output
- Discover collaboration patterns
- Explore institutional activity in your topic area
Transparency and trust
Research Assistant provides visibility into how results are generated.
- Shows how your question is interpreted
- Expands queries with related concepts
- Provides referenced results for verification
- Suggests ways to refine and improve search results
This supports confidence, transparency, and reproducibility.
Tips for best results
- Ask clear, specific questions
- Include details such as topic, timeframe, or institution
- Use natural language
Examples:
- Papers on biotechnology from University of California (2020–2023)
- What are recent trends in mental health research?
Summary
Web of Science Research Assistant is a unified research experience that helps you:
- Start from any point (question, topic, or task)
- Move seamlessly across research workflows
- Discover and analyze research faster
- Gain insights with clarity and confidence
It is designed to help you move from question → discovery → insight → action in one continuous flow.