Free, exact tools for research, methodology, analysis, writing and publication. Every result shows the reasoning behind it, so you can check it and learn it.
ResearchResearch Question Builder
MethodologyResearch Design Builder
AnalysisData Analysis Recommender
WritingWord Counter
PublicationAPA 7 Citation & Reference Builder
Research rarely goes in a straight line, but most projects pass through the same nine stages. Open any stage to see what it means, why it matters, and where to start.
What it means. A topic or problem that interests you and that others could care about, before it has been turned into a question.
Why it matters. A clear problem keeps every later choice, from the literature you read to the test you run, pointed in one direction.
What it means. A focused question, with objectives and, for quantitative work, hypotheses, that your study can actually answer.
Why it matters. Your question decides your design, your data and your analysis. A vague question produces a vague study.
What it means. The main concepts in your question, with the synonyms and phrases that scholars use to describe them.
Why it matters. Databases match words, not meaning. Good search terms decide whether you find the work that matters.
Tools
What it means. Searching for existing studies, recording what each found and how, and comparing them to see what is established and what is not.
Why it matters. A literature review shows where your study fits, and it supplies the concepts, methods and measures your work builds on.
What it means. The approach, variables, sample and instruments that let your study answer its question.
Why it matters. The design determines which conclusions your data can support. It is hard to repair after the data are collected.
Tools
What it means. Gathering responses or measurements, and preparing them for analysis: coding, cleaning and describing them.
Why it matters. Analysis can only be as sound as the data behind it, and the way you collect data limits the tests you can use.
What it means. Choosing an analysis that fits your question and data, checking its assumptions, and reporting size and uncertainty as well as significance.
Why it matters. The right test answers your question; the wrong one can mislead. Effect sizes and confidence intervals tell readers how much, not only whether.
Tools
What it means. Structuring your findings and reasoning into an essay, report or thesis, within the limits you were given.
Why it matters. Readers judge research through the writing. Clear structure and plain sentences let your evidence be seen.
What it means. Citing each source in the text and listing it in a reference list, in the style your institution requires.
Why it matters. Accurate citation credits other people's work, lets readers find your sources and protects you from accusations of plagiarism.
Featured tool
Draws PRISMA 2020 flow diagrams for systematic, scoping and rapid reviews, checks that every number adds up, and exports sharp SVG, PNG and PDF files.
Start here
A good first tool for each stage of a project, chosen by the ResearchKit team.
Helps you shape a focused research question, explaining each question type and giving feedback on your own wording.
Helps you understand, compare and justify research designs against your own project, without choosing one for you.
Works out a sample size from your assumptions, shows every step of the working, and explains what each assumption means.
Recommends statistical analyses from your variables, hypotheses, design and sample, and explains why each one suits your project.
Builds temporary APA 7 references and in-text citations for books, journal articles and web pages in APA Style, 7th edition.
Counts words, characters, sentences and paragraphs, and estimates reading and speaking time.
Two short exercises to get a feel for choosing a statistical test. Nothing you choose here is saved or sent.
Answer both questions to see a test to consider.
Open a tool or a guide and your session progress will appear here. It stays in this tab and is cleared when you close it.
Browse
Every tool belongs to one area of academic work.
Find, format and check citations in the major academic styles. 8 available.
Measure and check your text against assignment requirements. 7 available.
Plan studies and analyse results, with every method explained. 11 available.
Shape the questions, objectives and design of a research project. 13 available.
Why ResearchKit
Tools you can rely on in work that is marked, examined and published.
What's new
The most recently published tools.
Draws PRISMA 2020 flow diagrams for systematic, scoping and rapid reviews, checks that every number adds up, and exports sharp SVG, PNG and PDF files.
Organise, compare and synthesise the studies in your literature review, and see the repeated methods, variables and gaps across them.
Builds publication-ready research tables in APA, IEEE, Harvard, Chicago or MLA style, from your data, your results or your project, ready to paste into Word.
Turns your data into publication-ready charts for theses, journals and reports, with APA- and IEEE-friendly styles, text alternatives and sharp exports.
Roadmap
Tools we plan to build next, by area. They are listed as coming soon until they are published; no dates are promised.
Nothing planned yet.
Nothing planned yet.
Nothing planned yet.
Nothing planned yet.
Academic principles
A result without a source is only an opinion. Every tool names the method, the assumptions and the authority it follows.
No reference, figure or finding is ever made up. When a tool can't know something, it asks you or says so.
Explanations sit beside every result, so the next piece of work is easier because you understand the rule.
Every tool is built to work with a keyboard alone, with assistive technology, on small screens and in light or dark.