Skip to Main Content
Turku University Library

Librarian's guide to Artificial Intelligence

Scite Quick Start Guide

This quick start guide outlines the key functionalities of Scite.ai, enabling you to integrate it into your research and studying activities. Whether you're conducting a literature review, analyzing citation trends, or organizing your references, Scite.ai can assist in making your work more efficient and evidence-based.

We encourage you to explore this tool and see how it can enhance your research and study workflow.

Getting Started

  • Go to Scite.
  • Register to Scite with your UTU email address to access all the features.
  1. Click Sign Up in the top right corner.
  2. Create an account using your UTU email address by entering your details (full name, email, password).
  3. Agree to the terms.
  4. Click Sign up.
  5. Make sure that your organisation registration is activated: go to Subscription in your profile and check that it says Organization License for University of Turku.

NOTE: Do not select “Access through your institution”, as this option is only for organizations that are part of the Open Athens agreement, which Turku is not included in.
NOTE: For security reasons do not use your UTU password, create a new password for the service.

  • Experiment with Smart Citations and Scite Assistant for quick insights.
  • Build Custom Dashboards and explore Citation Search for in-depth analysis.
  • Use Reference Check and Scite Metrics to refine your writing and research decisions.

Find out more about scite with the webinar recording.

Instructions for use

  • What They Are: Smart Citations go beyond traditional citation counts to reveal the context of how papers are cited. They classify whether a citation supports, contrasts, or simply mentions the referenced paper.
  • Why It Matters: This feature allows a nuanced understanding of a paper's influence in its field, helping you evaluate its reception and relevance.
  • How to Use: Search for a paper on Scite.ai and click the Smart Citations badge to view detailed citation contexts.
  • What It Is: An AI-powered assistant tailored for researchers and students, Scite Assistant can answer research queries with evidence-based responses drawn from its vast database of 187 million research documents.
  • Key Features:
    • Ask natural language questions.
    • Get transparent, peer-reviewed answers.
    • Control the scope, references, and length of responses.
  • Pro Tip: For precise results, use specific prompts, e.g., "recent advancements in renewable energy storage technologies."
  • What It Does: Enables detailed exploration of citation contexts across over 1.2 billion statements.
  • Best For: Systematic reviews, method-specific searches, and verifying AI-generated insights.
  • How to Use: Use filters to find supporting or contrasting citations and refine searches with Boolean operators (e.g., AND, OR, NOT).
  • Purpose: Organize and analyze your research / study collection.
  • Features:
    • Collect papers and set citation alerts.
    • Analyse trends and impacts within your field.
    • Use the “Chat with Dashboard” tool for interactive discussions about your collection.
  • How to Start: Create a dashboard for your current project and populate it with key papers.
  • Use Case: Ensures the accuracy of your citations by identifying retracted references and potential omissions.
  • Steps:
    • Upload your manuscript or reference list.
    • Review the analysis and refine your references before submission.
  • Pro Tip: Conduct a Reference Check to streamline the peer review process.

What It Offers: Evaluate journals, authors, and institutions by the context of citations rather than mere counts.
How to Use: Look up journals to analyse supporting vs. contrasting citation breakdowns, aiding in publication or collaboration decisions.