Browser Extensions for Online Research

The LibKey Nomad extension (for Google Chrome and Firefox only) provides instant links to full text scholarly content available through the Rice Library. This means that if you find scholarly resources on the web outside of library databases (e.g. in PubMed, on a publisher website, in Wikipedia, etc.), LibKey Nomad will scan for Rice Library access and generate a link directly on the website.

Follow these steps to install and use Libkey Nomad in Chrome:

1. Find LibKey Nomad in the Chrome Web Store.
2. Click or tap the Add to Chrome button.
3. On the new tab that opens, type university of southern indiana into the institution search box.
4. Select University of Southern Indiana option that appears in the search box drop-down.
5. When the green box reading "Library selection saved!" appears, you can close that browser window and begin (or continue!) searching. LibKey Nomad will operate in the background.

Follow these steps to install and use Libkey Nomad in Firefox:

1. Find Libkey Nomad in the Firefox Browser Add-ons.
2. Click or tap the Add to Firefox button.
3. If your browser is already configured to put extensions in the toolbar, you should now see a small, green flame icon in your toolbar. If not, go to the triple bar menu and find the Customize menu. Click that, and then drag the Add-ons icon (a puzzle piece) to the Bookmarks Toolbar, after which the little green flame for Libkey Nomad should appear.
4. Click on the green flame icon. It should open a pop-up window that asks you to Select Organization. Search for and selected University of Southern Indiana. Once your selection is saved, you can close that window and begin (or continue!) searching. Libkey Nomad will operate in the background.

Image by Heather Piwowar and Jason Priem [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Unpaywall browser extension (Firefox and Chrome browsers only) links you with legal, open access versions of scholarly publications. Unpaywall and LibKey Nomad compliment each other in that while Nomad finds full text content through the Rice Library, Unpaywall may find open access content outside of the Rice Library's indexes.

Follow these steps to install and use Unpaywall:

1. Navigate to the Unpaywall website and select the Get the Extension link
2. Unpaywall will detect your browser type and route you to the appropriate extension store.
3. Select the option to add the extension to your browser.
4. Any time the green button with a lock appears on the edge of a webpage, you can click the button for full text access.

The scite_ browser plugin for Chrome or Firefox is a useful tool for assessing the quality of a scientific article by identifying the ways in which it has been cited and used in other sources (supported, mentioned, or disputed), not unlike the Shepardizing tool often found in case law databases. It also provides helpful links out to those other sources. Users may sign up for a free account with scite.ai in order to get access to additional services (dashboards, checking your own articles, getting alerts, etc.); there are more tools and options for users who choose to pay for further service. Zotero users may also download a Zotero plugin that provides the same citation assessment information as the browser plugin.

Follow these steps to install and use scite_:

1. Navigate to the scite_ website. Firefox users should see a button for adding the browser extension at the top of the page; Chrome users should go to the Resources tab at the top of the page and then select the option to "download our browser extension."

2. Follow directions in the appropriate extension/app store to install the extension.

3. When you view an article or its abstract/record at the publisher's site (or in some databases like PubMed), a small box should appear on one side of your browser window. It will look a bit like this:

The numbers in the box will indicate whether or not the article on that page has been supported (the first number, next to the green check), merely mentioned (the second number, next to the gray slash), or disputed (the third number, next to the orange question mark)

4. To explore those numbers in more detail, click on the scite_ box. You'll be taken to a report with citation snippets (brief clips of the citing articles relevant to their categorization), including DOIs and links where available. Note: Users who only have free accounts have a limit to the number of reports they can request (5/month) and up to 792 citation snippets (see the scite_ pricing page for other options and additional information)

Zotero is a free, open source, easy-to-use citation management tool that helps you to collect, manage, cite, and share your research sources.

1. Go to Zotero.org
2. Select the Log In link in the upper, right corner of the window.
3. Select Register for a Free Account
4. Fill out the registration form
5. Authenticate your account via your email
   Note: If you want to use Zotero after graduation, you may want to register with a personal email account.
6. Install the Zotero Connector for Chrome or Firefox. (Safari is not recommended.)
   

Learn more about configuring your Zotero cloud or desktop library in our Zotero Guide.

Follow these steps to install and use the Google Scholar Chrome browser extension:

1. Find Google Scholar Button in the Chrome Web Store.
2. Click or tap the Add to Chrome button.
3. You will see the statement, "It can: Read and change your data on scholar.google.com," click the Add extension button.
4. The Google Scholar icon will now appear in your bookmarks toolbar.
5. Click on the Google Scholar icon, then click on the gear icon in the lower right. This will open the Google Scholar settings.
6. Go to Library Links and make sure that you have linked your Google Scholar account to our research databases.

Now you can initiate a Scholar search by clicking the icon and entering your keywords. You will be shown the top three results and clicking the icon in the lower left corner will show full search results in a new tab.

Another way to use the extension is to highlight an article title that you want to find on a web page, then click on the Google Scholar icon. You will see the first three results appear in the dropdown box and you can click the icon in the lower left to see the full results in a new tab.

The CC Search browser extension is a free tool provided by the nonprofit organization that created and maintains the Creative Commons license scheme. It allows you to search specifically for images (and eventually other objects/documents) that either have open licenses for use or are in the public domain. 

Follow these steps to install the CC Search extension in Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Edge:

1. Go to the CC Search Browser Extension page and select the browser in which you'd like CC Search to be installed. Click on the link for that browser. You should be taken to the appropriate app/add-in store. Follow instructions there to add the extension.

2. Once the extension is installed, you should find a CC logo/icon in your browser's extension bar. Click on that icon to open a search box, and search for images. The results will show not only the image, but also an indicator of the license under which it is available (usually visible when you hover over the image).

3. Click on the image you want to use. You'll be taken to an info window that will allow you to download the image and its appropriate attribution, as well as additional tools for going to the image's original site, getting more information about it, sharing and embedding it, etc. Note: CC Search operates on trust -- if the person who uploaded an image licensed it in error, CC Search won't catch the problem. It's a good idea to check on the license to confirm that the image is freely available for the use you have in mind, especially if you plan to use it in a publication.

Questions about Libkey Nomad, Unpaywall, or other research tools? Find your liaison librarian and reach out for additional assistance -- we're happy to help!