Microsoft Word’s Researcher feature can help streamline the process of writing essays, research papers, and other academic assignments. This built-in tool allows you to conduct online research, cite sources, create bibliographies, and more—all without leaving your Word document.
What is Researcher in Microsoft Word?
The Researcher feature in Microsoft Word, available for Microsoft 365 subscribers, is designed to make writing papers easier. Powered by Bing, it provides a search box within Word to look up people, events, places, concepts, and more.
When you search for a term, Researcher displays relevant topics and top sources from the web, including books, academic journals, websites, and images. You can view summaries, background information, images, and other details without opening a web browser.
Researcher saves you time by enabling you to:
- Conduct research
- Add sources and content to your document
- Cite sources
- Create bibliographies
Without leaving Word, you can find, incorporate, and properly cite material for essays, research papers, and other major writing projects.
How to Use Researcher in Word
Using Researcher is simple. Follow these steps:
1. Open Researcher
In Word, select the References tab. In the Research section, click Researcher.
A Researcher pane will open on the right side of your document.
2. Search for Topics
Type a keyword into the search box and press Enter.
Relevant topics and top sources related to your search term will appear.
3. Review Results
Scroll through the results to find useful sources. Select a source to view the full summary, images, and other details.
4. Add Content
To add a topic heading to your document, click the + icon in the upper right corner of the source.
To add text, highlight the desired content and select Add or Add and Cite. The text and citation will be inserted into your document automatically.
5. Manage Citations
Select Manage Sources at the bottom of the Researcher pane to create, edit, or delete citations. Citations will be formatted according to the bibliography style you select.
Researcher Features and Tools
Researcher offers additional features to streamline your workflow:
- My Research: View your full search history and sources.
- Outline: Select the + icon on a source to add it as a heading and begin an outline.
- Images: Click See all images to view and insert images relevant to your search term.
- Citations: Choose from various citation styles and let Word handle the formatting.
- Bibliography: Automatically generate or update a bibliography as you add citations.
Tips for Using Researcher Effectively
Follow these tips to get the most out of the Researcher feature:
- Use precise search terms to find relevant results.
- Review all sections of a source—Summary, Background, Location, Images, etc.
- Click links to view the full source in your browser if needed.
- Use the Add and Cite option when adding text.
- Manage all citations in one place under Manage Sources.
- Update your bibliography frequently as you incorporate new sources.
The Bottom Line
The Researcher tool in Microsoft Word enables you to search the web, incorporate sources, and properly cite material directly within your document. This can save you significant time and effort when writing academic papers.
With its search box, citation tools, bibliography generator, and more, Researcher simplifies the research and writing process. Give it a try the next time you work on an essay or research paper!
