Run your first literature review on BRIDGE
- guide
- literature review
BRIDGE turns a description of your research problem into a literature review. You stay in control at two points: before it searches, and before it writes. This guide follows one review from the first sentence to the finished report.
1. Sign in and open the workspace
Open the workspace and sign in. The first time, BRIDGE offers a two-minute guided tour. It walks every page on a sample review that has already run, so it uses no credits. You can take it again at any time with Take the guided tour in the sidebar.
2. Describe your problem
The page asks Which topic would you like to review? Write the problem as you would explain it to a colleague. Under the box, four marks tick as your request names them: the method, the data or benchmark, the measure and the years. The fuller the request, the sharper the criteria. For example:
Graph neural networks versus transformer models for molecular property prediction, evaluated on MoleculeNet by ROC-AUC, since 2020.
You can also drop a proposal PDF on the box to start from it.
Then choose a depth. Each level shows its estimated time and cost before you send anything:
| Depth | What it does |
|---|---|
| Quick | 20 papers read in full from 6 queries. To see whether the question points the right way. The answer is preliminary. |
| Standard | 100 papers read in full from 9 queries, more queries from the closest papers and citation tracking. For a first picture you can rely on. |
| Thorough | Standard with 12 queries and 120 papers read in full, then a passage check. To check before writing a proposal or a paper. |
The language of the review and the sources it searches are chosen from your request. A biomedical question also searches PubMed.
Press Create criteria. If the request is still broad, BRIDGE first asks a few short questions so the criteria fit what you need.
3. First decision: approve the criteria
BRIDGE turns your request into search criteria and shows how it understood the question: which criteria a paper must meet, which are aspects where one is enough, the years, and what to leave out. Nothing has been searched yet.
- Edit a criterion, drag it to change its rank, add one, or remove one.
- Open Year range and exclusions to set the years and the topics to leave out.
- A line under the list estimates how many papers will be screened, how many read in full and what it will cost.
When you are satisfied, press Approve and start the search. After that the criteria are locked.
4. Watch the search
The Process tab shows the seven stages of a review and a graph of which papers each query, source and citation path brought in. Each paper is scored against your criteria from its title and abstract, and the most relevant ones are read in full where an open copy exists. You can stop the run at any time. Papers already read are saved, so continuing later does not pay for them again.
5. Second decision: approve the papers
The review pauses with Papers awaiting approval. Each paper shows how it meets every criterion, with the quote that backs it. Move papers between the columns if you disagree, then approve the list so BRIDGE writes the review.
6. Read the result
The tabs of a finished review are Process, Papers, Matrix, Datasets, Report, Ask and Reproduce.
- Report opens with the answer to your question and how many papers were read in full. Every sentence cites a real paper the search found, and each finding carries a verbatim quote. Research gaps are each checked by a new search.
- Matrix puts one paper per row and one aspect per column, such as the method, the data or the result.
- Datasets gathers the datasets, metrics and numbers the papers report.
- Ask answers further questions about the papers of the report.
You can download the report and its BibTeX.
What to try next
Read Tips for better reviews for ways to phrase the problem and to spend credits well.