Researchful
How it works

From topic to submission, in five steps

ResearchFlow walks every step of the research lifecycle with you. Six bounded AI agents handle the heavy lifting — research, analysis, drafting, editing, and compliance — while keeping your voice, your effort, and your integrity at the center.

01 of 05
Step 01

Topic

Shape a vague idea into a researchable question

The Topic Agent sits at the very start of your research journey. Drop in a broad field — climate adaptation, social media use, supply chain risk — and it walks you through narrowing it down to a researchable question that is scoped to your timeline, novel enough to matter, and feasible with the resources you have.

  • Run scope, novelty, and feasibility checks on every candidate question
  • Get a written defense for your topic choice that your supervisor can review
  • Lock your question and the agent scaffolds a starter outline into the Writing Editor
  • Move from idea to outline in a single sitting
02 of 05
Step 02

Research

Find, curate, and read sources without leaving Flow

The Sources Curator Agent scans ResearchLib and the open web for relevant papers, pre-prints, theses, and datasets. The Deep Research Agent runs a multi-hop trace on harder questions. The Source Verifier cross-checks every source against its origin. You end this step with a curated, verified library — every entry traceable.

  • Sources Curator builds a starter library in minutes — deduped, ranked, metadata-rich
  • Deep Research follows citation chains forward and backward until evidence converges
  • Source Verifier catches dead links and fabricated citations before you cite them
  • Read every source in the in-app e-reader with highlights and annotations
03 of 05
Step 03

Data

Import, profile, and analyze your datasets

Upload a CSV and the Analysis Agent profiles it — variable types, distributions, missing values. It recommends the right statistical test from the 14 supported, explains why, runs it, and produces a publication-ready chart. You write the interpretation before the result is inserted into your paper.

  • 14 statistical tests covering parametric, nonparametric, descriptive, and diagnostic
  • Test recommendation based on the actual shape of your data
  • Publication-ready charts with proper labels, legends, and effect sizes
  • Interpretation required before results are inserted — no black boxes
04 of 05
Step 04

Writing

Effort-locked drafting that keeps your voice in

The Full Writing Agent expands your outline into structured drafts — but it is effort-locked. Each paragraph is labeled as Student-Authored, AI-Assisted, or Quoted. The Effort Balance Index updates in real time. The Writing Editor handles rich text, inline LaTeX, charts, and images with auto-save and version history.

  • Effort-locked — no one-click chapter generation, ever
  • Per-paragraph contribution labels feed the Effort Balance Index
  • Writing Editor with inline LaTeX, chart builder, and image uploads
  • Auto-save with full version history and one-tap restore
05 of 05
Step 05

Submission

Integrity gates and a one-click export

The Compliance Agent runs four checks — similarity, originality, bias, and citation validation — before you can finalize. If any check fails, finalization is blocked. Once every check passes, generate a downloadable integrity report and export your paper to PDF, DOCX, or LaTeX in your institution template.

  • Four integrity checks: similarity, originality, bias, citation validation
  • Per-paragraph feedback with suggested fixes inline
  • Downloadable, timestamped, reproducible integrity report
  • One-click export to PDF, DOCX, or LaTeX with institution-compliant template

Ready to walk the lifecycle yourself?

Sign up free and let ResearchFlow guide you from topic to submission — with integrity built in.