Research Wrapped 2025
Sources, tools, apps, thoughts, and favorites! Enjoy.
Well howdy. I absolutely love researching and sharing where I get information so here’s a list of places I frequent to do just that. A little disclaimer for all the people in academia or research, this list is meant for everyone - seasoned, new, independent, etc. so if at any point you’re thinking “well yes,” please pause to reflect on who may not know this information. I appreciate it.
Research is an incredibly broad subject as it encompasses all fields of study so I’m going to touch on some best practices and then dive into the sites I use.
Also, yes, my writing is incredibly informal - note that we are on Substack, this is not being submitted to PubMed, nor do I generally use formal language to talk to the general public about science. Again, I appreciate you.
The Basics
New to research? Here’s the rundown on how to evaluate information.
Methodology: The CRAAP Test - Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose
Currency - Look at the date of publication, is it current? Ex: healthcare and technology updated most often, you might want to give it >10 years since publication. Use discretion.
Relevance - Are the points connected, appropriate, and useful?
Authority - Research author credentials and check to see if the research is sponsored - review the bibliographies, credits, and quotations to see if accurately represented and quoted.
Accuracy - Evaluate the design & instruments of the experiment/research, make sure to verify (cross-reference) with other trustworthy sources.
Purpose - What’s the intention behind the research? Are they trying to sell you something? Is this for the purpose of entertainment? Etc.
There are other methods for checking sources like RADAR and SIFT - the link below discusses those more in detail.
Checking Your Sources Rundown.
If you’re looking to approach research in a different way or would like to move outside more Western methods of evaluation, I would recommend: Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods by Shawn Wilson. I suggest this not to encourage co-opting methodology but to expand your mind on what research “should” look like or where it “should” come from (according to the self-proclaimed “dominant” culture.)
Additionally, when reviewing most research, you should have a working understanding of basic statistics. Before we all start writhing in psychological pain at the thought of math (even though I do sympathize) here’s a book suggestion that gives an easy to understand breakdown of best practices: The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics by Tim Harford.
I appreciate y’all taking the time to read that, if you want more insight on how to start researching as a hobby (fall in love with it) - here’s a link to another Substack I’ve written on just that.
How to Start Researching as a Hobby
You: Sarah, I want to get into research as a hobby, how do I start?Thanks for reading Sarah’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Also, I recommend the book: On the Art and Craft of Doing Science by Kenneth Catania if you want to approach research and science as an art and not view it solely through the lens of work or obligation.
If you want more information on how I research, as I’m not going through the traditional school system and prefer “lateral learning,” here’s more information on that.
You: This is a lot of recommendations, you haven’t even gotten to the meat of the post.
Me: I know. I just want everyone to know that there’s a lot of information but there’s also an *ass load* of help, resources, and people willing to guide them along their journey.
The Meat of This
I’m a big lover of STEAM, I read everything, so if at any point you’re like “damn, this net has been cast wide” - yep.
I swear I’m not saying this to blow smoke up my ass, I’ve just been doing content creation for over ten years now and people find every opportunity to suggest I “specialize.” UGH. I’ve done Vine, Youtube, Twitter, Tiktok, I was Denny’s copywriter for Twitter and Tumblr, I’ve hosted three podcasts, done stand up, been on a nationwide comedy tour, got sober and pivoted to the sciences, and just last month was invited to and attended Neuroscience 2025 in San Diego by The Allen Institute because they said they liked how accessible I made neuroscience.
You don’t have to specialize in shit.
Some of you: But I’m in school.
Me: Okay, so you do need to specialize in shit. But also, you don’t have to specialize in shit outside of a school or work context.
Just stay curious and open to new information and opportunities. Anywho, here’s my list.
Membership & Open Access Options
Medical research agency - will likely need a subscription, however some articles are free. They do have a couple cool tools I suggest checking out though.
STEM Teaching Resources - free STEM education materials. This program is meant for K-12 but anyone can use them, they’re cool af. (Check out BrainU)
Assisted Referral Tool (ART) - while ART is for active SRG panels, grants, and fellowships, you can just use it generally if you have a more specific question and would like to see related topics and discussions between certain groups of experts.
My apologies, you most likely will need a subscription, however many journals and articles are free. My favorite thing to check out when I’m *without topic* and just perusing is ‘Circulating Now’ - On the NLM homepage there’s “Circulating Now” in the Highlights - there’s always amazing insights and real time news in medicine to learn more about and explore.
Physical Sciences & Engineering, Life Sciences & Health Sciences
Again, you will likely need a subscription but if you’re self-teaching, most of the Introduction pages to textbooks are free and you basically get a free syllabus! At least now you have your heading.
Open Access Nature Portfolio journal publishing research from the natural sciences, psychology, medicine, and engineering
Owned by Springer - Other Brands: Palgrave MacMillan, Discover, BMC (other sites to check out)
Listen, I’m a nerd, sometimes I just go to the Journals A-Z page, click on one of the Quick Links (Nature, Nature Communications, Nature Materials, Nature Chemistry, Scientific Reports) and just read some of their open access publications. Hell, I just read ‘Compact RNA sensors for increasingly complex functions of multiple inputs’ and I had a blast.
Well, here we are again, me telling you that you’ll want to get a subscription at some point but I tell you what, it’s not *always* the case here.
Visit https://www.frontiersin.org/articles?publication-date=01%2F01%2F2007-11%2F12%2F2025&sort=1 , search and see what’s free - a lot is free (huzzah.) Also, you can see research being edited and updated in real time. Sometimes they’ll say “provisionally accepted” at the top and you can request to be notified what the final, formatted version will be published.
Especially great for social sciences, preservation studies, as well as text mining and linguistic data.
Good news! They have 2378 open access collections and they’re *chefs kiss* - I just went through the 1939 Rhode Island Architecture Exhibition photos!
Hate to say it, you need to pay for a lot of this but if you’ll…
… notice: [HTML]academia. edu — that means you can read it for free. Love.
Official website of the “US government providing ready access to the massive stores of federally funded scientific research results, without needing to know which agency funded the research.” — While that’s nice, please keep in mind “purpose” listed above… the federal government can still fail the CRAAP Test.
Search any topic and select the ‘Public Access’ tab (or don’t, I’m just telling you what I do.)
Old faithful. She’s got everything.
Just want to know what’s always open access? - OA.mg
Subjects: Geography, Engineering, PoliSci, Philosophy, Etc.
You guys: You really saved that for last?
Me: Yeah. I do what I want.
[Do What U Want by Lady Gaga feat. Christina Aguilera plays as I moonwalk out of the room]
However, I do have a personal favorite when it comes to finding relevant research - the back of books I already have and love.
My Favorite Papers I’ve Read This Year
I love neuroscience. <3
Hot and cold executive functions in the brain: a prefrontal-singular network - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8076773/
The role of musical aspect of language in human cognition - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505694/full
From Smelly Buildings to the Scented Past: An Overview of Olfactory Heritage - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.718287/full
Reconsidering Interiorization: Self Moving Across Language Spacetimes - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0732118X17302295
Transforming the understanding of brain immunity - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo7649
You: These are not properly cited.
Me: Are you gonna give me an F?
Research Tools I Adore
“Explore academic papers in a visual graph” – I cannot recommend this website enough, it’ll show you a web of how different research papers are connected, which ones are commonly sourced together, leads for different directions, etc.
Personal research assistant & free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research.
From their website: The Pudding explains ideas debated in culture with visual essays. We’re not chasing current events or clickbait. We choose topics where visuals inform and entertain. We’ve been in the business of bringing you stories you didn’t know you needed since 2017.
More Helpful Information
If you are self-teaching and need guidance on how to navigate topic to topic, want free and/or affordable places to take classes, or just want to connect with likeminded lovers of learning, check out my post on where to find exactly that.
Learn For Free or Fun or Fun & Free
If you want to read less research & textbook information (you just want “normal” books) - here are some free and affordable book options.
Free or Affordable Book Options
Your local library - to my knowledge, most library cards are free – support your local library, get a library card!
Thriftbooks - Very discounted/ affordable books.
Libgen - Library Genesis - Download (and upload) thousands of fiction/ non-fiction/ scientific articles/ etc.
You can even request certain books that aren’t currently available.
Abebooks - Very discounted/ affordable books
They also have rare books, so if you’re a person with specific tastes, buddy, here’s your marketplace
Half Price Books (HPB) - The prices live up to the name!
Alibris - Literally some books on this site are $2.
They also have incredibly discounted used textbooks
World of Books - Super affordable/ discounted books (Based out of UK but ships worldwide - will be faster delivery times for UK, US, AUS, and IRL)
Anna’s Archive - Largest open library in human history, search and download books.
Free or Affordable eBooks and Audiobooks
Libby - All you need is a library card and you can access thousands of eBooks and audiobooks!
Hoopla - Need a library card as well, but they’ve got audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines, etc.
Project Gutenberg - Over 70,000 free eBooks
Support Your Local Bookstore
Bookshop.org - Connects you to local, independent bookstores!
Wrapping Up
If you want to hear more from me or want to learn about STEAM topics in a fun and accessible way, I have a podcast called Schauer Thoughts with new episodes every Wednesday. Yesterday’s episode was “The Science & Psychology of Generosity + Holiday Gift Guide” - you should check it out.
For more information on my book club and annotation sessions, visit my Patreon!
Thank you all for reading that, I’m wishing you all the best on your research and learning journey! If you have any questions about literally anything mentioned here, please ask in the comments.
[Mic drop. Do What U Want by Lady Gaga feat. Christina Aguilera continues playing]
You have been such a blessing to find this year. Thank you for all your research and energy and heart you put into this! xoxo
As an OG time ‘Schauer Thoughts’ listener- new substack subscriber- this is so ungodly helpful for my bachelors as someone with SEVERE ADHD. (I’m talking diagnosed in the early 2000s as a girl severe) the way you research has made my papers so much more enjoyable