Research Rabbit Review:
based on real mystery shopping

A*Help Score: 45/100
🔥 published April 2, 2024 - updated April 29, 2024

Quick Overview

Starting our experience with Research Rabbit felt like we were diving into an exciting world full of possibilities. This service, which scored a 45/100 on the A*Help scale, promised to change the way we look for and use academic info. It connects us to a ton of journals through Semantic Scholar and lots of biomedical and life science stuff through PubMed. But as we got deeper into using it, things got a bit more complicated than we thought they’d be.

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The Good
  • Provides access to abstracts and full texts where possible
  • Allows connection to Zotero for reference management
The Bad
  • Filters don’t work properly
  • Lacks citation formatting tools

Research Rabbit: Searching Quality – 22/50 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

When we looked into Research Rabbit’s search quality, we found a mixed bag of results. The platform shows a genuine commitment to covering a wide range of publications and conference proceedings, providing access to abstracts and full texts where they are accessible. However, our attempt to use its relevance and up-to-date filters left us scratching our heads, as the promised capability appeared to hop away precisely when we needed it the most. The absence of citation formatting choices hindered our study, leaving us without the tools we needed to properly acknowledge our results.

An image of the Research Rabbit page showing searching results
Search results at Research Rabbit (click to see a large image)
🔍 SEARCH REQUEST 👍 RELEVANT RESULTS 🏆 FEATURES HIGHLY-CITED SOURCES
Climate change effects on Polar bears
Newest data on Mars rover findings

Research Rabbit: Value for money – 16/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Research Rabbit claims to be developing a product that will make each step of the research process easier and more effective. That’s probably why the service and all of its features are free. Users are encouraged to make donations to assist the service’s development, and the company even acknowledges its devoted supporters directly on its website, building a closer and warmer interaction with its audience. The service is still under development, which is likely why many beneficial features, such as an AI assistant, a browser extension, or mobile applications, are not yet available to users. However, search capabilities, document access, collaboration features, and a specific graphic visualization are all available right away after registering on the site.

A screenshot of Research Rabbit's interface
Research Rabbit’s interface (click to see a large image)
10/10
Subscription cost
3/5
Free features

Research Rabbit: Overall Experience – 7/25 ⭐️

While using Research Rabbit we felt like trying to find our way through a maze with lots of twists and turns. Signing up was a whole adventure on its own, asking for a bunch of personal and school info. Once inside, the interface presented a peculiar challenge: every mouse click opened a new, tall, and narrow card, cluttering our view with a cascade of windows that felt more like a magic trick gone awry than an efficient way to present information. This design choice is definitely unique and may be quite interesting, but it left us longing for simplicity and clarity.

Despite these issues, Research Rabbit does offer some carrots worth nibbling on, such as the ability to connect to Zotero for reference management and some level of search functionality and filtering options which, to be honest with you, in our case were malfunctioning.
The lack of mobile optimization and the minimal customer support options underscored the platform’s limited appeal more. Our experience was brightened by the platform’s pleasing color palette though, which, unfortunately, wasn’t enough to offset the overall confusion.

An image of personal collection of sources at Research Rabbit
Personal collection of sources (click to see a large image)
3/10
User experience
3/5
Speed and efficiency
0/8
Mobile accessibility

Conclusion

With an A*Help score of 45/100, we believe Research Rabbit is a venture with potential but limited performance. The service links to reliable databases but fails to make full use of this advantage, leaving users to search through results that may not match their criterion for accuracy or relevancy. The attempt to innovate in presentation and functionality is evident but we believe it falls short of providing a smooth and user-friendly experience. For individuals starting on studies, Research Rabbit may serve as a resource but it needs patience and a willingness to understand its numerous peculiarities.

FAQ

Research Rabbit Reviews

We diligently review and evaluate all services, and Research Rabbit is no exception. In addition to our own perspective and perceptions of service quality, we find user feedback and consider their opinions and comments. This allows for objective assessments of all services like Research Rabbit.

Is Research Rabbit a scam?

No, Research Rabbit isn’t a scam. It’s a legitimate tool aimed at helping users access academic resources, though it has its share of limitations in usability and functionality.

Is Research Rabbit legit?

Yes, it’s a legit platform for finding academic journals and papers, especially through its connections to Semantic Scholar and PubMed. However, it struggles with ease of use and additional features.

Is Research Rabbit safe?

Using Research Rabbit is safe. It’s designed for academic research and connects users to reputable databases without compromising their security.

Is Research Rabbit trustworthy?

Research Rabbit is trustworthy for the basic services it offers, such as searching academic databases. Yet, its effectiveness and efficiency might not meet everyone’s standards.

Is Research Rabbit a good service?

Research Rabbit has potential, especially for users who need specific sources from the databases it indexes. But its current implementation, particularly in terms of interface design and user experience, might not make it the best choice for everyone.

Research Rabbit Specs

> Quality and Variety of Sources
journals
booksn/a
conferences
> Comprehensiveness (study types, domains)
access to full texts or abstracts
(not all PDFs are available)
Relevance (Up-to-Date Information)
> Citation Formatting
MLA
APA
Chicago
Harvard
Other styles
> User experience
saving
copying
sharing
Integration with Reference Management Tools
(Zotero)
search functionality and filtering options
AI assistant
> Support
live chat
blog
help center

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