Research and Citation Tools for Students

Easily accessible, kid-friendly database for the littlest researchers

Bottom Line: Delightful, safe introduction to the world of research, databases, and reporting, with interesting content and stellar supports.

Dig into famed library's collection of research goodies

Bottom Line: The Library of Congress delivers the best of America's past and present, and with teacher support it could be a reliable research resource for students.

Rich collaboration and close-reading tool invites deep, easy-to-assess discussions

Bottom Line: Versatile, free discussion platform for teaching, peer review, assessment, and fostering active reading.

Safe nonfiction database develops students' research skills

Bottom Line: Student-centric research site gives kids a just-right amount of information to build foundational research skills.

Stellar museum-based resources available for exploration and use

Bottom Line: This high-quality collection of museum resources -- ranging from artifacts to full-blown exhibits -- provides unlimited exploration for students, reliable primary sources for teachers.

Organized digital library features piles of useful primary resources

Bottom Line: DPLA is at the top of the list of high-grade, online primary source collections if teachers make effective use of what's on offer.

Track progress, differentiate instruction with vast content library

Bottom Line: Though it's not perfect, it's a great portal for supplementing classroom instruction and supporting personalized learning.

Fewer clicks and less clutter equal a new go-to site for citing sources

Bottom Line: An intuitive site that takes the stress out of citing sources, but students will still need instruction to tweak auto-generated citations.

Search engine with filtered results leaves room for critical thinking

Bottom Line: SweetSearch supplies valid, reputable websites that can help kids learn about a variety of topics.

Civics site offers building blocks for meaningful dialogue

Bottom Line: This site meaningfully promotes dialogue rather than argument, and collects a lot of resources you might normally have to curate yourself.

More interactive support and instruction than Wikipedia -- for a price

Bottom Line: Over 140,000 credible and up-to-date articles are presented with social media savvy; the research here is engaging and accessible.

Tool makes webpages and digital texts spaces of critique, discussion

Bottom Line: This tool opens up digital text and the web to analysis, annotation, and discussion, whether inside a classroom or with the world.

Expansive research tool uniquely melds learning and productivity

Bottom Line: While the complex, old-school design isn't ideal, NoodleTools gives students specific assistance where they need it the most -- with citations, paraphrasing, elaboration, and organization.

Social bookmarking encourages discovery, collaboration, and sharing

Bottom Line: With a Diigo educator account, teachers and students have a safe space to organize, customize, and share Web content while learning about a variety of subjects.

Helpful citation and writing resource for instant bibliographies

Bottom Line: EasyBib works great for citing sources and generating bibliographies, but other tools such as a grammar checker are limited.

Simple, efficient research tool lacks features for group projects

Bottom Line: When paired with strategic teacher guidance, the simple user interface and effective research-gathering capabilities make this a useful but incomplete option.

Chrome extension helps organize web-based research

Bottom Line: For Chrome users and mostly digital classrooms, this is a fairly intuitive tool that'll help students wrangle their research.

Browser extension helpful for annotation and research organization

Bottom Line: A solid -- with room to grow -- annotation and research tool; serious users will need to pay for premium.

Academic search engine, an excellent source for credible research info

Bottom Line: This smart tool can help teens locate credible material for paper and report writing, general research, and other school projects.

Quality resources for literary teens, but won't motivate reluctant writers

Bottom Line: Use this site as a robust resource for all aspects of the writing process, but don't expect an online community or interactivity.