Search and add academic papers
Use this guide to find an academic paper by topic, DOI, arXiv ID, or title and add it to an Atlas project.
Before you start
Paper search works best when you have a precise identifier. Broad topic searches return more results but require more review before you add anything. A focused project with a few highly relevant papers is easier to work with than a large project with loosely related material.
Steps
- Open the Atlas project where the paper belongs.
- Open the add-source panel.
- Enter the most specific identifier you have.
- Review the result before adding it.
- Select the correct paper and add it to the project.
- Wait for processing to finish before using chat, summaries, or maps.
Choose the right search input
| What you have | What to enter |
|---|---|
| DOI | The DOI directly |
| arXiv paper | The arXiv ID |
| Exact title | The full paper title |
| Author and topic | Author name plus key title words |
| Research area | A focused topic phrase |
If you only have a topic, be specific. "Transformer interpretability sparse autoencoders" finds more useful results than "AI."
Review before adding
Before adding a paper, check:
- The title and authors match what you intended.
- The year and venue are correct.
- The abstract confirms relevance.
- Full text is available, not just metadata.
Confirm the import
Open the paper from the source list after processing. Confirm the content is readable and the paper is the one you intended to add.
If Atlas retrieved metadata but not usable full text, upload a PDF copy you have permission to use.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to try |
|---|---|
| Too many results | Search by DOI, arXiv ID, or the exact title |
| Wrong paper appears | Add the author name or more title words |
| Only metadata imported | Upload a PDF if you have access to the full text |
| Duplicate paper appears | Keep the version with more readable content |