Smart Lookup & Researcher
Use Word's built-in research tools to look up definitions, find background information, and insert properly cited content without leaving the document.
By the end of this lesson you can
- Use Smart Lookup for quick definitions and context
- Use Researcher to gather sources and insert citations
- Explain the difference in purpose between the two
- Evaluate whether a source is appropriate before citing it
Video
Watch the lesson video, then complete the reading and challenge.
Lesson Notes
Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.
Research tools do not evaluate sources for you
You are drafting a patient education handout at Lakeside Medical Associates.
You need a clear definition of a clinical term and a citable source for a claim about screening intervals. Smart Lookup gives you the definition in seconds. Researcher returns twelve sources, of which perhaps four are appropriate for patient-facing health material.
Your task: Use both tools, and apply your own judgment to what they return.
Smart Lookup (right-click a word > Smart Lookup) opens a pane with definitions and web results for the selected text. It is for quick understanding while you write, without leaving the document.
Researcher (References > Researcher) is built for sourcing: it searches scholarly and reference material, lets you add content to your document, and creates a properly formatted citation and bibliography entry at the same time.
What Is Smart Lookup?
Smart Lookup uses Bing to search for definitions, Wikipedia articles, and web results for any word or phrase in your document. Results appear in a side panel so you can research without switching to a browser.
Using Smart Lookup
Right-click a word or selected phrase and choose Smart Lookup from the context menu. The Insights pane opens on the right with definitions, related web results, and images.
What Is Researcher?
Researcher is a more advanced tool designed for writing essays and reports. It finds credible sources from the web, lets you explore topics in depth, and allows you to insert quotes and citations directly into your document.
Opening Researcher
Go to the References tab and click Researcher. Type a topic in the search box. Word returns a list of articles and sources. Click any result to read a summary and see available content to insert.
Adding Content and Citations
Inside a Researcher source, click Add to add a quote or passage to your document. Word automatically inserts a footnote citation. You can also click the plus (+) icon next to a heading to add it as a topic outline entry.
Knowledge Check
What is the main difference between Smart Lookup and Researcher?
Challenge
Apply what you've learned in this lesson.
Complete the following tasks:
- Right-click a word in your document and select Smart Lookup. Read the definition that appears.
- Close Smart Lookup and go to References → Researcher.
- Search for a topic related to your document's subject.
- Open one of the source articles in the Researcher pane.
- Insert a passage from the source into your document using the Add button.
- Observe the automatically inserted citation.
Finished this lesson?
Progress is saved in this browser only. It is not a grade — official progress lives in Brightspace.