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.
Video
Watch the lesson video, then complete the reading and challenge.
Lesson Notes
Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.
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.