workspace-course-topics

Workflow: PaperPile setup and sharing

Purpose: Set up PaperPile, connect to JHU libraries, and populate your bibliography.

External resources:

Verify first

1. Verify you have a PaperPile account

Go to https://paperpile.com and sign in.

Expected: You can access your PaperPile library.

If no account: Create one at https://paperpile.com (free trial or paid).

2. Verify you have papers in your library

In PaperPile, check “My Library” or “All Papers”.

Expected: You see the bibliography entries for your ballpark paper.

If empty: You need to add your bibliography first. See the next section.

Populating your bibliography

Adding references one-by-one is tedious. Before doing that, ask an AI for help:

“I need to create a BibTeX file containing all the references from [paper title]. What’s the most efficient way to do this?”

Try asking:

The AI may suggest approaches you hadn’t considered. This is a skill you’ll use throughout your research career: when facing a tedious task, ask whether there’s a more efficient approach.

After you have a .bib file: Import it into PaperPile via File → Import.

Steps

1. Connect to JHU Libraries

  1. In PaperPile: click Settings (gear icon, bottom left)
  2. Select Proxy Connection
  3. Choose Johns Hopkins University
  4. Click Test Connection to verify

Expected: “Connection successful” or similar message

This enables PaperPile to download PDFs through Hopkins library access.

2. Update metadata

  1. In your library, click Select All (checkbox at top)
  2. Click More → Auto Update
  3. Wait for the update to complete

This retrieves journal names, volume numbers, page numbers, abstracts, etc.

3. Find PDFs

  1. With papers still selected, click More → Find PDFs Online
  2. Wait for the search to complete

Some PDFs may not be found—this is normal. Hopkins access improves the success rate.

4. Create a folder for your ballpark paper (optional)

  1. Right-click in the left sidebar → New Folder
  2. Name it after your ballpark paper (e.g., “SSJ2021”)
  3. Drag your bibliography entries into this folder

This keeps your ballpark bibliography organized separately from other papers.

⚠️ Next step: Set up BibTeX Export

Important: Completing this workflow does NOT automatically create a .bib file on your computer. You must proceed to the next workflow to set up the BibTeX Export.

Proceed to: google-drive-paperpile-sync

This will guide you through:

  1. Connecting Google Drive
  2. Setting up “Workflows and Integrations” → BibTeX Export (the step that creates your .bib file)