Shodhexशोधेक्स· Learn · Research · Publish
USER MANUAL

How to use Shodhex.

Everything you need, in one page. Use the contents to jump to a section, or print it as a handout.

1. Participants: pre-test & post-test

  1. Before the talk: open the site and tap Pre-test.
  2. Enter your name and email and tick consent. There is no password; the email only links your two tests.
  3. Answer 15 questions in 10 minutes. Each answer saves the moment you tap it. Use the numbered squares to jump between questions, then press Finish and submit. When the timer ends, the test submits itself.
  4. Your score appears at once. Explanations stay hidden until you finish the post-test, so the comparison stays fair.
  5. After the talk: open Post-test and use the same email. It opens 45 minutes after you submit your pre-test.
  6. After the post-test you see both scores and the explanations for every question.

💡 Changed phone or the browser closed? Open the test again and enter the same email; you continue where you left off. Seeing someone else’s name at the top? Press Not you?

2. The Publishing Toolkit

Free, no sign-up, works on phones. Drafts are kept in your own browser, so you can close the page and come back. Most tools export to Word or text.

Animated flowcharts (idea to publication, choosing a design, peer review, responsible AI, journal checks, PRISMA) and a searchable glossary of 44 key terms.

  1. Pick a flowchart (e.g., “Choosing a study design”).
  2. Press “Walk me through” to step through it, or click any step.
  3. Open “Key terms” and search or filter the 44-term glossary.
PLAN · TOOL 2

Study Idea Suggester

Describe your study in plain words. Get the design, PICO, rephrased titles, objectives, hypotheses and analysis plan. Built with NLP rules and a statistical classifier, with no AI chatbot.

  1. Describe your study in 2–3 plain sentences: who, where, what and how.
  2. Read the suggested design; switch to another if it does not fit.
  3. Correct any detected element (population, outcome…), then copy titles and objectives or export the plan to Word.

Turn your idea into a research question in every framework (PICO, PECO, SPIDER, PCC, PIRD and more), check it with FINER, and get SMART objectives and H₀/H₁ hypotheses.

  1. Describe your study in 2–3 sentences; correct any detected part (population, outcome, study period).
  2. Pick a framework tab (★ = fits your design) and copy the research question; rate it with FINER.
  3. Copy the SMART objectives and choose the hypothesis type (two-tailed, directional, non-inferiority…), then export to Word.
PLAN · TOOL 4

Study design finder

Answer 2–3 questions. Get the right design, what it can and cannot claim, and its reporting guideline.

  1. Answer 2–3 questions about your aim.
  2. Read what the design can and cannot claim, with typical measures.
  3. Open the linked reporting guideline.

Prevalence, two proportions or two means, with design effect and non-response. Gives a ready Methods sentence.

  1. Choose your objective: prevalence, two proportions or two means.
  2. Enter the expected values, confidence, power, design effect and non-response.
  3. Copy the result and the ready Methods sentence.

EQUATOR-based: pick your study type and get the checklist, current version and extensions (AI, routine data, abstracts).

  1. Pick your study type.
  2. Tick extras if relevant (AI, routine data, abstract).
  3. Open the checklist on EQUATOR and fill in page numbers as you write.

Find candidate journals from your abstract, then score up to three side by side against predatory and hijacked-journal warning signs.

  1. Paste your title (first line) and abstract and press Find matching journals; JANE and the publisher finders open with your abstract too.
  2. Add up to three candidate journals and answer each check (Yes / ? / No).
  3. Prefer green results; a “No” on a starred item is a serious warning.

Scan your abstract for causal overclaiming, spin, p-value and abbreviation problems, then work through the submission checklist.

  1. Paste your abstract and choose the design and word limit.
  2. Fix the flagged issues (causal words, spin, p = 0.000, missing CIs, abbreviations) and the missing guideline items.
  3. Work through the submission checklist and export it.

Paste your reference list. Each one is checked against Crossref: does the DOI exist, does it match the title, is it retracted? Catches typos and AI-fabricated references.

  1. Paste your reference list (numbered or one per line).
  2. Press “Check”. Each reference is verified against Crossref.
  3. Fix red items (wrong or non-existent DOI), replace retracted papers, and verify “No matching record” items in PubMed or Google Scholar.

Tick each author’s roles and check them against the four ICMJE criteria. Get a ready contribution statement.

  1. Add each author and tick their CRediT roles.
  2. Tick the four ICMJE criteria for each author.
  3. Copy the contribution statement; move non-qualifying contributors to the Acknowledgements.
WRITE · TOOL 11

Responsible AI kit

Build safe prompts for language editing and feedback, and generate an AI-use disclosure statement for your manuscript.

  1. Choose a task to build a safe prompt (no new facts, no invented citations).
  2. Paste only your own, non-identifiable text into the AI tool and verify every change.
  3. Generate your AI-use disclosure statement for the manuscript.
SUBMIT · TOOL 12

Cover letter builder

Fill in the blanks and get an editor-ready cover letter with all required declarations, previewed live.

  1. Fill in the journal, editor, title, key finding and fit.
  2. Complete the declarations.
  3. Check the quality ticks, then copy it or download it as Word.
REVISE · TOOL 13

Response to reviewers

Paste the reviewers’ comments, answer them point by point, and export a clean, polite response letter.

  1. Paste each reviewer’s comments and press “Split into points”.
  2. For each point, choose an action, write your response and note the location of the change.
  3. Download the formatted response letter.

3. FAQ & privacy

Why is an email needed?

Only to match each person’s pre-test with their post-test. There is no password and no account.

The post-test says it is not open yet.

It opens 45 minutes after that person submits the pre-test, so the two tests are not taken back-to-back before the talk.

A participant lost connection during a test.

Answers are saved as they are tapped. Reopen the test with the same email; the timer continues from the server.

Is anything I type in the toolkit stored?

Toolkit drafts stay in your own browser. The reference checker sends references to Crossref’s public API to verify them; the Study Idea Suggester sends your description to the Shodhex server to generate suggestions and does not store it. The journal shortlist sends your abstract to B!SON (TIB) to find matching journals; it is not stored.

Who can see test scores?

Only the faculty, through the signed-in console. Participants see only their own scores.

Something looks wrong or old.

Press Ctrl + Shift + R (or pull down to refresh on a phone) to load the latest version.