A Chrome extension for serious reading
Understand why a source matters without leaving the page.
Stop opening dozens of tabs just to check a reference. Right-click a linked paper, report, guidance page, article or website to see why it matters to the passage, right in your side panel.
Coming soon to the Chrome Web Store · 5 free analyses every month
Interactive preview
Instant context right where you are reading.
When you run across a citation mid-paragraph, you shouldn’t have to break your focus and search through another paper. Right-click the reference and WhyCited breaks down why it was cited, what evidence supports it, and how it relates to the surrounding argument.
Quarterly Review of Work & Organisation · Vol. 18 (3)
Autonomy, trust and engagement in distributed research teams
S. Marchetti · J. Okonkwo · L. Devine
2. Literature review
Interest in employee autonomy has grown alongside the shift to distributed work. Prior studies report a positive association between perceived autonomy and engagement (Okafor & Lindqvist, 2021), although the strength of that association appears to vary across sectors. Fewer studies have examined how trust moderates this relationship in fully remote teams, and the evidence that exists is largely cross-sectional.
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Explain why this source is relevant
Perceived autonomy and work engagement: evidence from a cross-sector survey
Okafor, A. · Lindqvist, M. · 2021
Why it is relevant
Cited as supporting evidence that employee autonomy correlates with higher engagement. The cited study reports a positive correlation across six industries, directly reinforcing the claim in this literature review.
Citation role
- Supports
- Contextualises
Current paper’s use
Establishes the link between autonomy and engagement as foundational background before introducing trust as a moderator.
Linked paper’s contribution
Reports a statistically significant positive relationship between autonomy and engagement (r = .41, p < .001) across 2,414 survey respondents.
Evidence available
- Current paper
- Citation context + metadata
- Linked paper
- Abstract only
Confidence: Moderate
Key evidence
Current paper: Literature review
“Prior studies report a positive association between perceived autonomy and engagement (Okafor & Lindqvist, 2021), although the strength of that association appears to vary across sectors.”
Linked paper: Abstract
“Across sectors, perceived autonomy showed a moderate positive association with work engagement (r = .41, p < .001).”
Limitations
- The full text for the cited paper is paywalled. This assessment is based on the published abstract.
How it works
From source to context in three steps.
Right-click any source
While reading in Chrome, right-click a source link—or select a non-linked source title or citation—and choose “Explain why this source is relevant”.
WhyCited gathers the context
We identify the source and gather available public text, descriptions, abstracts, or metadata, without bypassing paywalls.
Read the explanation in your sidebar
A side panel breaks down why the source is relevant in that specific passage, what it contributes, and how much evidence was available.
Evidence transparency
Every answer shows the evidence behind it.
Generic AI tools often sound confident even when they have only read a source’s title. WhyCited grades every explanation by what it could actually access and states its sources clearly.
Confidence levels (high, moderate, or low) reflect real source availability and the clarity of the source’s role. If only a summary or abstract was available, WhyCited tells you upfront.
The four access levels
- Full text
The linked source's public text is accessible. The analysis can quote and evaluate specific passages.
- Abstract only
A public abstract, description or summary is available, but not the full source. Confidence is calibrated accordingly.
- Metadata only
Only details such as the title, author or organisation, publication date and website are available. The source's role is inferred cautiously.
- Unavailable
No public record could be retrieved. WhyCited states this directly instead of guessing.
Pricing
Plans for every reading workflow.
Every plan includes evidence-graded summaries. Upgrade for higher monthly volume or deep analysis for complex, ambiguous source relationships.
Free
£0
For exploring WhyCited in your daily reading workflow.
- 5 standard analyses / month
- No deep analyses
- No auto-escalation
Starter
Launch price£3.99/mo
For coursework, thesis writing, and consistent reading.
- 150 standard analyses / month
- No deep analyses
- No auto-escalation
Pro
Most popularLaunch price£7.99/mo
For active researchers who need deeper analysis of complex sources.
- 400 standard analyses / month
- 40 deep analyses / month
- Hard cases auto-escalate to deep analysis
Lab
Launch price£15.99/mo
For intensive literature reviews and large-scale synthesis.
- 1,200 standard analyses / month
- 120 deep analyses / month
- Hard cases auto-escalate to deep analysis
Standard analysis uses the selected page or the cited paper's available abstract, summary and metadata for a fast answer. Deep analysis also makes a bounded attempt to retrieve lawful public full text before using a stronger reasoning model. Evidence availability is shown on every result.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does it bypass paywalls?
No. WhyCited retrieves only openly accessible content and public metadata from sources such as Crossref, arXiv, and open-access repositories. When a source is paywalled or requires a login, WhyCited uses only public descriptions, abstracts or metadata and states that clearly in the result.
What data does the extension send?
Nothing leaves your browser until you choose to analyse a source. When you right-click, the extension sends only the necessary context: the source link or selected title or citation, a matching bibliography entry where needed, the surrounding sentence and paragraph, the section heading, and page metadata. It never accesses your browsing history, cookies, or other open tabs.
Does it work on PDFs?
Public text-based PDFs are supported for conventional numbered citations: select one marker such as [7], right-click it, and WhyCited matches it to the bibliography before analysis. Structured PubMed Central papers work best. Scanned, encrypted, local-file and unsupported-layout PDFs are not currently supported, and WhyCited will say so rather than guess.
Does it work on ordinary websites and professional sources?
Yes. WhyCited supports public webpages, articles, reports, professional guidance and legislation as well as academic papers. It reads the surrounding passage and retrieves the linked public source. Pages behind a login or paywall are not bypassed.
Which AI models does it use?
Standard analyses use Google Gemini for fast explanations of straightforward source relationships. Deep analyses use Anthropic Claude for nuanced reasoning on complex or ambiguous claims. All model processing runs securely on our backend, so API keys never touch the browser extension.
Do I need an account?
Yes. An account connects your browser extension to your monthly allowance, including the 5 free analyses on the Free plan. You can sign up in seconds with a magic email link.
Stay in the flow of what you’re reading.
Five free analyses every month. No credit card required.