When writing a paper that is lengthy, over 100 pages long for a thesis, the amount of material referenced can be just as extensive. With PaperPile, documents or links to articles, scholarly journals, etc. can be stored in one convenient location and organized in a manner that is easily readable.  If users have PDFs, they can store them in Paperpile and Google Drive, giving users access to their material online from anywhere in the world. This feature is useful especially when users are preparing for a literature review. With Paperpile, users can store interesting articles that may be pertinent to their research for review later. Furthermore, Paperpile itself has a built-in search function that can help users locate articles of interest within the application itself. 

Once users collect the references they need, users can edit the reference information to create accurate citations. PaperPile has a built-in function to fill in missing citation information or identify references with missing information and also has the ability to detect duplicate citations. This helps users create a Reference page that is accurate and free of duplicate information.  An example of this is a thesis written by Joshua Wiley on Measurement of Psychosocial Resources, Allostatic Load, and Their Relations. In the screening section of his dissertation, Wiley refers to using Paperpile to remove duplicates from the paper as well as using it as an initial screening tool to ensure that the reference materials used met his selection criteria for the paper - ie. Published in a scientific journal, human study (Wiley, 2015).

Once users establish their own library of literature within Paperpile, they can easily create an in-text citation within their paper. With Paperpile's built-in shortcut for Google Docs, this process is made simpler by giving a list of citations the users can choose from after a few keystrokes. At the end of the paper, users can use Paperpile to create a bibliography. Paperpile will search through the paper and add the appropriate references in the bibliography based on the in-text citations used. Thus, duplicate references will not be an issue and allow the user to be organized while writing their paper.

With the advancement of technology and with new e-Learning tools emerging to support learning environments, the integration of these new tools should be seamless and beneficial to all. Yet, organizations and events like EDUCAUSE, a gathering of IT companies, administrators, instructional designers, etc) exist to “harness the power of ed-tech to improve student learning across all facets of the college experience” because there is still a disconnect between the available technologies to improve workflows for research versus the traditions of Academia (Little, 2016). An example of this is the traditional Notecard Method where students would write down interesting or relevant reference materials on a notecard (Little, 2016). In higher education writing, notecards become inefficient but the requirements of having an organized, structured method of learning are required and an important component in writing 

According to Little, the biggest challenge students face when coming into their undergraduate studies is time management and the lack of experience when it comes to having a workflow in organizing and preparing a research paper (Little, 2016). With the use of PaperPile students are able to establish a workflow to help them in their academic writing. It allows students to locate and store reference materials in an organized manner, allowing them to access them as needed. Users also have the ability to cite materials in their preferred format with the assistance of PaperPile’s built-in tools. 

The process of writing begins with gathering information and outlining the content of the paper. Before technological advances, this involved taking notes, borrowing books from the library, photo-copying reference materials, etc. Tools like Paperpile simplifies this process, however, by giving students a convenient place to store this information, especially if it is in a PDF format. Furthermore, they can organize these reference materials in a format that works for them. For example, they can arrange it by subject or categories, use a numbering system, create subcategories for papers that support other materials, etc. Once stored, students can use Paperpile's features to take notes and outline the information they need for their papers. Lastly, Paperpile's built-in tool auto-populates citation information and allows students to access this information to correct and/or fill in missing information so they can prepare their bibliography. If students are not familiar with citing sources, this tool helps them learn what a citation looks like in MLA, APA, etc. 

Collaboration is a crucial component of conducting sound research and writing. Working collaboratively harnesses the team's ideas, skills, and perspectives to create a high-quality final product. Being organized and having a clear path on how to produce the completion of the project is critical and is also efficient. 

In an educational context, the instructor provides the writing assignment, and the team is responsible for cohesively working together in an iterative and social process that involves a team focused on a common objective that negotiates, coordinates, and communicates during the creation of a common document”—is a cognitively and organizationally demanding process (Lowry, 2004) The team must ensure complex steps are managed in task decomposition, role definition, task allocation, and milestone planning as components of team planning, and brainstorming, outlining, drafting, reviewing, revising, and copy editing as components of document production. These steps are not formal requirements of all collaborative writing activities and are often not managed by the instructor (or the system) but directly by the students (Yilmaz,2022).

Technology now makes collaborative writing highly efficient with the support of various online applications for the researchers to collaborate and communicate at increased efficiency while sharing their ideas effectively, enhancing the document's quality (Eapen, 2007). Google Docs allows many team members to log on simultaneously or asynchronously to edit a single shared document.

One of the most valuable tools in Google Docs is using reference manager software such as Paperpile. This tool fully integrates and provides citation and reference management allowing the researchers to share and edit in a centralized location so the team can view all the references utilized. It is in real-time for members working remotely or in a different time zone. In addition, it allows reference sharing as a helpful tool for sharing relevant sources.

In the 21st century, there is a wealth of information online that individuals can access at any given time, and e-learning solution allows individuals to continue to learn at their own pace. Online educational resources allow users to create a personal connection in a virtual world. Online learning tools and ease of accessibility make it easy for anyone to participate and take away valuable knowledge. Digital libraries and databases allow this accessibility and it has made reference sections of the library obsolete as the overwhelming reference material has become easily accessible and connected to vast amounts of researchers and scholarly journals and e-books that are timely in content and credible.   There is a wide range of online libraries and databases, some are more specialized to specific fields of study, like PubMed, which links to the online database for "biomedical and life sciences literature" supported by the National Library of Medicine (PubMed, n.d.). Pro Quest, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and JSTOR are other worldwide databases that allow users access to thousands of scholarly journals on various subjects.

Paperpile not only is a reference tool, but it is also a way for users to have a convenient method of storing reference information and any available PDFs through these databases. When accessing these major databases, users will see a button that says "add to paperpile," which will send the information directly to the Paperpile extension and store it in the user's digital library. If a PDF is available, it will also save a copy of the PDF for users to access at a later date. With most major databases being supported by Paperpile, access to reference materials has never been easier. Furthermore, the tool also automatically updates reference information, including DOI, abstract, and keywords, from online sources allowing the most up-to-date information. In addition, it allows the user to sync the reference library across devices and allows access from any browser. It also offers automatic backup so the user does not need to worry about losing the information.