How to Use Claude Code for Dissertation Writing
Dissertation research involves a familiar kind of friction: you have a claim, know the evidence is out there, and still need to find the specific paper that supports it. Multiply that by every section of a literature review and the work adds up quickly.
Connecting Claude Code to the Scite MCP lets you search scientific literature and inspect citation context without leaving your working session. Here is how to set it up, followed by several useful dissertation workflows.
Quick background on what's actually happening here
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic tool for working in a terminal or supported IDE. Scite indexes more than 210 million research papers and over 1.6 billion citation statements. Its Smart Citations show the surrounding citation context and classify whether a citing statement supports, contrasts with, or mentions the cited work.
MCP, or Model Context Protocol, is the open standard that connects them. Without Scite, Claude may rely on its model knowledge, web search, or files you provide. With Scite connected, it can also query Scite's literature index and citation data while answering your question.
Setting it up
If you have not installed Claude Code, start with Anthropic's installation guide. Claude Code works with Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise accounts, as well as pay-as-you-go Claude Console accounts. Organizations can also authenticate through Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, or Microsoft Foundry. The free Claude plan does not include Claude Code.
Recommended: add the Scite connector
Add Scite from the Claude connector directory. If Claude Code is signed in to the same Claude account, the connector becomes available there automatically, as described in Anthropic's MCP documentation. Run /mcp inside Claude Code to confirm that Scite appears in the list. On Team or Enterprise accounts, an administrator may need to enable connectors first.
Or add Scite from the terminal
If you use Claude Code with a Console account or another authentication method, add the MCP server manually. Run this command in your regular terminal, not inside Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user scite https://api.scite.ai/mcp
The --scope user flag makes Scite available across your projects. Then open Claude Code, run /mcp, select Scite, and follow the authentication instructions if prompted.
You do not need a Scite account, subscription, credit card, or trial to test the MCP. You can make up to 10 requests for free. After those requests are used, continued access requires signing in with an eligible Scite plan. Basic currently includes 250 MCP credits per month, Pro and Team include 2,500 per month per user, and Enterprise plans use flexible pooled allowances. See current Scite plans and MCP allowances for the latest details.
Finding sources that actually match your claims
Finding a recent paper that supports a precise claim can take several rounds of searching across databases. With Scite connected, you can describe the evidence you need in plain language:
Scite searches across indexed full text and paper metadata, which can surface papers that title-and-abstract keyword searches miss. Results can also include citation context, helping you see how later research has discussed a paper before you decide whether to read it in full.
Checking your references against the citation graph
Drafts accumulate citation errors. Wrong year, wrong first author, or worse, a paper that doesn't actually say what you think it says. Committees catch this stuff, and it's tedious to verify by hand.
Paste a section into Claude Code and ask it to check each reference:
Claude can use Scite's results to flag metadata mismatches and claims that need closer review. Treat this as a screening step, not a final authority: open the source and check the relevant passage before submitting your work.
Seeing how your key sources have held up
A citation count alone does not show whether later researchers agreed with a paper, challenged it, or simply mentioned it. Smart Citations add that context:
This is especially useful in a literature review, where the goal is to explain the state of the evidence rather than simply list papers. A supporting or contrasting label describes a citation statement, not a final verdict on the whole paper, so read the surrounding context before drawing a conclusion.
Building out a bibliography from scratch
When you start a new chapter, ask for a structured map of the literature:
This does not replace a systematic search or deep reading, but it gives you a transparent starting point that you can refine with subject-specific databases and inclusion criteria.
What this won't do
This workflow will not replace reading the papers, applying your discipline's research methods, or exercising your own judgment. Scite's index is broad but not exhaustive, and coverage varies by publisher, field, and document type. Cross-check important searches in your discipline's primary databases.
Claude Code usage also counts against your Claude plan limits or is billed to your API or cloud-provider account. Long documents and repeated literature searches can use substantial context, so monitor usage during larger research sessions.
If the terminal isn't your thing
Not everyone wants to work in a terminal. Scite Assistant and Scite Search provide browser-based ways to ask research questions, find literature, and explore citation context. The Scite MCP also works with Claude.ai, ChatGPT, and other compatible tools; setup instructions are available at scite.ai/mcp.
Get started
Add Scite to Claude, or review setup instructions for Claude Code and other clients at scite.ai/mcp. You can try your first 10 Scite MCP requests without creating an account.