A system and method is described that maintains a record of research performed by a user of an information retrieval system in a manner that reduces the amount of work required by the user to maintain such a record. The system and method obtains information implicitly generated through the interaction of the user with the information retrieval system while performing research and uses such information to automatically construct a research document for the user about a particular research topic. The research document or a means of access thereto is then presented to the user. The research document is configured to maintain both the implicitly-generated data recorded by the system as well as data explicitly provided or collected by the user, such as retrieved document content and user notes, in a manner that is highly-organized and easy to access, augment, and maintain.