AI Research Assistance
Enhance your research process with AI—from understanding complex concepts to refining research questions and mapping academic landscapes.
Overview
AI excels at explaining concepts, suggesting research directions, and helping you understand the academic landscape. Use it as a research companion that helps you ask better questions and understand complex material—not as a source itself.
What You'll Learn
- • How to get clear explanations of complex topics
- • Techniques for developing focused research questions
- • Methods to map the academic landscape of your topic
- • Strategies for evaluating and verifying sources
Research Techniques
Each technique shows the progression from basic to expert-level prompting, demonstrating how specificity dramatically improves research assistance.
Concept Explanation
Get clear explanations of complex topics at your level
"Explain quantum computing"
"Explain quantum computing for a college freshman with no physics background"
"I'm writing a research paper on quantum computing applications in cryptography for my Computer Science 201 class. Explain the basic principles of quantum computing (superposition, entanglement, qubits) in terms a CS student would understand, using analogies where helpful. Focus on concepts relevant to cryptography."
Research Question Refinement
Transform broad interests into focused, researchable questions
"Help me with a research question about social media"
"Help me develop a research question about social media's impact on political polarization"
"I'm starting a 15-page research paper for Political Science 300. My general interest is how social media affects political polarization in the US. Generate 5 specific, arguable research questions that would be appropriate for this scope. For each, explain what type of evidence I'd need and one potential challenge in researching it."
Literature Landscape Mapping
Understand the key debates, scholars, and themes in your field
"What should I read about climate change?"
"What are the main academic debates about climate change policy?"
"I'm researching carbon pricing mechanisms for my Environmental Economics thesis. Map the main academic debates in this field: identify 2-3 major schools of thought, the key questions scholars disagree on, and suggest search terms I should use in academic databases to find relevant peer-reviewed articles."
Source Verification Strategies
Learn how to evaluate and verify AI-suggested information
"Is this source reliable?"
"How do I know if an academic source is credible for my psychology paper?"
"I'm writing a research paper on cognitive behavioral therapy effectiveness. Teach me a systematic approach to evaluate sources: what criteria should I use for peer-reviewed articles, how to assess author credibility, how to identify potential bias, and red flags that suggest a source isn't suitable for academic work."
Research Workflow
Explore & Understand
Use AI to explain your topic and identify key concepts you need to understand.
Develop Questions
Refine your research focus with AI-assisted question development.
Find Real Sources
Use academic databases (JSTOR, Google Scholar, your library) to find peer-reviewed sources.
Verify & Evaluate
Always verify AI-provided information against authoritative sources.
Best Practices
Do
- ✓Use AI to understand concepts before diving into sources
- ✓Ask for search terms to use in academic databases
- ✓Request multiple perspectives on controversial topics
- ✓Verify every factual claim through primary sources
- ✓Use AI to simplify complex papers you're struggling with
Don't
- ✗Cite AI as a source in your paper
- ✗Trust AI-provided statistics or data without verification
- ✗Accept AI's characterization of academic debates at face value
- ✗Skip reading primary sources because AI summarized them
- ✗Assume AI-suggested authors or papers actually exist
Continue Your AI Learning
AI Limitations & Accuracy →
Understand when AI can be wrong
AI Citation Assistance →
Format your sources correctly
Research Methods Guide →
Comprehensive research strategies