The following tools can help you find articles in response to topic keywords or questions. Only tools that offer free options are listed.
The following tools can help you identify related papers in order to understand the ongoing scholarly conversations about a particular topic. Only tools that offer free options are listed.
These tools can summarize articles or locate particular types of information within articles to help you understand and select the most relevant sources for your research project. Only tools that offer free options are listed. Always double-check the accuracy of the information they produce.
The following exercises are designed to encourage you to try a variety of AI research tools and to reflect on how they work.
Use Google Scholar to look up any article title (Example: “Nonhuman ‘Authors’ and Implications for the Integrity of Scientific Publication and Medical Knowledge”). Look at the “Cited by” list and the “Related papers” list for that article.
Now use Semantic Scholar to look up the same article. Does Semantic Scholar list the same number of citations for the paper? Do the same papers appear in the “Related Papers” list? What else do you notice about the information provided?
If you were working on a research project, why might you choose one of these search tools over the other? Why might you choose to use both?
Use Evidence Hunt or Perplexity to ask a question that you already know something about. Does the answer seem accurate and complete?
Try clicking through to a few of the cited sources. Can you access the full articles? If so, do they seem to support the answer that the tool provided?
At what point in the research process would a tool like this be most helpful? Explain your answer.
Choose one of the tools listed on the “Analyze Articles” tab. Upload a short (2-3 pages) article that you have read. (Example: “Nonhuman ‘Authors’ and Implications for the Integrity of Scientific Publication and Medical Knowledge”)
Compare the AI-generated summary to your own understanding of the article. Does it seem complete and accurate? Does the summary include any information that doesn't seem to come from the text itself? Does the tool offer other features, such as definitions, follow-up questions, and data extraction, that would be useful to you for research projects?
When would you use a tool like this to summarize an article rather than reading it yourself? In what circumstances, if any, do you think that using this tool would not be ethical?
Since generative AI tools do not create information and are not a trusted sources, it would be more appropriate for an author to provide a disclosure about its use than to cite the tool. Nevertheless, you can follow the advice on these pages to create citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago style.
Quicker and easier research methods may not lead to valid and accurate results. Before using any generative AI tool to produce work for academic assignments or publications:
Watch the 5-minute video below for more information.
