Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Research

While generative AI is not the best tool for finding sources, it can assist you in the research process. Generative AI is useful for: 

Generating keywords and search strings

• "Give me keywords for researching the ecological effects of erosion."
• "Give me a Boolean search string for researching Japanese culture's influence on American fashion."
• "What are alternatives to the keyword 'algorithm?'" 

Generating and narrowing research topics

• "I need a research topic in the field of psychology."
• "Help me narrow down this research topic: History of the Middle East before 1900." 

Summarizing information

• "Summarize the development of the theory of evolution."
• "Summarize the content of this article: [upload your PDF]." 
  • Tools such as ChatPDF and AskYourPDF allow you to upload a PDF to an AI, which trains the AI on the contents and enables you to "converse" with the PDF.   

Simplifying information

• "Explain the concept of dramatic irony in simple terms." 
• "Explain string theory using nontechnical language." 

Drafting outlines and abstracts

• "Write an outline for a paper on the significance of cross-dressing in Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare."  

Proofreading

• "Review the following text for grammar and spelling errors: [paste your text here]."

Translating text 

• "Translate this text into [language]: [paste your text here]." 

Generate topics for your research paper with ChatGPT - University of Arizona: A step-by-step guide on using ChatGPT to generate research topics, keywords, and relevant databases. Includes prompt templates and examples.