Be aware that the selected AI tools listed below may have overlapping features. Before starting your research assignment, take time to explore their features and functionality to identify the best tools for your research. Always fact-check and verify the accuracy of information you receive.To maximize AI program usability and performance, use effective prompt engineering, which is crucial to ensure obtaining desired results. Craft clear, specific prompts to help ensure more accurate, relevant, and useful results.

AI tools vary in their purpose and capabilities, with some like Perplexity designed for real-time information retrieval and in-depth research support, while others, like ChatGPT, excel in conversation, content creation, or language assistance. Choosing the right AI tool for your research task can make the process more efficient and effective. For example:

• Brainstorming and tutoring — ChatGPT, Claude
• Finding high-quality sources — Consensus AI, Perplexity AI, Semantic Scholar
  (Note: These tools search and provide full-text content when available. However, not all full-text articles are freely accessible; some require a library subscription. Be sure to also search the library's databases.)
• Understanding complex papers — SciSpace, Claude
• Literature review and synthesis — Elicit AI, ResearchRabbit
• Qualitative data analysis — Dovetail, Notably

Tokens in AI language models like ChatGPT (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) and Claude, are the basic text units, which can be words, word parts, or punctuation marks. They measure and limit user interactions, determining how much text the AI model can process at once and often determines cost or usage limits. Other AI tools use different limits. For example, Consensus uses AI credits, while Elicit may restrict usage based on server load, user plan restrictions, or resource allocation.

For assistance, set up an opens new windowappointment or inquire at the Library Service Desk.

ChatGPT opens new windowhttps://chatgpt.com/

Free version available with or without sign in; upgraded version available for purchase
An AI question-and-answer and conversation-generating tool. A well-rounded large language model (LLM) that generates text, answers questions, engages in conversation, and provides assistance on a wide range of topics. Draws on information from books, articles, websites, and other publicly accessible texts. Uses tokens and limits the number of messages you can send within a specific time frame. Use for guidance, summaries, and help interpreting complex papers.

How to Use ChatGPT for Research Support:
Use natural language to enter an idea or topic. Try prompts like:

• "Give me an idea or hot topic that is controversial in the discipline of biology."
• "Give me a list of keywords, subject headings, databases to search, Boolean search strings, or important scholars relevant to [your topic]."
  Or
  "What can I search to find articles on [your topic]?"
  • Then go to the library home page to select and search databases. Key in some of the terms from ChatGpt.
• "Create a sample outline for a research paper on [your topic]."
• "Expand this research idea: [your thesis or research idea]."
• "Explain [insert a complex theory/abstract/concept] in simple terms."
• "Evaluate the logical flow of this research question: [insert your question]."
• "Suggest ways to improve this argument or analysis: [insert your argument]."

Continue to build and refine your results using effective prompt engineering that is clear, specific, and focused instructions and questions.

Limitations & Restrictions:

• NOT effective for retrieving actual research articles
• NOT effective for generating accurate citations or formatting reference lists.
• Usage caps, especially during High-demand periods

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Perplexity AI opens new windowhttps://www.perplexity.ai/, opens new windowhttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/getting-started

Free version available; offers a paid Pro subscription.
An advanced AI-powered search engine that combines large language models with real-time web data to provide accurate, contextually relevant, and citation-backed answers. Use for quick, current, sourced results with publication dates

• Synthesizes information from multiple sources and offers citations to explore topics further.
• Delivers direct conversational answers to user queries.
• Searches the internet in real-time to provide up-to-date, factual responses from trusted sources.
• Citations are included in every response, enhancing transparency and credibility.
• Designed for scholarly research--offers scientifically grounded answers by searching academic databases and research articles.

How to Use Perplexity for Research Support:

• Utilize the citation feature to verify responses and sources.
• Search complex or evolving topics and receive a summarized, cited response.
• Explore original sources via embedded citations to verify and deepen your understanding.
• Ask for clarification on academic concepts, background information, or recent developments in a field.
• Use as a complement to traditional research techniques and library databases.

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Claude opens new window https://claude.ai/

Free tier: Access includes text and image analysis, content creation, and basic web search functionality. Usage is limited in terms of message volume and complexity.
Upgraded versions are available: Claude 3 (Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku) and Claude 4 (Sonnet 4, Opus 4) offer more options and extended advanced reasoning capabilities.

Claude AI includes natural language understanding, content generation, and complex reasoning tasks with ethical considerations in its design and aims to avoid biases. Answers questions, generates content, and assists with complex problem-solving. Tokens are used to calculate usage limits.

How to Use Claude for Research Support:

• Search and synthesize complex topics. Compare multiple theories and summarize long academic text or research articles.
• Analyze texts and sources - Upload reports, articles, or data and ask questions: What are the main findings? What biases can you identify in this article?
• Generate research outlines and questions. Organize your thoughts in a paper outline.

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Gemini (Google) opens new windowhttps://gemini.google.com/

Free
An AI model that excels in straightforward tasks and capable of effectively analyzing and summarizing content. Provides concise and accurate responses. Suited for users already using Google's ecosystem. Tends to be inconsistent and unreliable, which make it less suitable for tasks that require high accuracy.

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Copilot AI (Microsoft) opens new windowhttps://copilot.microsoft.com/

Free. PRO fee-based version is available.
Microsoft Copilot is powered by OpenAI's GPT 4 and works with ORU employee email addresses.

• Provides a high level of accuracy and consistency in text, handling documents, and performing tasks with Microsoft applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Does not provide as much customization and flexibility as ChatGPT.

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Elicit opens new windowhttps://elicit.com/

Free (basic) tier. Learning platform for extracting and analyzing text data from over 125 million academic papers, with coverage up to 2021. It specializes in natural language understanding (NLU) and supports researchers in text analysis. References are drawn primarily from Semantic Scholar, supplemented by sources like PubMed, airXiv, and more.

• Provides literature review assistance by identifying articles and research papers, primarily in the sciences.
• Summarizes, in paragraph form, the abstracts of up to four research paper at a time.
• Offers data extraction and summarizing options, including main findings, methodologies, interventions, measured outcomes, and limitations. Includes options to sort, filter, and export.
• Allows users to upload research manuscripts for analysis, although journal recommendation features are not currently supported.
• Provides custom organization to create and edit data columns to track variables, compare studies, or group findings.

Limits user actions based on a credit system rather than by tracking queries, frequency of use, or task complexity.

Ideal for:

• Use natural language to ask a research question or enter a topic.
• Perform literature reviews
• Create new columns of selected data to categorize and summarize research articles.
• Generate summaries of selected research articles.
• TIP: Add columns to track variables, compare studies, and customize the organization of results according to your specific research needs.

See: opens new windowElicit Tips and Best Practices

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Consensus opens new windowhttps://www.consensus.app/

Free - Answers research questions using evidence-based summaries from peer-reviewed literature.
An AI-powered research assistant and search engine with integrated blockchain technology. Consensus uses AI to get conclusions and find answers by searching more than 200 million peer-reviewed scientific research papers. Researchers can quickly find reliable, evidence-based answers.

• Researchers can use natural language, perform keyword searches, or input thesis topics.
• Generates summarized insights from multiple studies for faster literature review.
• Provides quick access to key study details, such as population, sample size, methods, and outcomes.
• Offers multiple viewpoints on complex or debated topics
• Usage is limited by AI credits, which are based on search volume and depth of analysis

Ideal for:

• Literature reviews
• Evidence-based answers to research questions
• Quick overviews of complex academic topics
• Identifying high-quality, peer reviewed sources
• See: opens new windowHow to Search & Best Practices

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Research Rabbit opens new windowhttps://www.researchrabbit.ai/

Free.
AI tool that that searches through academic literature up to January of 2022 and helps you discover relevant scholarly resources.

• Identifies relevant key literature and relevant articles and papers
• Provides visualizations of papers and co-authors
• Visualizations show sub-fields, geographical distribution of research articles, key researchers, research collaboration, and threads within the research literature.4
• Filter results by citation count or journal impact factor.

How to Use:

• Add your papers to a collection for a visualization
• Search a keyword or key concept to get a list of related articles
• Filter results by date for a list of research on recent advances
• Search for articles authored by specific researchers or published in a specific journal

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Semantic Scholar opens new windowhttps://www.semanticscholar.org/

Free
Ai tool that focuses on scientific literature (academic papers, articles, and conference proceedings) across a wide variety of disciplines.

• Utilizes natural language.
• Provides summaries of research papers. Offers features like one-sentence summaries.
• Provides tools for citation analysis for evaluating the influence of papers and authors.
• The platform is freely accessible without any explicit usage or token caps.

How to Use:

• Search for recent and influential academic papers on a topic.
• Explore related works and identify key studies.
• Use the trend analysis tool to identify new areas of research.
• Monitor new publication or research trends.
• TIP: Click "Save" under the article record to add it in a new or existing folder.

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Scispace scispace.com

Designed for scientific research comprehension and analysis. Helps you read and understand academic papers more easily.

• Highlights and explains specific terms, methods, equations, and results within a paper
• Works best once you have found a paper and need assistance understanding its content
• Helps with comprehension of full research articles.

Dovetail opens new windowhttps://dovetail.com/

Free
Helps analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data to provide deeper insights into research findings and outcomes. Dovetail's AI capabilities are built using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and leverage large language models like Claude to provide advanced analysis

• Processes large volumes of text data from various sources (e.g., interviews, surveys)
• Identifies recurring themes and patterns
• Extract quantitative insights, and tracks trends
• Includes data visualization tools such as charts, graphs, and dashboards to support analysis and presentation.

Blog: opens new windowhttps://dovetail.com/blog/ai-vision/

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Notably opens new windowhttps://notably.ai

Free tier available
An AI-powered research tool designed for organizing and analyzing qualitative data (e.g., interviews, surveys, open-ended responses)

• Uses AI to identify themes, extract key insights, and support pattern recognition
• Allows for tagging, clustering, and grouping of qualitative data info meaningful categories
• Supports visual organization (e.g.,sticky notes, affinity mapping, theme boards)
• Ideal for research, social sciences and design workflows