Lesson 99 · 3 min
Read research papers with AI
AI can walk you through a research paper section by section, so you understand what was studied, what was found and how sure to be.
Research papers are written for experts. The abstract is dense, the methods are full of terms, and the key limits are often buried near the end.
Upload the paper and ask the questions a careful reader would: What question did they study? Who or what did they study, and how many? What did they find? What are the limits, in the authors' own words?
Ask it to explain terms as they come up and to point to the section or table behind each answer. Then look at that table yourself. Numbers in a summary are where small errors hide.
One study rarely settles a question, especially in health and nutrition. Ask "Was this tested in people or animals? How big was it?" and check whether later studies agree before you change anything in your life.
Do it now
Five questions for any paper
- 1. Find a paper on a topic you care about. Many are free to read online.
- 2. Upload it with the prompt below.
- 3. Check one number from the answer against the paper's own table.
I have uploaded a research paper. Explain it to a smart non-expert. 1. What question did it ask? 2. Who or what was studied, and how many? 3. What did it find, with the key numbers? 4. What limits do the authors mention? 5. What should a reader NOT conclude from it? Point to the section or table for each answer.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →Take better notes with AIWords from this lesson
- Grounding
- Tying an AI's answer to real sources you supply or it looks up, so claims can be checked instead of invented.
- Hallucination
- When an AI states something false with confidence, such as a made-up fact, quote or source.