Brainstorming on Your Topic

Brainstorming on Your Topic#

When you are just getting started with your research project, you might be in need of a general explanation of a topic. After all, you first need to decide on what exactly you want to research. In order to do so, you have to gather some interesting possible research directions.

Standard Practice

Searching General Databases
Search general information around your topic and create a concept map

AI Assist

General AI Searches on Your Topic
Use AI tools to find additional general information

Recap Standard Practice: Searching General Databases#

Common resources to start your brainstorming process include:

  • Wikipedia

  • Google

  • Nexis Uni for newspaper articles

You can also write down any interesting terms or particular topics in a concept map. For more information read this TUlib page

AI Assist: General Searches on Your Topic#

AI can assist you: You can ask a general AI tool a question to get a feel for your topic. Use it in the same way you would use Google or Wikipedia. You can use the same question in multiple AI tools to see what they have to say and how they compare.

There are different AI tools that can be used for this goal: When you use general AI tools in this manner, it is good to note whether a tool is connected to the internet. Models that are not connected to internet may hallucinate. It can be helpful to use at least two models to do a general search so you can compare the information and potentially also get some different directions to look into.

Example Prompt

You are a [x year] student in [study]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Suggest five possible research directions, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the topic is relevant and what kinds of research questions could be explored. Present the suggestions as a numbered list.

To provide more context, you could also add some information in your prompt and ask the model to provide you with some directions to look into. For example, upload an open-source report or a topic description to make this more specific.

Example Prompt

You are a [x year] student in [study]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Based on the information below and general knowledge about the topic, suggest five possible research directions, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the topic is relevant and what kinds of research questions could be explored. Present the suggestions as a numbered list.
[information about the topic]

As of February 2025 many of a lot of general AI tools have added the option to do more detailed research, called deep research. This process is often more time consuming, and for a simple brainstorm it can be enough to ask a question to a basic model, rather than asking for a detailed review, but this is something you can explore for yourself!

Guided Activity: Explore General AI Tools for Brainstorming

Choose two of the following general AI tools:

  • Copilot

  • Gemini

  • ChatGPT

  • Claude

  • Perplexity

Step 1: Prompt

Ask both tools the same question:

You are a [x year] student in [study]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Suggest five possible research directions, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the topic is relevant and what kinds of research questions could be explored. Present the suggestions as a numbered list.

Step 2: Compare Results

  • Which ideas seem relevant or surprising?

Step 3: Deep Dive (if the tool allows this) Ask one of the tools:

You are a [x year] student in [study]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Suggest five possible research directions, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the topic is relevant and what kinds of research questions could be explored. Present the suggestions as a numbered list.

Step 4: Reflect

  • How long does the process take?

  • Is the response more detailed or better structured?

  • Do you trust the results? Why or why not?

Summary and Prompts#

Task

Standard Practice

AI Assist

Tools

Example Prompts

Find background information & brainstorm

Search Google and Wikipedia for background articles on a topic

Ask general chatbots for background information ans suggestions

General tools, e.g. Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity

You are a [x year] student in [study]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Suggest five possible research directions, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the topic is relevant and what kinds of research questions could be explored. Present the suggestions as a numbered list.

Use the above prompt, but add some context to your LLM of choice (links / descriptions of the field)

Use the deep research features of tools to look for sources more extensively

References#

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