Exploring Academic Literature

Exploring Academic Literature#

Once you’ve defined your topic a bit more and understand the basic concepts, it can be helpful to get an initial overview of the academic literature already written about your topic. This helps you to get a better understanding of the research field, and you can find out what research gaps still exist.

Standard Practice

Topic-Level Searching
Perform broad searches in an academic databases

AI Assist:

Exploring Academic Literature with AI Research Tools
Use Academic AI tools to do an exploration of academic literature

Recap Standard Practice: Topic-Level Searching#

What are some key directions already taken? A common approach is to do topic-level searches in academic databases like Scopus, Dimensions or Web of Science, or look specifically for review articles. Check the titles, abstracts and keywords of documents you find useful. It can be helpful to look for specific review articles around your topic.

Expert Software for Exploring Scientific Literature

Do you want to do a more detailed mapping of academic literature? You could use the VOSviewer, a tool created by Leiden University. The VOSviewer is embedded in the Dimensions database, but also works as standalone software to which you can upload references. You can use the VOSviewer to make an overview of common terms that are mentioned in the academic literature for your topic or subject area.

AI Assist: Exploring Academic Literature with AI Research Tools#

You can use academic AI tools to support this process. For example, they can help to get some initial studies and directions in the field. Examples of tools you could use for this purpose are Consensus, Perplexity pro or Elicit.

Each tool has different strengths:

  • Consensus can map literature, but also answer yes/no research questions based on academic literature.

  • Perplexity Pro combines broad web and academic search with citations.

  • Elicit provides semantic search and summarisation from Semantic Scholar.

Note

Academic tools will often ask you to create an account, and will provide you with a limited amount of free queries. It is therefore good to be purposeful when using these tools.

Research tools like Consensus, Elicit, and the pro-version of Perplexity search open access scientific literature. Often their source base is Semantic Scholar. Results from these academic AI tools therefore can miss non-open access sources found in traditional databases like Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions.

You can use these tools to find key research questions to explore in your topic:

Example Prompt

You are a researcher in the field of [your field]. 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.

You can also ask the tools to find some key research articles in your field you can then use to orientate yourself:

Example Prompt

You are a researcher in the field of [your field]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Please suggest 4-5 key research articles, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the article is a key article for this topic

Finally, you can ask direct research questions to the tool and see what sources come up in the academic literature.

Example Prompt (for Consensus)

Does [topic] affect [variable/outcome]?

Guided Activity: Explore Academic Literature with AI

Use this activity to practice using academic GenAI tools for exploring academic literature.

Step 1: Choose Your Tool

Select one of the following academic AI tools:

  • Consensus

  • Perplexity Pro

  • Elicit

Step 2: Prompt the Tool

Try using one of the following prompts in your tool of choice. You can substitute your own research topic:

Prompt 1:

You are a researcher in the field of [your field]. 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.

Prompt 2:

You are a researcher in the field of [your field]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Please suggest 4-5 key research articles, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the article is a key article for this topic

Prompt 3 (for Consensus):

Does [topic] affect [variable/outcome]?

Step 3: Reflect on the Output

Answer these three short reflection questions after trying the tool:

  • Were the results relevant and trustworthy?

  • Did the tool provide real, useful sources?

  • What do the results from the tool add to your initial exploration?

Summary and Prompts#

Task

Standard Practice

AI Assist

Tools

Example Prompts

Find initial academic information

Topic-level search in scholarly databases; VOS-viewer visualisations

Use academic AI tools to provide quick overview of important topics/works within a research field

Academic tools, e.g. Elicit, Consensus, Perplexity (Pro)

You are a researcher in the field of [your field]. 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.

You are a researcher in the field of [your field]. You have to write a literature review paper about [general topic]. Please suggest 4-5 key research articles, each with a short description (3-4 sentences) explaining why the article is a key article for this topic.

Does [topic] affect [variable/outcome]? (for Consensus)

References#

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