AI Research Tools

Welcome!

What Are AI Research Tools?

AI research tools use machine learning to help you discover, analyze, and connect scholarly literature in ways that complement traditional database searching. These tools can:

• Find conceptually related papers beyond keyword matches
• Visualize connections between research papers
• Generate recommendations based on your research interests

This Guide Covers Three Free Tools:

1. Semantic Scholar - Machine Learning-powered search engine with intelligent paper summaries
2. Research Rabbit - Visual literature mapping through citation networks
3. Elicit - LLM powered research assistant for extracting and analyzing empirical data

How to Use These Tools

Always confirm what the AI policy is for a given assignment with your instructor before using these tools. 

Remember these tools may return sources that Reed Library does not have immediate access to. If we don't have immediate access to a source, Interlibrary Loan (ILL) may be an option to get a copy of a resource. 

Use these tools to:

• Discover papers you might miss with traditional searches
• Understand research landscapes and connections
• Supplement literature review processes
• Find seminal and recent works in your field

Don't rely on them to:

• Replace comprehensive database searches
• Provide exhaustive coverage of all literature
• Verify accuracy without checking original sources
• Generate citations for papers you haven't read

There are hundreds of AI-powered research tools in the market. Many of these are "rewrappings" of Semantic Scholar with an LLM-based interface. This guide is an introduction to these tools and focuses on tools that are useful in their free version. If you are interested in talking with a librarian about these or a different research tool, send your liaison an email or set up an appointment. 

This work by Fort Lewis College Reed Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.