AI tools · Research
Research with AI safely
Use AI to explore a topic without trusting invented sources.
7 min read · General educational guidance
- Ask for a research map: key terms, competing explanations and questions that need evidence.
- Open original papers, official documentation or authoritative data instead of citing the AI response.
- Keep a source table with claim, link, publication date and what the source actually proves.
Practical example
Ask AI to map both sides of a policy debate and list search terms. Then use those terms in an official database, open the original reports, and record exactly which sentence or dataset supports each claim.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating AI-generated references as a bibliography without opening them.
- Using a summary article when the original paper, law or dataset is available.
- Ignoring publication dates on fast-changing subjects.
Trusted sources and next reading
AI can be confidently wrong. Verify important facts, calculations, citations and professional decisions.