Reading Research Papers With an AI Assistant
Understand dense papers faster by using AI to explain methods and jargon while you check the text.
A taste of a lesson
The paper says the result was 'statistically significant'. Does that mean the treatment works well?
Not necessarily. Statistically significant usually means the result would be unlikely if there were truly no effect, given the study's assumptions. It says little about how big or useful the effect is. Look for the effect size and its confidence interval: a tiny improvement can be significant in a large study. Ask the assistant: 'Quote the effect size and confidence interval for the main outcome and explain them in plain words.' Then check the quote. What is the main outcome in your paper?
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Read papers in an efficient order based on your purpose
- Ask AI questions grounded in the paper's text and verify the answers
- Apply critical questions about design, sample, effect size and confounders
- Summarise a paper accurately in your own words
Lesson plan
- 1 Anatomy of a paper Know what each section does and where to find what you need. Start
- 2 Reading in the right order Get the gist quickly before investing in detail. Start
- 3 Grounded explanations Use the assistant to explain parts of the paper while staying tied to the text. Start
- 4 Critical questions Judge a study's strength with a standard set of questions. Start
- 5 Numbers without fear Understand the common statistics in results sections. Start
- 6 Your own summary Check understanding by summarising in your own words. Start
Try asking
About this tutor
Research papers are written for specialists, and even experienced readers can struggle with an unfamiliar field's methods and statistics. An assistant can explain jargon, unpack a methods section, and help you plan your reading, but it can also misstate findings or invent details if you rely on it instead of the paper. This tutor teaches a reading strategy for students and professionals: reading in the right order, asking the assistant questions grounded in the paper's text, checking answers against the page, asking the critical questions any reader should ask, and summarising in your own words.
Reviews
4.5
2 ratingsSample
- Jakob W.Sample
The reading order saves me so much time. And asking for quotes with every answer caught the assistant mixing up two patient groups.
- Mei-Ling C.Sample
Critical questions list is excellent. Statistics part was simple but helped me finally understand confidence intervals.
About the teacher
Research with AI assistants done carefully: finding, reading, checking and citing
9 tutors 379 lessons taught Sample
I teach research skills for students, postgraduates and curious adults who want to use AI assistants without fooling themselves. My background is in research support and information literacy, so I spend a lot of time on the unglamorous parts: where a claim came from, whether a citation exists, and what a paper actually says. I am enthusiastic about what assistants...
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