Help with Researching
Introduction
Are you feeling overwhelmed by your research project or frustrated because you can't find the information you need? Don't worry—you're not alone! Many students feel the same way when starting a new project. A powerful AI tool that we're recommending to help with research is Perplexity. Perplexity can help you ask questions and get concise, accurate answers, making it easier to understand complex topics. What sets Perplexity apart from ChatGPT is that it cites its sources, making it easier for you to ensure the information is correct. By learning how to use this tool effectively, you'll be able to conduct research more confidently and become a smarter, more independent learner.
Perplexity
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Think About It
How might you be able to use Perplexity to help with your research assignments? Click through the following option for some ideas. Remember, Perplexity is a powerful tool to streamline research, but it should be used in conjunction with your own critical thinking and evaluation. Always verify information, consider multiple perspectives, and cite sources properly in your final work. Although it is a helpful tool, it can still hallucinate. You can learn more about AI hallucinations on our "AI 101" page.
Conducting Pre-Research and Exploring Topics
Perplexity is great for initiating research or searching for information on a new topic. You can enter a broad question or prompt and get a concise answer with relevant sources cited. For example, if you're researching the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems, you could ask "What are the effects of climate change on coral reefs?" and Perplexity will provide a summary with key points and references to get you started.
Example:
Narrowing Down and Refining Research
Perplexity's Pro Search feature allows you to engage in a dialogue to better define your research question and get more targeted results. For instance, if your initial search on coral reefs was too broad, you could follow up with "What specific threats do rising ocean temperatures pose to coral reefs?" to dive deeper into that aspect.
Example:
*with the free account you can use the Pro Search feature 5 times every 4 hours.
Summarizing and Extracting Key Information
You can upload your own research papers, articles or PDFs to Perplexity and it will summarize the key points and findings. This is helpful for quickly getting the essence of a complex document without having to read through the entire thing. Perplexity can also extract relevant quotes and statistics to support your arguments.
Evaluating and Verifying Sources
While Perplexity provides a list of sources for each result, it's important to critically evaluate them. Look at the credibility of the sites, check for potential biases, and ensure the information is up-to-date. Perplexity can be a starting point, but you should still assess the quality and relevance of the sources it cites.
Example:
Generating Outlines and Organizing Research
Perplexity can help you brainstorm ideas for your paper's structure and create an outline. You can ask it questions like "What are the key topics I should cover in my research paper on coral reefs?" or "How should I organize my paper on the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems?" to get suggestions.
Example:
Sources
Microsoft Copilot. AI-powered Perplexity for research. Accessed June, 2024.
Open-AI. DALL-E for banner image. Accessed June, 2024.
Open-AI. ChatGPT for editing assistance. Accessed June, 2024.