AI can assist researchers with literature reviews, research planning, data interpretation, writing support, and research communication. These examples highlight ways AI can help accelerate research workflows while maintaining the importance of human expertise, validation, and academic integrity.

Each use case includes a starter prompt that can help researchers begin exploring AI-supported research activities and workflows.

Use these starter prompts with university-approved AI tools while signed in with your CougarNet credentials to help ensure institutional security and data protection standards are maintained.

Literature Review Support

Summarize and compare scholarly articles to identify themes and gaps.

Starter Prompt:
Summarize the key findings, methodology, limitations, and recurring themes across these research articles.

Research Question Development

Brainstorm and refine research questions and thesis ideas.

Starter Prompt:
Generate several research question variations related to [topic] for qualitative and quantitative research approaches.

Annotated Bibliography Assistance

Create structured notes and summaries for academic sources.

Starter Prompt:
Create an annotated bibliography entry for this article, including a summary, methodology overview, and relevance to the research topic.

Qualitative Coding Support

Identify patterns and themes within interview or focus group data.

Starter Prompt:
Review this interview transcript and identify recurring themes, concepts, and potential qualitative codes.

Survey & Interview Development

Draft research instruments and participant questions.

Starter Prompt:
Generate interview questions for a university research project exploring [topic] with [tool] and [tool].

Data Interpretation Assistance

Explain statistical outputs, charts, or trends.

Starter Prompt:
Explain the meaning of these statistical results in plain language appropriate for a university research report.

Grant Proposal Development

Support drafting and organizing funding proposals.

Starter Prompt:
Create an outline for a grant proposal supporting a higher education [topic] initiative related to [topic], including objectives, impact, and assessment sections.

Research Communication

Translate research findings for broader audiences.

Starter Prompt:
Rewrite this research summary about [topic] for a general audience while maintaining accuracy and professionalism.

Citation & Source Organization

Support source formatting and organization.

Starter Prompt:
Organize these research sources into categories and identify which citations may require additional verification.

Research Presentation Support

Create conference presentation structures and poster content.

Starter Prompt:
Create an outline for a university research presentation on [topic] summarizing findings, methodology, implications, and future directions.