AI for a literature review
Discovery, summarising, and synthesis — with the verification step that stops it inventing sources.
Free tool: Research Assistant
Using AI in research: a plain-English guide
AI tools can genuinely speed up research — scoping a literature, drafting, summarising, debugging analysis code. They can also fabricate sources, invent results, and quietly breach research integrity. The dividing line between the two isn’t the tool; it’s your discipline: verify everything, disclose your use, and stay accountable for every word. AI is an assistant, never an author.
The one rule under all the others: you are responsible for everything you submit. An AI can draft, but it cannot be cited as a source for facts, cannot be an author, and is never an excuse. Treat its every output as an unverified claim until you’ve checked it against the real source.
Where AI fits — and the skills that keep it honest
How to prompt AI for research
Role, context, constraints, and iteration — the prompt patterns that get useful, checkable output.
Hallucinations & fake citations
Why AI invents plausible, non-existent references — and how to catch every one.
AI ethics & disclosure
Authorship rules, journal policies, and how to write an AI-use disclosure statement.
AI for academic writing
Legitimate drafting and editing help — what’s acceptable, what isn’t, and how to stay your own author.
How it fits together
Used responsibly, AI threads through the research lifecycle: it can help you scope a literature (then you read and cite the real sources), prompt your way to a clearer argument, and polish a draft you wrote. What it must never do is supply facts or citations you don’t verify — that’s where hallucinations turn a shortcut into misconduct. Across all of it, your institution’s and journal’s disclosure rules decide what you have to declare.
Use the tools as you work
- Research Assistant — find the right journal for your work and the literature you should be citing.
- Academic writing guide — the craft AI can assist but not replace.
- How to write a literature review — the human judgement AI can only support.
Get the free AI-in-Research Ethics & Disclosure Pack
Disclosure-statement templates, an acceptable-use checklist, and research-prompt patterns from The AI-Powered Scholar. We’ll email you the download link.
Frequently asked questions
Is it OK to use AI in research?
Generally yes, for assistance like brainstorming, summarising, editing, and coding help — provided you verify the output, follow your institution’s and journal’s policies, disclose your use where required, and remain fully accountable for the work.
Can I cite ChatGPT as a source?
No. A chatbot isn’t a reliable, stable source and can fabricate. Cite the real, verifiable sources for any fact. If you used an AI tool as part of your method, describe and disclose that use rather than citing it as evidence.
Can an AI be an author?
No. Major bodies (ICMJE, COPE) agree AI cannot be an author because it cannot take responsibility for the work or approve it. Authors remain accountable for everything, including any AI-assisted parts.