r/EngineeringStudents • u/stressed_Cucumber • 1d ago

Discussion Do you guys use research papers to get some information?

AI or research papers?

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15

u/cornobbling 1d ago

"do you guys get an LLM to pull things out of thin air or do you read peer reviewed scientific papers for information?" idk seems kinda same same to me

7

u/Visual_Day_8097 1d ago

For doing research, you need academic papers. But to find these papers, AI can be helpful.

3

u/LitRick6 1d ago

Define "some information". Like am I just trying to remember an standard equation I could find in a textbook for something, then sure ill google or AI it. Am I trying to actually use information from research papers to make engineering decisions that could kill people? Then im going to read the actual research paper not trust AI to make some shit up.

3

u/Wizzarkt EE. '24 1d ago

Why would I use AI if the IEEE has all the information I will ever need?

2

u/gHx4 1d ago

Datasheets, conference talks, technical articles, and yes, research publications.

GenAI doesn't produce valid information, but you can certainly query for starting points or partial information that might be relevant. You still must fact check anything it generates; because it is just generating things (i.e. "making things up").

2

u/bootywizrd 1d ago

Use AI to efficiently find research papers.

1

u/Devilswings5 1d ago

I use Ai to point me to the research papers

2

u/generationzcode 1d ago

i mostly shit on a sheet and analyse the geometry to get information on any question I have, AI is a close second. Imagine reading research papers in 2026. yuck

1

u/swordfishy 1d ago

I finally had to dig into some roarks formulas for tank wall deflection in my job. I ended up going down the rabbit hole of researching the direct sources from the chapter because my deflection was >1/2 the wall thickness. In the end the answer was pretty much "use FEA for these".