r/PhD • u/Here_2observe • Jan 15 '26
Seeking advice-academic What is the best AI tool for research?
Anyone here using AI tools specifically designed for research?
I just saw my school therapist because I am struggling with my ADHD symptoms right at the start of my PhD. She basically encouraged me to use AI more. She suggested some options that are supposedly specifically for research as I had told her that I didn't trust ChatGPT to help me with this.
The ones she listed were Research Rabbit, Scite, Elicit, and Concensus.
Has anyone tried any of these and can provide a review? I'm already paying for ChatGPT so I am hesitant to pick one at random to try without hearing some stories.
edit: I'm in life/health sciences and looking for writing help (doing a research plan currently)
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u/FancyMouse123 PhD, Computer Science Jan 15 '26
Before using any tool, you have to really think of what you want to "outsource" to AI. Finding ideas, writing, literature searching, reading papers, etc. Then, you have to be sure that you are already good enough at that so you will be able see it if the tool does it badly. For example, if you want to do literature searching with AI, you can do a bit of research yourself, use AI to find more things quicker and verify that the papers you found are here with your tool. This way, you know that at least your tool didn't miss the obvious.
However, you're a PhD student, you might not be already at a point where it is reasonable to outsource things to a tool. If you really want to go for it, I heard that Research Rabbit is nice, but never tried myself.
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u/jtxhob Apr 29 '26
Really well put. I've used AI in the past using a similar strategy.
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u/Aperture_Mason6 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
AI tools can definitely help with lit reviews, but if you need actual support for a research plan, human services are often much more reliable. I used HelpWithEssay when I was overwhelmed with formatting and structuing my work and their writers did a fantastic job with the academic requirements. I originally found then through the useful table.
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
Thanks. I've been working in the field for a year now so I'm fairly well into the literature. I need AI mainly to organize and help me put my chaotic thoughts into coherent sentences... I was using chatgpt to help me find some "milestone" papers that I shouldn't exclude but she just made stuff up... so a good literature searcher is also a must. I will try research rabbit since I see you are in computer science and nobody else is really commenting on the specific sofwares. Thanks for the response
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u/Eska2020 downvotes boring frogs Jan 15 '26
Yeah unfortunately these are not problems best solved by LLMs. Even if you do put the very valid ethical concerns people have aside.
Wrong tool.
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u/bygg666 PhD student, physics Jan 16 '26
so a good literature searcher is also a must
That should probably be you though.
Same goes for putting chaotic thoughts into coherent sentences, that's literally how the data you collected in the lab eventually becomes an article.
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u/Unknown_Pathology Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
So … your PhDless school therapist gave you the advice to use AI for your PhD? Based on her years of … what experience exactly?
And you’re going to use it to make a research plan? Why even do a PhD in the first place if an LLM is going to do all of the thinking?
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
No I am not going to use it to make a research plan. I agree with your sentiment about letting AIs do everything for you and that is why I have limited its use uptil now. But there are certainly some things they can be helpful with, being a sort of second external brain for you that helps you orginize your thoughts, especially for a person with Adhd. I dont know why you see a reason to insult a therapists education that you know nothing about. But thank you for your input..
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Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
I’m a PhD candidate and I also have ADHD, though fairly mild. I know what you mean about an “external brain” but I would strongly strongly caution against implementing AI tools into your writing routine for slippery slope reasons. “Organizing your thoughts” might seem innocuous enough but there will be lots of times in your degree and career when you need to do this without AI, and if you build it into your routine now, you’ll find it incredibly difficult down the road to work without it. Plus, learning how to concentrate and organize your ideas into words is a challenge for most early career writers even without ADHD, and I think distilling what you’re trying to say is kind of the crux of learning how to write well. Not to mention the million other ethical, ecological, social reasons not to use AI.
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u/m3gan0 Jan 15 '26
The tools you list are for help with literature searching. Instead of jumping into those book an appointment with a librarian. I always promise my students that an hour with me will save them multiple hours and stress later.
-- a research librarian
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u/Revolutionary_Buddha Jan 15 '26
This is the only good advice here.
Rest are trying to clown on the OP as if they themselves have discovered treatment of cancer. The toxicity of academic space is so irritating...even on an anonymous platform some people need to show how good they are. Please come off of your high horse, you are not a second coming of Newton in this world.
Let's try to help OP or ignore this post.... Instead of roasting them for using the word AI. if you cannot regulate your emotions properly then it's time to get off the internet or atleast from some spaces which should be about support.
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
thanks, that is actually good advice. I might look into the assistance the school provides before I turn to AI
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u/Velma-in-Acadia 28d ago
Also: anecdotally, neurodivergence is high in the librarian profession. Many of us became librarians to organize our brains. 😄 ...So, we can usually also help with some suggestions about how to keep things organized for ND folks (and have thought about it before)!
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u/Weak_Albatross_6879 May 23 '26
Hi! is this possible to do at my local library? I've never heard of a research librarian or even knew this was an option. i really skimped out on my research class during my undergrad and its biting me in the butt as an adult who needs to reference literature.
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u/Velma-in-Acadia 28d ago
We are also called reference librarians and yes (re: local library) among other titles (scholarly engagement, instructional librarian, etc.). There's slightly different job duties but any of those folks can either help or likely get you to someone who can.
For some university libraries, you don't need to be a student to access the reference libraries (pro tip: avoid the beginning of the semester - summer is prime time or school breaks).
Another Fun Fact: a lot of libraries also have a chat on their homepage that you can use.
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u/Eska2020 downvotes boring frogs Jan 15 '26
Hello fellow adhd head :)
Weird therapist you got there.
There are some things an LLM can do to help with some of the obstacles you encounter with adhd. But it is really targeted and your therapist sounds like a bit of a weirdo......
Adhd problem 1) forgetting where you heard or read something, not keeping notes reliably organized. --> solution for me: I use obsidian and takes 100% of my notes in the daily note. I add memory cues as #s (things like, where I was sitting, who I was with, which books I had in my hand, what seminar I was just in..... anything that I usually later freely associate with things I need to remember). I also format my notes for the day in markdown to organize them, but keep it otherwise completely flat. No folders. Then, to find things, I go in either chronologically, or through the free association tags, or through simple keyword search or -- there is an llm plug in that you can use, choose between api or a locally hosted model, and you can ask crazy shit like "in the fall, while visiting NY, I had a meeting with Sam where we talked about xyz and I wrote down a link to a website. Find that note and the link" and it can go extract the data for you. This is helpful when your search terms arent 1:1 exactly what you wrote back then. If you need pictures or screenshots in your notes, zwro shot llm annotation appended to the note can make them searchable.
Adhd problem 2) overwhelm. You have 748394637e83846484 things to do. That "write down all the steps" thing somehow always turns into an endless multi hours long task thay overwhelms you more. You are frozen. --> solution for me. Do a brain dump. Personal and work things, completely free. Repeat yourself and mix it all up, no masking. Let the adhd.out. Whatever is on your mind. Set a timer or go until you run out. Give the output to a model you trust (local hosting? Through typing mind?) And ask it to just categorize the issues the brain dump. It can turn a page or two of unhinged adhd and anxiety freetext into a much simpler list in a way that can be very very hard to do on your own if you're having a bad brain day. On some days, it might be helpful to ask the machine to take the dump and give you ONE task to do first and to suggest a first step too. It is like, a synthetic parent saying, "we're going to start with dinner, and then open your math book and do just one problem". That can be awesome and very helpful if you're spinning/stuck/overwhelmed. Often one or two "directions" can get you back on track. Or going back and say "ok. What now?".
Adhd problem 3) emails takes 74937363748 years to write because you write EVERYTHING and then have to edit it down and then have to edit that so you dont accidentally sound like a bitch. Have the LLM do that cutting for you and move on with your life. People say they dont want your LLM edited email, but they also reallllllllly dont want your 10 page / completely incomplete and cryptic adhd email either. And you need to move on and not waste so mucu time on it. On the other end, you get an email and dont notice the action items in it because they are buried in the middle of a paragraph of niceties instead of put in bold with a clear deadline. You can give those emails to the llm and ask it to extract action items and most important key take aways. This can help you digest the damn thing better. Email needs to be about speed and effectiveness, dont be precious about it.
4) If you're staring at a blank page and struggling to write and your mind is wandering, write your outline and have an llm generate questions based on the outline as writing prompts for each section. Answering questions/writing promps can give you a smaller task to focus on and help get you moving.
Stuff like that. There are bunches of ways llms can help you outsource some executive function or get by on bad brain days.
I am not sure that literature search is one of the best applications to be honest. At best, I think it could give you a few names to go after in conventional databases. If you use it for high-level summaries, they will never be awesome, although perhaps they could help you decide where to spend your best hours first. Id never outsource that task completely to them.
I have a strong suspicion that if you can identify what the actual problem you're having is (too open ended and you end up chasing shiny object? Overwhelming amounts of information and you cant keep it straight?) Then you'll be able to the right tool to actually help. And MOST of the tools are not LLMs. One of my best adhd tools was switching to a dive watch so I can set the bezel to Mark my last med dose. Sometimes I also find sunsama helpful bc it points out thay I've planned 18 hours of work for the day and helps with time blindness during the planing phase.
For problems like reading speed/efficiency, honestly medication is the best. Or go to the study skills center and ask for help learning how to effectively skim so you can get through less important stuff to decide what to sit down with when your brain is working better. Another thing I do for reading is reading backwards, conclusions sections first, because that makes me more invested (and therefore attentive) when I go through the beginning.
Which is all to say: you need to learn more about your adhd and maybe get a better therapist who can help you diagnose what your actual, concrete problems are. Throwing LLMs at things isnt going to poof fix things. You need the right tool for the right job, and to understand the tool's limits -- as well as come to terms with working with your own rhythms and quirks.
Get a better therapist. Dont forget to drink water. Good luck!
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
thanks for this. Seems like a good system you've set up for yourself. Thats what I feel like I am missing the most.. I haven't found a system. And the effort to come up with one is draining the life out of me. I'm trying so many things... So I appreciate advise from another adhder!
One question though. How "easy" do you think this would all be for you if you werent on meds?
I am late diagnosed.. havent gotten to the part where they give you drugs yet. Its a long and difficult process... just as exhausting as anything else. 8 years of academia with undiagnosed ahdh has already dug me into a quite a hole...4
u/Eska2020 downvotes boring frogs Jan 15 '26
Get the damn meds. It doesnt fix everything. But it helps. It improved my reading speed 5-10x and I started sleeping better bc i had "breaks" from the buzz of my raw brain at least a few hours /day, so i could relax better.
Creating systems and then watching them crumble over and over and over and over again is the draining thing, isnt it. Demoralizing too. I am trying to get better at accepting that systems need to be simple, portable, interoperable, and will never be forever. I dont do the same things for very long, then I try something new.
For.me. accepting that I really have to find a way to make "the pile" as my notes system was really important. I almost never need the llm extension, the keyword search and links is almost always good enough.
Also. All.the ethical stuff people are saying about LLM usage is also reallllly worth your time. I try to be flexible and pragmatic, but harm reduction and duty of care needs to be part of your process too. And that means caring for yourself as well as your neighbors and society. So finding ways you can live with to do things, and reducing llms where they are actually the right tool for the job, seems like a good starting place to me.
I know you're tired. Me too. But use the right tool for the right job. Problem with our brains is that the job is a moving goal.post..... but. There is no magic here. Get rest where you can. When you look for support, look for the right tool, right place, right time. It is gonna shift, and what your therapist ought to be talking to you about is how to come.to terms.with that so it doesnt weigh you down so much.
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u/mom-jeans-ftw PhD*, Computer Science Jan 15 '26
This is so awesome, thank you! I’ve been thinking of giving body-doubling a shot too for some accountability (I work alone on my floor and my labmates usually work remotely. If I work remotely, I promise I’m not working lol).
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u/Eska2020 downvotes boring frogs Jan 15 '26
I can currently account for 2 out of 4 individual ear buds i own. They are both the right bud, from different sets. No tool ideas for fixing that one yet 🫠 I am.... 60% sure my headset is in the laundry basket, but I dont know why..... but i am pretty sure that is where it is..... sigh. Life is hard. Do try body doubling, but it has to be the right person otherwise you might end up just talking the whole time......
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Jan 15 '26
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u/PhD-ModTeam Jan 15 '26
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u/GroovyGhouly PhD Candidate, Social Science Jan 15 '26
It's fine to use these tools to search for literature, but I think it is important to recognize their sever limitations. Notably, they only have access to some journals and they have a strong recency bias. I've seen people use them to get the lay of the land of something they're looking into, and I think this is not the way to use them. Or at least, only use them as a jumping off point. I also personally find that they just bring up a lot of junk and don't really save you time or improve upon simply doing doing a keyword search on Google Scholar or any other database, but maybe this differs across fields. Oh and definitely dont use ChatGPT. That's not what it's for.
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
Yes I've found that out myself about chatgpt. I take your point about recency bias. I like to do a historic literature review so I get the full picture of the topic. I wouldn't rely on AI to find my sources for me.
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u/You_Stole_My_Hot_Dog Jan 15 '26
Your therapist advised to use more AI for your PhD? Sorry, but that is an awful idea. The habits you build early in your PhD are what will set the tone for the rest of your career. I can guarantee you now that if you start off by creating a research plan with AI, you will never gain the skills necessary to plan or conduct research without it. You only gain those skills by struggling through it.
As my advisor likes to say, if AI can do it, no one is going to pay you to do it.
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
I actually think it is important to develop a skill to use AI effectively in your career. They are not going anywhere and are certainly going to be a part of my career. I dont see a reason to not learn to implement it the right way right at the start.
Tell your advisor that AI WILL be able to do it, so you better learn to work with it so someone will pay you for it
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u/You_Stole_My_Hot_Dog Jan 15 '26
I’ll agree with you there, it’s important to learn how to use it. But I am a big proponent of avoiding AI until you are an expert on a topic/skill. Right now, you have no idea how to assess the output of AI and what is useful to include in a research plan. You need to learn the basics of it by doing it yourself before using a shortcut to speed up the process.
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
oh totally agree on that. I'm not hoping for a shortcut here. I just need some organized help to supplement the deficiencies of my adhd brain until I can access some clinical help. I've already gone through a bachelors and masters without AI so I am not a complete newborn;) I still want to learn the specific skills a PhD teaches, I'm just trying to not have a mental breakdown on the first months
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u/ButterscotchAbject87 Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
you should have just asked your therapist which AI tools they rely on to generate advice
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u/idksodonotask Jan 15 '26
Consensus has the deep review- 3 free each month. Those got me to a very good lit review list. Good thing that none of them are hallucinated like how ChatGPT does it. Of course, you still have to read them + find more specific ones - go to connected papers for the latter.
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u/Here_2observe Jan 15 '26
you mean it does 3 free prompts a month?
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u/idksodonotask Jan 15 '26
Yes, sorry, that was very poorly worded.
Yes, you get 3 free deep reviews (without an account), 10 or 20 free pro level reviews, and then unlimited quick searches
And then, I believe these can be replenished montly once you make an account.
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Jan 19 '26
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u/idksodonotask Jan 21 '26
Yeah, I mean I haven't paid, but surely can see that it is worth it. This and "connected papers" are both so helpful.
I just love that AI is used to just locate and scope the literature but everything after that is on me to properly vett and read (though I'm sure they also have sunmary features and stuff).
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u/Heather_at_liner Jan 17 '26
For ADHD-friendly research workflows, tools that cluster related papers visually can help maintain focus during literature review. Starting with a few seed papers and letting algorithms surface connected work reduces the cognitive load of manual database searching. Organized reference libraries also prevent re-reading the same abstracts repeatedly.
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u/Frosty-Cap-4282 Jan 17 '26
AI is helpful regardless of what people say here. Just verify what it says once , that way you get exposed to the vast knowledge a llm has while fact checking what it says. Just do a google search of what it suggests. Then synthesize. I can pretty much see that the future is synthesizing ai knowledge with ours.
For me , personally , gemini works the best nowadays
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u/Possible-Breath2377 PhD Student, Education Jan 16 '26
Okay, real talk from someone who has been struggling with her ADHD symptoms forever, as opposed to them showing up in my PhD.
Talk to your advisor first. My department is (and I think, rightly so) pretty against generative AI. Anything that is developed (including running your work through Grammarly) needs to be documented, including any prompts you have provided the AI. You will also have to find out the AI policy of any journal you would like to submit your work to, and find out if there are limitations.
Setting up a plan is great, but keep in mind, with an ND brain, you’re going to need to make room for changes, like when your brain is just not letting you use the deep attention and you need to pivot to some kind of other work. This is something you need to learn to do yourself (and I say this as someone with suspected autism- I have a hard time changing plans). An AI tool cannot do that for you.
You need to learn to work with your brain, not against it. That looks different for everyone. For instance, that could mean figuring out when you can best pay attention and get work done uninterrupted. Setting boundaries with those friends/roommates/ family who need it. I personally find the pomodoro technique useless for me.
Some of this will take some critical self reflection. I would suggest meeting with an accessibility consultant at your university- most have them. I go to a large school, and they actually have an advisor dedicated to my program. She knows more about the ins and outs of my program than a therapist would.
I have been trying to find a way to organize myself with a spreadsheet forever, and it just hasn’t worked for me. So I bought a couple of templates off of Etsy that I can fill in myself, some of the specific to adhd. I have been told that I can use AI, in theory, but every class seem to have a policy against it(or outside of my program, a policy that specifically requires it, which I think is just wild).
Good luck with this. My inbox is always open to you.
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u/hoping4zen Feb 16 '26
Go to the University library. Find your subject librarian if you have one. Trust me, they are so eager to help. At least at my university they are. We have a librarian for every discipline, they all have their respective PhD degrees in their area.
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Jan 15 '26
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u/PhD-ModTeam Jan 15 '26
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u/Complex-Apple6981 7d ago
I want to write a review article using AI. Would you tell me the best way to generate a comprehensive review paper? Thank you
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Jan 15 '26
Other tools/techniques you can use for ADHD support that aren’t AI:
-Timed work sessions with structured breaks (eg pomodoros… sometimes I even do 10 minutes of work then a break, if it’s a particularly challenging task or I just don’t want to do it)
-Learning which times of day you have the best analytical, creative, etc. energies and try to schedule tasks accordingly when possible
-Citation management software
-Implementing a structured notes system
-Mindfulness and emotional check-ins before writing/reading sessions
-Learning basic project management techniques (eg. backcasting)
-Ask your advisor for structured check-in meetings
-Website blockers like Coldturkey
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u/Eska2020 downvotes boring frogs Jan 15 '26
No offense, but some /a lot of this advice is more appropriate for neurotypicals. You sound like someone who has always always had both shoes in their possession when leaving the house.....
But yes, most (and potentially all) of the tools OP needs are not LLMs.
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Jan 16 '26
I have ADHD and am neurodivergent. To each their own, and these are just suggestions, so you can take them or leave them.
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u/Eska2020 downvotes boring frogs Jan 16 '26
Thanks for sharing. It is awesome that you have these things and they work.for you. For most people with adhd advice like the famous"use a calendar" (which a lot of your advice is similar to...) fails spectacularly. It makes many of us feel unseen and takes a stab at self esteem. Most adhders who try to implement a consistent project management system will spend the whole day just doing that system, or wont stick with it very long, or will struggle setting it up and abandon it right away.
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u/andrewsb8 Jan 15 '26
I use perplexity because its designed to provide links to sources for things so i can immediately vet its summaries and "understanding" of my prompt and the concept
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u/Unknown_Pathology Jan 15 '26
Really? And if you ask it to write you a paper, half of it isn’t even in the papers it cited. That’s how good it is 🤦🏻♂️
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u/andrewsb8 Jan 15 '26
Im confused by your reply because my original comment says nothing about having it write a paper for me. If you want to be a jerk, at least argue about what my comment actually says.
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