AI Prompts
If you mean AI prompts you can use to do better research, here are some high-value templates you can copy and adapt.
1. Deep Research
Research [TOPIC] comprehensively.
My goal is to understand:
1. [QUESTION/OBJECTIVE]
2. [QUESTION/OBJECTIVE]
3. [QUESTION/OBJECTIVE]
Use high-quality, authoritative sources and prioritize primary sources, academic research, government data, and reputable industry sources.
For each major claim:
– Provide the source
– Distinguish established facts from interpretation
– Note disagreements or uncertainty
– Identify important gaps in the evidence
Organize the answer into:
– Executive summary
– Key findings
– Detailed analysis
– Conflicting evidence
– Limitations
– Practical conclusions
– Sources
2. Find the Best Sources
I am researching [TOPIC].
Identify the 10–15 most authoritative sources I should read.
Prioritize:
– Primary sources
– Peer-reviewed research
– Government or institutional reports
– Original datasets
– Expert organizations
– High-quality investigative journalism
For each source, explain:
1. What it contributes
2. Why it is credible
3. Its limitations or potential biases
4. Which specific research question it helps answer
3. Compare Two Things
Conduct an evidence-based comparison of [A] vs. [B].
Compare them on:
– Cost
– Effectiveness
– Advantages
– Disadvantages
– Risks
– Long-term implications
– Best use cases
– Evidence quality
Do not assume either option is better. Use current evidence and explicitly identify where the evidence is inconclusive.
End with:
– Who should choose A
– Who should choose B
– The circumstances under which the recommendation changes
4. Fact-Check Research
Fact-check the following claims about [TOPIC]:
[PASTE CLAIMS]
For each claim, classify it as:
– True
– Mostly true
– Misleading
– Mostly false
– False
– Not enough evidence
Explain the reasoning and provide reliable sources.
Pay particular attention to misleading statistics, outdated information, missing context, correlation vs. causation, and unsupported assumptions.
5. Find Research Gaps
Analyze the existing research on [TOPIC].
Identify:
1. What is well established
2. What is debated
3. What researchers disagree about
4. What has not been adequately studied
5. Which assumptions remain untested
6. Which populations, regions, or circumstances are under-researched
7. The most promising unanswered research questions
Separate strong evidence from preliminary or speculative findings.
6. Turn a Topic Into a Research Plan
I need to research [TOPIC] for [PURPOSE].
Help me turn this broad topic into a rigorous research plan.
Provide:
– A precise research question
– 5–10 subquestions
– Key concepts I need to define
– Variables or factors to investigate
– Best types of sources
– Search terms and alternative terminology
– Potential biases and confounders
– A recommended research sequence
– Criteria for determining whether a source is reliable
7. Research a Question Like an Expert
Act as a senior researcher specializing in [FIELD].
Investigate this question:
[QUESTION]
Before answering:
– Break the question into its component parts
– Identify hidden assumptions
– Consider plausible alternative explanations
– Determine what evidence would actually answer the question
– Separate causal evidence from correlational evidence
Then provide a balanced synthesis of the evidence, including the strongest arguments on each side and your confidence level in each conclusion.
Tip: The biggest improvement usually comes from telling the AI what sources to prioritize, what questions to answer, how to handle uncertainty, and how to distinguish evidence from interpretation—rather than simply asking it to “research” something.
