AI Prompts for Research

I want to research [BROAD TOPIC] but it is too large to tackle effectively. Help me narrow it down. What are the three to five most important sub-questions within this topic? Which one is most answerable with available information? Which one would produce the most useful insight for [DESCRIBE YOUR PURPOSE]? Help me define a specific, focused research question.

I need to research [DESCRIBE TOPIC] for [DESCRIBE PURPOSE: a report, a decision, an article, a presentation]. Help me build a research plan. Include: the central question I am trying to answer, the key sub-questions I need to investigate, the types of sources that would be most useful, potential gaps or biases to watch for, and a rough sequence for the research.

I have a hypothesis: [DESCRIBE YOUR HYPOTHESIS OR ASSUMPTION]. Generate the research questions I should investigate to test it. Include questions that could prove it right, questions that could prove it wrong, and questions that would reveal the conditions under which it is true. Good research tests hypotheses, not just confirms them.

I need to make a decision about [DESCRIBE DECISION]. What are the most important things I need to research before I can make this decision confidently? List the questions I should answer, the information I would need to find, and the sources most likely to have it. Prioritize by which gaps in knowledge create the most risk if I decide without them.

Give me a structured overview of [TOPIC]. Cover: the main schools of thought or approaches, the key debates or open questions, the most important thinkers, organizations, or sources in this space, and what has changed about this topic in the last two to three years. This is background research, not deep analysis. I want a map before I start exploring.

I am researching [TOPIC]. What are the most credible and useful types of sources I should look for? For each source type, tell me: what it is good for, where to find it, and what its limitations are. Include: primary sources, academic or research sources, industry reports, expert voices, and data sources where applicable.

Help me evaluate the credibility of this source: [DESCRIBE OR PASTE SOURCE DETAILS]. Assess: who produced it and what their credentials or incentives are, when it was published and whether it is still current, whether the claims are supported by evidence or just asserted, and what bias or perspective might be present. Should I trust this source for my research on [TOPIC]?

I am conducting primary research on [TOPIC] by [METHOD: interviewing experts, surveying users, talking to customers]. The core question I am trying to answer is: [DESCRIBE QUESTION]. Write 10 to 12 questions for my interviews or survey. Include open-ended questions that explore the topic, follow-up probes for key areas, and at least one question that challenges assumptions I might be making.

Here is what I have found so far in my research on [TOPIC]: [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU KNOW]. What important questions am I not yet answering? What perspectives or counterarguments am I missing? What would a skeptic say I have overlooked? Help me identify the holes before I write up my findings.

I want to verify this claim: [STATE THE CLAIM]. Based on what you know, is this claim: well-established and widely supported, contested or debated, probably false, or impossible to verify without primary research? What evidence would I need to look for to confirm or refute it? What are the most common misconceptions about this topic?

I have gathered information from several sources on [TOPIC]: [DESCRIBE OR PASTE KEY FINDINGS FROM EACH SOURCE]. Synthesize these into a coherent picture. Where do they agree? Where do they conflict? What is the most defensible conclusion given all the evidence? Note any important caveats or areas of genuine uncertainty.

Here is my research data or notes: [PASTE OR DESCRIBE]. What patterns or themes emerge? What is appearing consistently across sources? What is surprising or contradicts what I expected to find? Organize the patterns by significance and tell me which finding is most important for my purpose: [DESCRIBE PURPOSE].

Based on this research: [DESCRIBE OR PASTE FINDINGS], write a summary that includes: the question I was researching, the key findings in order of importance, the conclusion those findings support, and the most important caveat or limitation of this research. The summary should be direct and take a clear position rather than just listing what I found.

Here are my research findings on [TOPIC]: [DESCRIBE FINDINGS]. Translate these into specific, actionable recommendations for [DESCRIBE WHO WILL ACT ON THEM]. For each recommendation, state: what to do, why the research supports it, and what the biggest risk of acting on it is. Prioritize from highest to lowest impact.

I have completed research on [TOPIC] with this scope: [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU RESEARCHED AND HOW]. What questions can I answer confidently based on this research? What questions are beyond the scope of what I looked at? What would a critic say I still do not know? Being clear about the limits of my research makes the conclusions I can draw more credible.

Write an executive summary of the following research for a senior audience that needs to make a decision: [DESCRIBE RESEARCH AND FINDINGS]. Lead with the conclusion, not the methodology. State: what we found, why it matters, and what we recommend. Keep it under one page. The reader should be able to act on it without reading the full report.

I have completed research on [TOPIC] for [AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE]. Help me structure the report. Suggest: the sections to include, the logical order for presenting findings, how to open so the reader understands the purpose immediately, and how to close with clear takeaways. The report will be [DESCRIBE LENGTH AND FORMAT].

Write a methodology section for a research report that explains how I conducted this research: [DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH PROCESS: sources used, time period, search terms, interviews conducted, data analyzed]. Write it so a skeptical reader can understand and evaluate whether my approach was sound. Keep it clear and factual, not defensive.

Write a one-page research brief on [TOPIC] for [DESCRIBE STAKEHOLDER AND THEIR CONTEXT]. They need to understand: what I researched, what I found, what it means for [THEIR DECISION OR GOAL], and what I recommend they do next. Write it for their level of familiarity with the topic: [DESCRIBE THEIR BACKGROUND].

My research on [TOPIC] produced conflicting findings: [DESCRIBE THE CONFLICT]. Help me write a section of my report that presents this conflict honestly. I should acknowledge the disagreement between sources, explain why it exists if I know, state which conclusion I find more credible and why, and tell the reader what additional evidence would resolve the question.