| Feature | Scite | Elicit | Litmaps | Inciteful | Research Rabbit | Scholarcy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Analyzes citation patterns for literature reviews | Automates workflows, especially empirical research | Visualizes article connections through maps | Provides related papers & citation networks | Discovers and visualizes literature and authors | Summarizes research and creates flashcards |
| Key Features | Citation analysis | • Displays relevant papers • Summarizes key info |
• Interactive maps • Citation tracking |
• Citation networks • Multidisciplinary support |
• Visualizations • Personalized recs |
• Summarizes articles • Highlights key points |
| Price | Subscription required Free with Purdue Libraries |
Free w/ sign-up Pro: $12/month |
Free (20 inputs) Pro: $10/month |
Free | Free | Free (basic) Plus: $9.99/month |
| Best For | Literature review and critical analysis | Empirical research and streamlining | Visualizing research connections | Multidisciplinary discovery | Finding relevant authors & papers | Simplifying dense academic texts |
AI tools can support every phase of research—from brainstorming ideas to citation management. Use them strategically to enhance your workflow.
AI tools can support:
Helpful Articles:
Application ChatGPT in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Artificial intelligence in systematic reviews: promising when appropriately used
Tools to support the automation of systematic reviews: a scoping review
Using artificial intelligence methods for systematic review in health sciences: A systematic review
Try using ChatGPT to explore a broad idea like \"AI in healthcare.\"
Example prompt: “Give me 5 angles I could explore about how artificial intelligence is changing healthcare.”
Important Reminder: AI can't understand meaning—it mimics patterns. Use it to accelerate your research, not replace your critical thinking.
Helps researchers discover and understand research articles by showing how they’ve been cited—supporting, mentioning, or contrasting. Price: $20/month.
A powerful research assistant that uses AI to find papers, extract claims, summarize, and brainstorm. Price: Free up to 5,000 credits, then $12/month.
Visualizes how papers relate through citation networks. Build a dynamic map of your literature review! Price: Free for up to 20 inputs, Pro at $10/month.
Builds a citation-based network to help you uncover deeply relevant academic papers. Price: Free.
Explore visualized academic networks and receive intelligent paper recommendations. Price: Free.
Summarizes full-text research articles into digestible flashcards, including key claims, findings, and sources. Price: Free basic; Plus: $9.99/month or $45/year.
Try using a generative AI tool like ChatGPT to help brainstorm your topic. In this example, the researcher starts with a broad idea: AI in healthcare. It's a wide field, and they're unsure which direction to go—so they ask ChatGPT to help explore subtopics.
This is a great way to break out of writer’s block or discover new angles you hadn’t considered.
Ethan Mollick, Wharton professor, offers this advice:
“The best way to use AI systems is not to craft the perfect prompt, but rather to use it interactively. Try asking for something. Then ask the AI to modify or adjust its output. Work with the AI, rather than trying to issue a single command that does everything you want. The more you experiment, the better off you are.”
Generative AI like ChatGPT can create text that feels natural and human-like. But it doesn’t actually “understand” the topic—it's predicting likely word sequences. Use AI-generated content as a starting point, not the final product. Always review and refine!
“Give me 5 possible research angles about how artificial intelligence is changing healthcare.”