Research prompts
100 prompts · A–Z
- Am I cherry-picking?Check whether you're ignoring inconvenient evidence.analysis
- Am I overclaiming?Check that your claims match your evidence.analysis
- Avoid a filter bubbleSearch in a way that doesn't just confirm you.analysis
- Avoid bias in my methodFind and remove bias from your research design.analysis
- Avoid common stats mistakesSteer clear of the usual statistical traps.analysis
- Break a big question downSplit a large question into answerable sub-questions.framework
- Build a coherent pictureTurn scattered findings into one understanding.analysis
- Build a search strategyGet effective search terms and tactics.plan
- Calibrate my confidenceCalibrate your certainty to your evidence.analysis
- Check a source's track recordWeigh a source by its history and reliability.analysis
- Check a statisticPressure-test a number before trusting it.analysis
- Check my own biasCatch where you're fooling yourself.analysis
- Choose a methodPick the right approach for your question.analysis
- Cite this properlyGet guidance on referencing a source correctly.copy
- Compare what two sources saySee where two sources agree and differ.analysis
- Connect across sourcesSpot the threads linking separate sources.analysis
- Correlation or causation?Check whether a causal claim is justified.analysis
- Critique my research designFind the flaws before you run the study.analysis
- Define my key termsPin down ambiguous terms before researching.analysis
- Define my variablesPin down exactly what you'll measure.framework
- Design my studyPlan a sound method to answer your question.plan
- Detect misinformationSpot the signs that something may be false or misleading.analysis
- Draw a defensible conclusionReach a conclusion the evidence actually supports.analysis
- Evidence to change my mindDefine the evidence that would shift your view.analysis
- Explain a statistical conceptGet a stats concept explained plainly.analysis
- Explain a study's methodsUnderstand how a study actually worked.analysis
- Explain my findings simplyMake your research understandable to anyone.copy
- Extract the argumentPull out a source's claim and its support.analysis
- Fact vs interpretationTell what's established from what's inferred.analysis
- Find primary sourcesGet to the original evidence, not summaries.analysis
- Find recent developmentsGet a plan to surface the latest on a topic.plan
- Find the assumptionsSurface what a source takes for granted.analysis
- Find the gap in the researchSpot what the existing work hasn't answered.analysis
- Find the hidden assumptionSurface the unstated premise a claim rests on.analysis
- Find the logical fallacySpot flaws in reasoning.analysis
- Find the other sideLocate credible opposing views deliberately.analysis
- Frame a hypothesisTurn a hunch into a testable hypothesis.framework
- Frame my question in writingState your question crisply for a write-up.copy
- Good sources from bad, fastQuickly sort credible sources from junk.analysis
- How could this data mislead?Find how numbers might be deceiving you.analysis
- How strong is this evidence?Judge how much weight a piece of evidence deserves.analysis
- Identify the cruxesFind the points a disagreement really turns on.analysis
- Interpret these resultsMake honest sense of your findings.analysis
- Is this difference meaningful?Tell a real effect from noise.analysis
- Is this question answerable?Check whether your question can actually be answered.analysis
- Is this source credible?Assess whether a source can be trusted.analysis
- Judge a study's qualityTell rigorous research from weak research.analysis
- Make my argument flowOrder your evidence into a convincing case.plan
- Make my study replicableDocument a method so others could repeat it.plan
- Map the argumentLay out a piece of reasoning to inspect it.framework
- Map what I already knowLay out current knowledge and the gaps in it.framework
- Narrow my topicCut an over-broad topic down to something doable.analysis
- Note-take from a sourceTurn a source into structured, useful notes.analysis
- Organize my findings by themeGroup scattered research into clear themes.framework
- Plan a literature reviewGet a structured plan for reviewing a field.plan
- Plan how to present my dataDecide the clearest, honest way to show findings.plan
- Plan my samplingDecide who or what to study, and how many.plan
- Pre-register my thinkingCommit to what you expect before you look.framework
- Pressure-test before I publishFinal check before you commit to a conclusion.analysis
- Pull out the key findingsGet the findings and what they mean.analysis
- Question this textGet the critical questions to ask a source.analysis
- Read a chart criticallySpot how a chart might be deceiving you.analysis
- Read a paper efficientlyGet a smart order for tackling a dense paper.plan
- Reason through this carefullyWork through a hard question step by step.analysis
- Reasoning or rationalizing?Check for motivated thinking in your own view.analysis
- Sanity-check my analysisCatch errors in how you read the numbers.analysis
- Scope my research projectRight-size a project to your time and resources.plan
- Spot the biasDetect slant, framing, or agenda in a source.analysis
- State my limitations honestlyName the limits of your research clearly.analysis
- State of the debateMap the camps and the live questions on a topic.analysis
- Steelman against myselfArgue your own conclusion is wrong.analysis
- Steelman the opposing viewBuild the strongest version of an opposing view.analysis
- Stress-test my conclusionFind where your own reasoning is weakest.analysis
- Structure my research write-upGet a clear structure for presenting research.plan
- Summarize this sourceGet the key points of a source accurately.analysis
- Synthesize my sourcesCombine multiple sources into one clear picture.analysis
- Test my argument's logicCheck whether your conclusion follows from your premises.analysis
- Trace a claim to its sourceFollow a claim back to where it originated.analysis
- Turn curiosity into a questionTurn a vague interest into a researchable question.framework
- Update on new evidenceRevise a belief properly when evidence changes.analysis
- Weigh conflicting evidenceDecide what to believe when sources disagree.analysis
- What do I want to know?Clarify the real question under a fuzzy one.analysis
- What does this really say?Cut through dense text to the actual meaning.analysis
- What I can't concludeFind the limits of what your data shows.analysis
- What kinds of evidence exist?Map the types of evidence available on a topic.analysis
- What would a critic say?Anticipate the sharpest objections to your work.analysis
- What would answer this?Define what evidence would actually settle a question.analysis
- What's missing in the dataSpot the gaps and blind spots in a dataset.analysis
- What's still uncertain?Name what remains unknown after your research.analysis
- What's the consensus?Find where the weight of evidence actually sits.analysis
- Where should I look?Find the right kinds of sources for your question.plan
- Where sources agree & differMap the consensus and the conflicts across sources.analysis
- Who are the experts?Identify the key voices and works in a field.analysis
- Who benefits from this claim?Follow the incentives behind a claim.analysis
- Write a literature reviewTurn your sources into a synthesised review.plan
- Write a strong conclusionEnd a write-up with a conclusion that holds.copy
- Write an abstractSummarize your research in a tight abstract.copy
- Write interview questionsGet questions that draw out real answers.plan
- Write my thesis statementDistil your finding into one clear claim.copy
- Write survey questionsGet clear, unbiased survey questions.plan