How to Research a Topic with AI: A Source-Checking Workflow

AI research is most useful when you can inspect how an answer was built. Begin with a question and a standard of evidence, then use the assistant to organize material you can check. A long answer with many links can still repeat one unsupported claim.

Start with a decision, not just a topic

“Research urban heat” is broad. A more useful brief asks: “Which interventions have measured reductions in daytime surface temperature, in which climates, and over what observation periods?” Specify the audience, geographic scope, dates and desired output. Do not ask the assistant to fill missing measurements with guesses.

Illustrative example, not a completed study: compare published evidence about trees and reflective surfaces. Record the location, measurement method, observation period and limitations for each source. This example explains a workflow; it does not claim that one intervention performs better.

Build a source table

Use columns for the claim, original source, publication date, observation date, measurement and limitation. Ask the assistant to leave missing values blank and label them as unknown. The publication date and the date of the underlying observation may be different.

Open every source you intend to rely on. Check whether its text actually supports the specific claim in your table. A link to a broad homepage is not a citation for a detailed finding. The primary-source guide explains how to distinguish original evidence from a repeated summary.

Ask questions that expose weaknesses

Ask which sources are independent, which definitions differ and which comparisons are not fair. Ask what evidence would change the conclusion. An assistant can help organize these questions, but its agreement with your preferred answer is not verification.

If two sources disagree, preserve both positions and their conditions. A source may measure a different outcome, cover a different period or describe a different population. Do not average incompatible measurements to manufacture a single answer.

Write a bounded conclusion

Separate supported findings, reasonable interpretations and unresolved questions. Keep citations beside the claims they support. Avoid presenting a source's speculation as its measured result. State the scope of the answer so another reader can tell where it stops applying.

Before sharing, open the citations again and check quotations against the original wording. Use the quote-tracing guide for quotations that appear in several secondary articles.

Use DeepSearch Research

Open the Research overview to see the product workflow, or compare sources with AI for a more focused evidence review. Public guides are free to read. Running Research requires paid access and uses your plan allowance; see current plans.

No research assistant guarantees a complete source set or a correct conclusion. For a consequential decision, independently verify the evidence and use appropriate professional expertise.