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What Can GPT-4 Do for Research & Information Curation?

Task GPT-4 Capabilities
Topic Discovery Suggests relevant topics, subtopics, and questions
Background Research Explains concepts, terms, and theories
Summarization Condenses long articles, reports, or PDFs
Comparative Analysis Compares ideas, frameworks, or viewpoints
Synthesis Combines insights into cohesive outlines or summaries
Information Organization Structures content into categories, bullet points, or tables
Citation Formatting Helps format sources (APA, MLA, Chicago)
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How to Use GPT-4 for Research

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1. Idea Generation and Topic Refinement

Prompt Example:

"Give me 10 research topics on climate change and its impact on urban planning."

Output: GPT will list ideas like:

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2. Preliminary Research Summaries

Prompt Example:

"Explain the basics of quantum computing in simple terms for a high school student."

GPT will break down complex concepts into digestible language.

You can follow up with:

"Now explain it in more technical detail for a college-level audience."

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3. Source Summarization

If you paste content from an article or paper, you can ask:

"Summarize this article in 150 words."

"Extract the main arguments from this PDF section."

"List pros and cons from this research paper."

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4. Comparative Analysis

Prompt:

"Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods. List key differences and when to use each."

Output:

GPT provides a structured table or paragraph comparing methods by:

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Organizing and Curating Information

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Lists, Tables, and Bullet Points

Prompt Example:

"Organize these notes into a table with three columns: Topic, Key Insight, Source."

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Outline Generation

Prompt:

"Create an outline for a literature review on renewable energy innovations in Africa."

Output: GPT will segment the review into:

  1. Introduction & Context
  2. Solar Energy Developments
  3. Wind and Hydro Trends
  4. Challenges & Policy
  5. Future Outlook </aside>

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Mind Maps (Text-Based)

Prompt:

"Create a text-based mind map of the causes and effects of inflation."

GPT returns a nested structure showing:

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Citing Sources and Building Bibliographies

GPT can help with:

Prompt:

"Format this reference in APA: 'John Smith. The Psychology of Fear. Oxford University Press, 2020.'"

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Tools to Combine with GPT-4 for Research

Tool Integration Purpose
Notion / Obsidian Save and tag notes, GPT-generated summaries
Zotero + GPT Combine reference management with AI summaries
ChatGPT File Upload Upload PDFs and ask for summaries or insights
Web Browsing Tool (ChatGPT Plus) Pull up real-time sources and verify facts
Zapier + OpenAI API Automate weekly curated reports or article digests
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Best Prompts for Research Tasks

Task Prompt Example
Explaining a concept "Explain blockchain to a beginner in 3 paragraphs."
Structuring a paper "Create a research paper outline on AI in healthcare."
Summarizing content "Summarize this article into key takeaways."
Highlighting debates "What are the major debates around nuclear energy today?"
Synthesizing viewpoints "Compare how 3 scholars view climate migration."
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