AI for Academic Research is a course in using AI ethically across the research process, from searching the literature and managing references in Zotero to summarising papers with NotebookLM, synthesising findings and checking that every citation is real. It suits master's and doctoral students, lecturers and researchers, and you leave with a short, fully verified literature review on your own topic.
Many master's and doctoral students, lecturers and researchers have started using AI to help with literature searches and writing. The problems that come up most often are AI producing references that do not exist, summaries that misstate the original paper, and researchers sending participant data to external tools without realising it. These mistakes damage both the quality of the work and the researcher's credibility, while universities and academic journals increasingly expect authors to disclose clearly how they used AI.
This course sets out a research workflow that uses AI ethically. It starts with framing the research question and building search terms, finding studies with Perplexity, Elicit and Consensus, managing references in Zotero, reading and summarising papers with NotebookLM, and synthesising them into a literature matrix. It goes on to writing a literature review in which every claim is tied to a real source, checking every reference, drafting research instruments, and using AI to support data analysis while the researcher stays in charge of every decision. It closes with a workshop that applies the whole workflow to each learner's own research topic. (2 days, 6 hours per day, 12 hours in total, Beginner level.)
Course Details
A 2-day course, 6 hours per day (12 hours in total, 09:00-16:00), with lectures and labs at Beginner level; no programming background is needed. Learners use their own NotebookLM, Perplexity, Elicit, Consensus and Zotero accounts. Most of these tools have free plans with usage limits, some features need a paid plan, and access to full-text papers depends on each learner's institution. Unlike the NotebookLM and AppSheet for Work course, which focuses on office work, this course focuses on the research workflow, ethics and citation accuracy. Learners take home a set of research prompts, search log and literature matrix templates, an AI use log and a citation checklist.
Section 1: AI in Research and the Ethics You Need to Know
Section 2: Lab: Research Questions and Search Strategy
Section 3: Lab: Finding Studies with Perplexity, Elicit and Consensus
Section 4: Lab: Managing References with Zotero
Section 5: Lab: Reading and Summarising Papers with NotebookLM
Section 6: Lab: Literature Matrix and Research Gaps
Section 7: Lab: Writing a Literature Review with Integrity
Section 8: Lab: Checking Citation Accuracy
Section 9: Lab: Drafting Research Instruments and Ethics Documents
Section 10: Lab: Using AI to Support Data Analysis
Section 11: Lab: English Papers and Journal Submission
Section 12: Workshop: Your Own Research Workflow
No public rounds are open right now. Join the waiting list and we will contact you first when the next round opens, or ask us on LINE. Or call 02-570-8449 or 088-807-9770
Use tools that search real research databases and show their sources, such as Elicit, Consensus or Perplexity, rather than general chatbots that may invent paper titles. Then verify every item by its DOI or by searching the title in an academic database or the journal's website, and read the abstract or full text to confirm it says what you cite before saving it to Zotero.
A literature matrix is a table summarising the studies you have read, with one paper per row and one column for each point you want to compare, such as aims, sample, methodology, findings and limitations. Laid out side by side, it shows which issues are well studied and which topics, populations or contexts have little research, which are your research gaps. AI can fill the table quickly, but entries must be checked against the original papers.
Install Zotero and the Zotero Connector browser extension so you can save papers from journal sites or databases to your library in one click. Organise them into collections with tags by topic, then use the Zotero plugin in Word or Google Docs to insert in-text citations, choose a style such as APA and generate the bibliography automatically. Check that the imported details are complete before relying on them.
It suits master's and doctoral students writing theses, university lecturers who research and supervise, researchers in government, private and hospital settings, and librarians or research support staff. You should understand basic research methodology, have read research papers before, be able to read academic English at a basic level and be comfortable with Word or Google Docs; no programming is needed.
You will be able to turn a topic into research questions and search strings, find and screen studies with AI while confirming every source is real, manage references in Zotero, summarise papers with NotebookLM, build a literature matrix and identify research gaps, and write a literature review with integrity, disclosing AI use according to your institution's guidance. Participants receive a Certificate of Completion with its own number that can be verified online.
You use your own NotebookLM, Perplexity, Elicit, Consensus and Zotero accounts; most have free tiers with usage limits and some features need a paid plan, while full-text access depends on your institution's subscriptions. Bring one research topic of your own and, if you have them, five to ten related papers to use in the workshop.
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