Library Guides
Conducting a literature review
Information and guidance on conducting literature reviews
The AI tools and software mentioned in this guide are provided solely for informational and illustrative purposes. Their inclusion does not constitute endorsement, promotion, or recommendation by University of Greenwich. The university does not support, sponsor, or derive any benefit—financial or otherwise—from the use of these tools. Researchers are encouraged to exercise critical judgment and verify the suitability, reliability, and ethical implications of any AI tool before use in academic work.
AI for Research Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Generative AI (Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) can be used for keyword generation, exploring topics and definitions, probing gaps in research, formulating and focusing a research question.
Consensus: AI Search Engine for Research is an AI-powered search engine. It uses LLMs and purpose built search technology (vector search) and synthesises both topic and paper-level insights. Consensus AI draws content from multiple sources including Semantic Scholar, and its data is updated more frequently than monthly. It evaluates relevant research papers and generates a summary of key findings.
Features: Search Filters (by sample size, study design, methodology, Open Access), Paper-level insights, Study Snapshots (population, sample size, methods etc.), Quality Indicators, Auto-citations in multiple formats and integration with reference management tools like Mendeley, EndNote and Zotero, CSV exports (export search results, lists, and bookmarks).
Access: up to 3 free trial searches, and thereafter a free basic account with unlimited searches, research quality indicators, AI-powered filters, but limited access to GPT summaries, Consensus meter, Study Snapshots ect.
Semantic Scholar is a free AI tool to help the discovery and mapping of research literature indexing a large collection of over 200 million papers (content via web indexing, publishing partnerships, indexes and content providers). Its main feature is analysing papers quickly by extracting insights and identifying connections.
Features: Search Filters, Paper scan with TLDNs (Too long, didn`t read) or short summaries, Highly Influential Citations, Cite Any Paper, Store and Organize (manage your online library), Research Feeds (AI personalised recommendations), Alerts (paper, author, research feeds), Topics (AI topics exploration), Ask This Paper (available for selected papers).
Access: free
SciSpace AI Research Agent is a free AI powered tool to help streamlining the research process.
Features: Chat with PDFs, AI Writing Assistant with AI paraphraser (helps draft academic content with structure, grammar and punctuation suggestions), Literature Review Assistant, Topic Explorer, Citation Generator (instantly generates citation in multiple formats and export references to tools like Mendeley, EndNote, and Zotero), Deep Review (highlight methodological similarities and differences across studies, provides insights by clustering and comparing findings), AI summaries.
Access: free basic account with 1 parallel task, AI limited to standard model, limited literature review searches, limited paraphraser outputs, limited chats with papers and PDFs, limited paper summaries etc.
Litmaps is a research tool helping in research discovery and visualisation. It streamlines the research process by creating maps for your research by searching the databases, linking your reference management tools, or through automatic generation from seed papers.
Features: Smart Literature Discovery (start from a seed paper to find connected research), Interactive Citation Mapping (create maps showing how papers are connected through citation), Organise Research (save papers into maps and collections, annotate and tag papers), Collaborate (share maps with others, collaborate on literature reviews in real time), Export (maps and references).
Access: basic free account with monthly literature alerts, basic discovery with up to 20 inputs, basic visualisation, 2 litmaps, 200 articles per map, but no collaboration.
Connected Papers is a free AI tool for visualising search results and exploring academic literature through citation networks.
Features: Visual Literature Mapping (create a visual overview of a research field or generate a graph of connected papers based on citations and semantic similarity), Prior Works and Derivative Works ( start with a single paper to uncover prior work, derivative studies, and related research), Graph Metrics, Organise (save graphs and paper lists, or create a bibliography).
Access: limited free access with 5 free graphs per month
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