🔬 Research
Perplexity Academic Research Prompt: Queries and Ledger
Turn a research question into Perplexity academic queries with source demands, an evidence ledger, and a DOI check list so no paper reaches a draft unverified.
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Prompt
Act as an academic research librarian who designs Perplexity search sessions for scholarly questions, and who treats every paper Perplexity returns as unverified until the student opens it and confirms the identifier. Inputs: - Research question in one sentence: [ResearchQuestion] - Discipline and level (for example undergraduate thesis in education policy): [Discipline] - Publication window: [DateWindow] - Source tiers allowed (peer-reviewed journals, working papers, preprints, government reports, theses): [SourceTiers] - Papers or reviews I already have, with identifiers exactly as I have them, or none: [KnownPapers] - Exclusions (regions, populations, study types, languages): [ExclusionCriteria] - Citation style my course requires: [CitationStyle] Generate: 1. Concept breakdown: split ResearchQuestion into 2 to 4 concepts with synonyms and field terms, and note terms that mean something different in other disciplines. 2. Perplexity query set: 6 to 8 queries, each with its purpose (background, measurement, main effect, counter-evidence, recent reviews), using Perplexity's Academic source focus where my plan offers it, or site filters for the databases and repositories that fit Discipline. 3. Source demand block to paste after every query: answer only from scholarly sources in SourceTiers within DateWindow; for each source give authors, year, title, venue, and DOI or repository ID exactly as shown on the source page; quote the sentence that supports each claim; say NOT FOUND instead of guessing. 4. Evidence ledger template: columns for claim, source as returned, identifier, study type and sample, supports or contradicts, and verified (yes only after I open it). 5. Verification checklist: open each DOI or ID, confirm authors, year, and venue match, check for retractions or corrections, check whether a preprint was later published, and drop anything that fails. 6. Gap and counter-evidence queries: follow-ups aimed at studies that would weaken my claim, plus queries that reuse KnownPapers as anchors only if I supplied them. 7. Citation drafts in CitationStyle for verified ledger rows only, with every unverified row left out. Rules: - Never invent a paper, author, DOI, sample size, or effect size. If Perplexity names a source you cannot see, mark it unverified. - Perplexity summaries can misstate findings; the ledger quotes the source, not the summary. - Respect ExclusionCriteria in every query and flag results that break them.
Instructions
Run each query in Perplexity with the source demand block pasted after it. Copy results into the ledger, open every DOI yourself, and only cite rows you verified. Verify every citation in the original source and never cite one you have not opened. Follow your school's academic integrity rules and AI policy.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
ResearchQuestion: How does switching to a four-day school week affect student achievement in rural US K-12 districts? Discipline: undergraduate senior thesis, education policy DateWindow: 2010 to 2026 SourceTiers: peer-reviewed journals, NBER and university working papers, state education department reports; no blogs or news KnownPapers: none yet; my advisor said to start with ERIC and working paper series ExclusionCriteria: outside the US, private schools, studies about attendance only with no achievement measure CitationStyle: APA 7
Example Output
1. CONCEPT BREAKDOWN - Four-day school week: "4-day week", "four-day schedule", "compressed school week", "alternative calendar" - Student achievement: "test scores", "state assessment", "math and reading achievement", "NAEP" (national), "state test proficiency" - Rural districts: "rural", "nonmetropolitan", "small districts" - K-12: "elementary", "middle school", "high school" Note: "compressed week" also appears in labor economics about adult workers. Exclude those results. 2. PERPLEXITY QUERY SET (Academic source filter if your Perplexity plan shows one; otherwise add site:eric.ed.gov or site:nber.org) Q1 Background: What is known about why US rural districts adopt four-day school weeks, from peer-reviewed or state report sources 2010 to 2026? Q2 Main effect: Studies estimating the effect of four-day school weeks on student test scores in US public districts, 2010 to 2026. Q3 Method: Which of those studies use difference-in-differences or event-study designs, and what achievement data do they use? Q4 Subgroups: Effects of four-day school weeks by grade level or by subject (math vs reading) in US districts. Q5 Counter-evidence: Studies finding no effect or positive effects of four-day school weeks on achievement. Q6 Reviews: Systematic or narrative reviews of four-day school week research published 2018 to 2026. Q7 Policy reports: State education department evaluations of four-day school weeks with achievement outcomes. 3. SOURCE DEMAND BLOCK (paste after each query) Answer only from peer-reviewed journals, working papers, or state education reports published 2010 to 2026, US public schools only. For each source list authors, year, title, venue, and DOI or working paper number exactly as shown on the source page. Quote the sentence that supports each claim. If you cannot find a source, write NOT FOUND. Do not guess. 4. EVIDENCE LEDGER (fill from Perplexity answers) | Claim | Source as returned | DOI or ID | Study type, sample | Supports or contradicts | Verified | | (from Q2 answer) | (copy citation text) | (copy ID) | (design, states, years) | (direction) | no | Rows stay "no" until you open the source. 5. VERIFICATION CHECKLIST - Open each DOI at doi.org or the working paper number on the series site. - Confirm authors, year, title, and venue match the ledger row. - Search the title in the Retraction Watch database and the publisher page for corrections. - If it is a working paper, search the title for a later journal version and cite that if it exists. - Check that the sample is US public schools and includes achievement data; drop attendance-only studies. 6. GAP AND COUNTER-EVIDENCE QUERIES - Studies of four-day weeks that measure achievement over five or more years after adoption. - Studies comparing rural districts that switched back to five days. - No KnownPapers supplied, so no anchor queries yet. Add them once the ledger has verified rows. 7. CITATION DRAFTS (APA 7) No rows verified yet. After you mark a row yes, paste it back and I will format only that row.