🔬 Research
Research Paper Summary Prompt: Claims, Methods, and Limits
Summarize a research paper from the text you paste: question, design, results copied exactly, a claim vs evidence check, limits, and a jargon key for you.
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Prompt
Act as a research methods tutor who summarizes academic papers from the text the reader pastes, separates what the authors claim from what their data shows, and never adds findings, numbers, or citations that are not in that text. Inputs: - Paper text I pasted (abstract, methods, results, discussion, or full text): [PaperText] - Why I am reading it (lit review, class discussion, journal club, deciding whether to cite): [ReadingGoal] - My background in this field: [ReaderLevel] - Parts I could not paste (figures, tables, supplements): [MissingParts] - Summary length and format: [SummaryFormat] - Questions my instructor or team wants answered: [GuidingQuestions] Generate: 1. One-sentence takeaway in plain words, naming the section it comes from. 2. Structured summary in SummaryFormat: research question, design, sample and setting, measures, main results exactly as reported, and the authors' conclusion. 3. Claim vs evidence check: for each conclusion, quote the result it rests on and mark it supported, partly supported, or beyond the data, with one line of reasoning. 4. Limitations: first the ones the authors state, then ones a careful reader would add about sample, design, or measurement, labeled separately. 5. Jargon key: up to 8 terms from PaperText explained for ReaderLevel. 6. Answers to GuidingQuestions, each pointing to the section used, or NOT IN TEXT. 7. What I cannot judge yet because of MissingParts. 8. Use for ReadingGoal: one paragraph on how this paper can and cannot be used for my purpose. Rules: - Work only from PaperText. If something is not there, write NOT IN TEXT. - Copy numbers, units, intervals, and p-values exactly. Do not round, convert, or compute new statistics, except a simple difference I can check by hand, shown with its math. - Do not write a citation unless authors, year, title, and venue all appear in PaperText, and never invent a DOI.
Instructions
Paste the sections you have, and list the ones you could not paste. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Check every number against the PDF before you quote it, and follow your course rules on AI use. Verify every citation against the original paper and never invent one. Follow your school's academic integrity rules and AI policy.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
PaperText: Abstract. We tested whether a 10-minute retrieval practice quiz at the end of each class improved final exam scores in an introductory biology course. Methods. Two sections of the same course at one university took part in one semester. Section A (n = 112) took a short low-stakes quiz at the end of each class; Section B (n = 108) spent the same 10 minutes rereading their notes. Both sections had the same instructor and the same final exam. Results. Mean final exam score was 78.4 in Section A and 74.1 in Section B (95% CI for the difference 1.2 to 7.4). Section A reported slightly higher test anxiety on a 5-point scale (2.9 vs 2.6). Discussion. Retrieval practice should be adopted in all large introductory STEM courses. ReadingGoal: deciding whether to cite it in my lit review on retrieval practice ReaderLevel: second-year education undergraduate, basic statistics only MissingParts: Tables 2 and 3 and the supplement were not pasted SummaryFormat: about 150-word structured summary, then bullets GuidingQuestions: Was assignment random? Does the result apply beyond biology?
Example Output
1. TAKEAWAY In one biology course, the section that took end-of-class quizzes scored higher on the final exam than the section that reread notes (Results). 2. STRUCTURED SUMMARY Question: Does a 10-minute end-of-class retrieval quiz raise final exam scores in introductory biology? Design: Two existing sections of one course at one university, one semester. Section A quizzed, Section B reread notes for the same 10 minutes. Sample: Section A n = 112, Section B n = 108. Same instructor and same final exam. Measures: Final exam score; test anxiety on a 5-point scale. Results: Mean final exam 78.4 (A) vs 74.1 (B). Difference 78.4 - 74.1 = 4.3 points, 95% CI 1.2 to 7.4. Anxiety 2.9 (A) vs 2.6 (B). Authors' conclusion: Retrieval practice should be adopted in all large introductory STEM courses. 3. CLAIM VS EVIDENCE - "Quizzes improved final exam scores in this course": partly supported. The interval 1.2 to 7.4 excludes zero, but each condition is one whole section, so section differences could explain part of the gap. - "Should be adopted in all large introductory STEM courses": beyond the data. One course, one university, one semester. 4. LIMITATIONS Stated by authors: NOT IN TEXT (no limitations paragraph was pasted). Reader-added: one section per condition; single site and subject; no prior achievement measure shown; anxiety was higher in the quiz section, and the pasted text does not discuss it. 5. JARGON KEY - Retrieval practice: recalling material from memory, for example by quizzing, instead of rereading it. - Low-stakes quiz: a quiz that counts little or nothing toward the grade. - 95% CI: a range of plausible values for the true difference; here it runs from 1.2 to 7.4 points. 6. GUIDING QUESTIONS - Was assignment random? NOT IN TEXT. The Methods say two sections took part but do not say how sections were assigned to conditions. - Does it apply beyond biology? The text only covers one biology course (Methods), so the data does not show this. 7. CANNOT JUDGE YET Tables 2 and 3 and the supplement may hold baseline scores, attendance, or other outcomes. Check them before relying on the 4.3-point gap. 8. USE FOR YOUR LIT REVIEW Cite it as one classroom study that found higher exam scores with end-of-class quizzes in one biology course, not as proof for all STEM courses. Authors, year, and venue are not in the pasted text, so copy them from the paper's first page before you cite it.