Ethical ChatGPT commands for PhD students | Enhance your literature review with these game changing prompts

Is there such thing as an ethical ChatGPT command? Can you enhance your PhD literature review with AI whilst staying in integrity? Yes, you can, and I’m going to share three game changing prompts with you shortly!

Artificial intelligence, particularly ChatGPT, can revolutionize your PhD literature review without giving you the ick.

Over my two decades in academia, I'vee witnessed an array of technological advancements that have significantly eased the lives of PhD students and academics alike. ChatGPT has blown them all out of the water and I absolutely LOVE it! However, there’s a lot of debate about what it should and shouldn’t be used for so always check your institution’s AI policy before using ChatGPT or any other AI tool to help with your research.

So, without further ado, let’s examine three impactful ways ChatGPT can enhance your doctoral literature review.

1. Writing Concisely: Up-Level Your Literature Review

Do you find yourself rambling and struggling to articulate your thoughts concisely? Fear not! ChatGPT is your ally in crafting focused and clear writing.

The key lies in providing detailed instructions to maximize its potential.

For instance, if verbosity is your Achilles' heel, simply inform ChatGPT,

"I'm working on my PhD literature review and need assistance in avoiding excessive wordiness. Could you offer 10 phrases for clarity and precision?"

You'll be amazed at the targeted and helpful suggestions it can generate.

The phrases provided act as a compass, guiding you through the maze of your literature review, keeping you on track and preventing unnecessary detours. This collaborative effort between human intellect and AI prowess ensures that your writing remains sharp, to the point, inherently valuable but still your own work!

2. Structuring Your Literature Review: Navigating the Labyrinth

Structure is the backbone of any well-crafted literature review, yet it's a formidable challenge for many PhD students.

ChatGPT comes to the rescue by assisting you in generating potential headings tailored to your research.

Imagine you're embarking on your PhD journey, and you're grappling structuring your literature review.

Instruct ChatGPT with specifics like,

"I'm working on a literature review titled 'Young Women's Experiences of Graduate Employment in the Automotive Industry.' Please suggest between 10 and 15 headings to guide my structure."

The result? A treasure trove of initial headings, offering guidance and inspiration as you navigate the intricate landscape of your literature review.

Starting with a larger number of headings provides a comprehensive overview, allowing you to refine and condense them over time. This collaborative brainstorming session with ChatGPT becomes the foundation on which you can build a robust and logically structured literature review.

3. Staying Relevant: Steering Clear of Tangents

One of the pitfalls in a PhD literature review is the temptation to delve into irrelevant tangents.

ChatGPT proves invaluable in keeping you focused on the essence of your research. If, like me, you sometimes find yourself lost in captivating but extraneous literature, seek assistance. Pose a question such as,

"I tend to go off track in my literature search. Can you provide a list of five quick questions to determine the priority of new readings?"

ChatGPT responds with a checklist, enabling you to discern the relevance of potential sources before you dive in.

But the assistance doesn't stop there. You can take it a step further and ask ChatGPT to supply you with sentence starters and phrases that emphasize the relevance of your key research elements. This not only streamlines your writing process but also ensures that your literature review remains tightly aligned with your research objectives.

In conclusion, the integration of ChatGPT into your PhD journey is a strategic move toward efficiency and excellence. It's not about getting it to do any of the writing for you (absolutely NOT okay!) but rather harnessing the power of AI as a collaborative partner.

Learn More about Ethical ChatGPT

ChatGPT, ethically!

If you want to learn more about how to use ChatGPT ethically in your PhD research, check out my guide! It contains advice on how to use AI with integrity throughout your doctoral journey, along with 100 ethical prompts you may not have heard about before. Click the ‘Learn more’ button to check it out!