Data Analysis⏱ Ongoing — integrate into your existing coding workflow; 1–2 days to establish habits
How to use AI coding assistants to write data processing scripts, debug error messages, translate analyses between languages, and document code — with guidance on verifying AI-generated code before using results in a paper.
Tools: Claude, GitHub Copilot
Writing & Revision⏱ Varies by task — 15 minutes for a paragraph revision, 1–2 hours to work through a full draft section
How to use AI assistants responsibly for academic writing tasks: structural feedback on drafts, clarity editing, simplifying jargon-heavy explanations, and generating abstract variants — with guidance on where to draw the disclosure line.
Tools: Claude, ChatGPT
Domain Discovery⏱ 30–60 minutes for your first prediction; ongoing as needed
A practical walkthrough of submitting a protein structure prediction job through the AlphaFold Server, interpreting the confidence scores in the output, and knowing when to trust the result — and when not to.
Tools: AlphaFold
Literature Review & Evidence Synthesis⏱ 1–2 weeks (ongoing use, not a single session)
A structured workflow for using Elicit and Semantic Scholar together to find, screen, and extract from a large literature — built around the specific demands of a PhD-level review rather than a quick search.
Tools: Elicit, Semantic Scholar, NotebookLM, Zotero
Data Analysis⏱ 30 minutes to first chart; 2–4 hours for a full exploratory session
How to upload a dataset to Julius AI, use natural language to run descriptive statistics, generate visualizations, and identify patterns worth investigating — with notes on verifying the code it writes.
Tools: Julius AI, Zotero
Writing & Revision⏱ 30 minutes to read; ongoing practice
A practical guide to using large language models for scientific writing tasks — covering what they genuinely help with, where they introduce risk, and how to prompt them to get useful output rather than generic text.
Tools: Claude, ChatGPT
Literature Review & Evidence Synthesis⏱ 1–2 hours
A practical workflow for uploading a paper collection to NotebookLM, asking targeted questions across sources, and building a working synthesis — without reading every paper in full before knowing what matters.
Tools: NotebookLM, Zotero, Semantic Scholar
Literature Review & Evidence Synthesis⏱ 1–3 hours for an orientation session
How to use Perplexity to rapidly orient yourself in an unfamiliar research area — building a conceptual map, identifying key terms, and finding the primary sources worth reading — before committing to a full literature search.
Tools: Perplexity
Literature Review & Evidence Synthesis⏱ 2–4 hours for initial map; ongoing as the review develops
A practical workflow for combining Semantic Scholar's search with ResearchRabbit's citation network visualization to rapidly build a comprehensive map of a research field — identifying the landmark papers, key authors, and active frontiers.
Tools: Semantic Scholar, ResearchRabbit, Zotero
Literature Review & Evidence Synthesis⏱ Setup: 1–2 hours. Screening itself: depends on record volume and inclusion criteria.
A step-by-step guide to importing search results from Scopus or PubMed into Rayyan, configuring blind dual-review, using AI suggestions to prioritize screening, and resolving conflicts — producing a PRISMA-compliant screened record set.
Tools: Rayyan, Scopus, Elicit, Zotero
Writing & Reference Management⏱ 2–3 hours to set up; pays off across months of use
How to use Zotero as the foundation of a research reading system, combine it with AI tools for synthesis, and maintain a citation library that actually stays organized.
Tools: Zotero, NotebookLM, Semantic Scholar
Literature Review & Evidence Synthesis⏱ 1–2 days (vs. 1–2 weeks manually)
A practical step-by-step workflow for using AI tools to accelerate systematic literature reviews — from initial discovery through structured extraction, synthesis, and reference management.
Tools: Semantic Scholar, Elicit, NotebookLM, Zotero