In today’s post, I am sharing this handy AI tool that is especially useful for researchers. Elicit combines multiple powerful features into a single platform. You can use it to easily search for and find relevant research papers, generate structured summaries of research papers in a table format, upload papers and instantly extract key data and insights from them, and many more.
Elicit will help you during your entire research process, from brainstorming ideas for research topics to finding gaps in the literature to finally finding materials for your literature review.
Elicit Main Features
The following is a quick overview of the main features provided by Elicit.
Find Research Papers
One of the useful features provided by Elicit is the ability to easily find papers based on research questions you ask. Simply type in your research question and Elicit scans its gigantic scholarly library and provides answers from relevant research papers. The response page is structured as follows: first you are provided with a one paragraph summary of the top four papers related to your research query.
Scroll down and you will access a table with two main columns: a Paper column features the paper title, authors, year of publication, number of citations, and when available PDF or DOI links of the paper. The second column, Abstract Summary, features a concise summary of the paper. There is also an additional column called Manage Columns where you can customize the look of your table. For instance you can add a methodology column, a limitations column, main findings column, and many more.
When you find a research paper of high relevance to your research question, you can select it and click on ‘Show more like these’ button from the top bar. You will then be provided with a list of research papers that are similar to the one you’ve selected, based on keywords, topics, and frequently cited references.
This feature is particularly helpful if you’re looking to build a strong foundation of related studies around a specific theme or concept. Browsing through these papers will enable you to uncover diverse perspectives, emerging trends, or additional supporting data relevant to your topic.
Extract Data from Uploaded Papers
This is another excellent feature provided by Elicit which enables you to upload research papers and easily extract key data from them. You can upload as many papers as you want then get Elicit to provide you with a table summarizing the main insights from them. As we have seen before, you can add columns related to the insights you want to extract. For instance, if you are only interested in learning about methodology and limitations you can add the Methodology and the Limitations Column.
Extract data from uploaded papers is a feature that is particularly useful for researchers who need to compile detailed comparisons across multiple sources or are focusing on specific aspects like methodology, limitations, or findings. When you upload a batch of papers, you can have Elicit provide a structured summary in table format, organized by customizable columns such as Research Methods, Findings, Limitations, or even Sample Size.
This is a game-changer for conducting systematic reviews or meta-analyses, as it centralizes all the extracted information in a clear, digestible layout. Another plus of the table setup is that it allows for quick cross-referencing between studies, helping you spot patterns, conflicts, or gaps in the existing literature that could further inform your research direction.
Related: Top 10 AI Study Assistants
Find Concepts across Papers
Another useful feature provided by Elicit is the ‘Find concepts’ which enables you to type your concept and instantly retrieve relevant research papers, definitions, and discussions related to that concept. This feature is particularly handy for narrowing down broad topics or exploring nuanced ideas in greater depth.
For instance, you can type in a concept like ‘project-based learning,’ ‘social emotional learning,’ or ‘flipped learning,’ and Elicit will conduct a detailed scan of its database and provides you with studies and insights specifically focused on that term.
More importanlty is Elicit’s ability to show you different contexts and applications of a concept across various fields. This feature saves a tremendous amount of time compared to traditional keyword searches, as it highlights pivotal studies and influential authors in the area, guiding you to foundational theories and the latest advancements.
Elicit Plans
Elicit offers a free plan with limited features. The premium plans comes with extra benefits such as :
- Unlimited summaries of 8 papers at once
- Unlimited chat with 8 full-text papers at once
- Export to RIS, CSV, BIB
- Extract data from 25 uploaded PDFs per month
- Add 5 columns to your tables at a time
- 1 high-accuracy column per table
- Extract data from tables inside research papers
Watch this video tutorial I recorded to see Elicit in action!
Conclusion
If you are a researcher and haven’t tried Elicit yet, you are missing out on a lot of amazing features. Elicit’ s tools for finding relevant papers, extracting key insights, and quickly locating specific concepts provide an efficient, organized approach to navigating academic literature. Check it out and share with us your feedback.
