Answered By: Jinsook Seo
Last Updated: Aug 13, 2025     Views: 6

Not reliably. ChatGPT is useful for idea generation, explaining concepts, and summarizing complex topics, but it has limitations if used as the primary tool for finding academic sources (journal articles, books, etc.):

  1. Risk of Fabricated References (“Hallucination”)
    ChatGPT does not search real databases; it generates responses based on patterns in existing text. This means it can create fake citations that appear legitimate but do not actually exist.
     
  2. No Real-Time Access to Academic Databases
    ChatGPT cannot search JSTOR, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, or other subscription-based academic databases in real time.
     
  3. Potential Bibliographic Errors
    Even if a suggested source is real, details such as author names, page numbers, publication dates, or DOIs may be incorrect or outdated.
  4. No Context or Relevance Verification
    ChatGPT cannot verify whether a suggested source truly supports your argument or is relevant to your research topic.

How should you use ChatGPT in research?

  1. Topic Exploration: Brainstorm keywords, refine research questions, and identify potential authors or journals.
     
  2. Search Strategy Development: Ask for Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), keyword combinations, or journal suggestions.
     
  3. DOI/URL Verification: Test any links or DOIs provided by ChatGPT to ensure they are real and active.
     

Use Citation Management Tools: Import verified references into Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley for accurate formatting.

 

Alternative AI Tools for Academic Research

  1. Elicit – Recommends relevant papers based on research questions (English-language focused).
     
  2. Scite – Analyzes citation context (supporting, contrasting, or mentioning).
     
  3. Research Rabbit – Visualizes research networks and related papers.
     
  4. Connected Papers – Maps connections between papers for topic exploration

Important: AI tools should be used only as research assistants. Always cross-check sources using your library catalog, Google Scholar, or subject-specific academic databases before relying on them in your work.

 

 

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