AI Tools for Philosophy Research

Cameron Pattison | Vanderbilt University

cameron.pattison@vanderbilt.edu

Overview

This guide introduces tools to help you efficiently develop your research statement, question, and bibliography for the final essay in Ethics and Mental Health. These tools are designed to save you time and effort, so you can focus on thinking and writing.

Please note: some of these services cost money. However, many are available to Vanderbilt students through www.vanderbilt.ai and you should check there before spending your own cash!

📖 Table of Contents

✨ Introduction

AI tools are supports, not shortcuts. They help you focus on the most meaningful parts of research: thinking, writing, and refining your argument. Used wisely, they can save hours of effort. Misused, they'll burn you.

Keep Phaeton in mind!

This guide highlights Undermind for building research questions, Zotero for managing your bibliography, and other tools to support your process.

📜 Old-Fashioned Methods

Start with One Good Paper

  1. Find a Key Source
  2. Mine the Bibliography
  3. Trace the Citations

Use the Library

Browsing the philosophy section of the library often reveals texts you wouldn't otherwise think to search for. Sometimes the best ideas come from nearby shelves.

🔧 Core Tool: Undermind

What Is It?

Undermind is an AI-powered tool for academic research. It helps you:

  • Find relevant academic papers quickly
  • Summarize complex ideas into clear insights
  • Explore connections between debates in your field

Important: YOU HAVE FIVE FREE SEARCHES BEFORE YOU HAVE TO PAY… so use them wisely!

How to Use Undermind

  1. Sign Up
  2. Tell it who you are and what your assignment is
  3. Analyze Results
  4. Build a Bibliography

📚 Building Your Bibliography with Zotero

Zotero is an essential tool for managing your research and creating citations. It helps you:

  • Save and organize articles directly from your browser
  • Generate citations in multiple formats (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)
  • Create a bibliography with just a few clicks

How to Use Zotero

  1. Download Zotero
  2. Create a folder for your class
  3. Import the .ris file from Undermind
  4. Generate Your Bibliography
  5. When you get to writing…

🌟 Additional Tools

💡 Best Practices

📬 Contact

For questions or help, reach out to:

Cameron Pattison (he/him)
Philosophy Department, Vanderbilt University
📧 cameron.pattison@vanderbilt.edu

📺 Don't Like Reading?

Using Zotero in Word:

The process is similar for GoogleDocs. Look for videos online about Zotero integration/plugins for GoogleDocs and you'll find them!

Creating a bibliography this way will include only those sources that you cite.

Building a Bibliography from Undermind:

Don't do it exactly like this. Be more selective. Choose sources that you will ACTUALLY work with.

Using NotebookLM for Research:

Upload all the sources you've found that you'd like to use… then start asking questions!

Using Elicit for Finding Sources:

Type in what you think you might write about. Then press send!

Using Cursor for LaTeX Writing:

Download Cursor from the web. Then download the LaTex extension in the sidebar on the left.