The fastest way to stay on top of new research is to set up an automated search that checks for you. AIDular lets you do that in plain English, no academic database skills needed.
Whether you are a student, a curious person, or someone who works in a field where new studies matter, this guide shows you exactly how to set up a research-tracking prompt that works.
Why Tracking Research Is Hard Without Help
New papers come out constantly. Journals publish on rolling schedules. Preprint servers like arXiv post dozens of papers a day. Checking all of this by hand is a full-time job.
Most people end up doing one of two things: they either miss important new work, or they waste hours skimming through things that are not relevant to them.
A focused, scheduled prompt fixes both problems.
Step 1: Pick Your Topic Tightly
Vague topics give you noisy results. Be specific about:
- The field or subfield. Not just "psychology" but "cognitive behavioural therapy for teenagers."
- The type of output you want. New studies, meta-analyses, review papers, or preprints?
- Any key terms or names. If you follow a specific researcher or institution, include them.
The tighter your topic, the more useful your report will be.
Step 2: Choose Your Schedule
For most research topics, weekly is the sweet spot. New papers do not appear every single day on a niche topic, so a daily schedule often returns the same results or very little.
Go monthly only if your topic moves very slowly, like historical research or niche engineering fields.
Go daily only if you are tracking a fast-moving area like AI safety, clinical trials for a specific disease, or anything that is in the news right now.
Step 3: Write Your Prompt
Here is a copy-paste example you can adapt:
Search for new research papers and studies published in the last 7 days about the gut-brain connection and mental health. Include the paper title, authors, publication or source, a one-sentence summary, and a link if available. Focus on human studies rather than animal studies.
Notice what this prompt does:
- Sets a clear time window ("last 7 days")
- Names the exact topic
- Asks for specific fields in each result (title, authors, source, summary, link)
- Adds a filter to cut out less relevant results (no animal studies)
You do not need fancy language. Write it like you are asking a knowledgeable friend.
Step 4: Add Context for Better Results
You can make your prompt even sharper by telling AIDular who you are or how you plan to use the information. For example:
- "I am a nursing student, so keep explanations simple."
- "I am looking for findings I can apply to product design."
- "Flag anything that contradicts previous consensus."
That extra line helps AIDular shape the report to what you actually need.
Step 5: Review and Refine After the First Report
When your first report arrives, ask yourself:
- Are the results too broad or too narrow?
- Are there terms that keep showing up that you do not care about? Add them as exclusions.
- Is the summary length right for you, or do you want more or less detail?
Edit your prompt based on what you see. Most people get it just right after one or two tweaks.
A Few More Prompt Ideas to Steal
- "Find new studies on sleep and memory consolidation published this week. Summarise each in plain English."
- "Search for recent clinical trial results related to type 2 diabetes medications. List the drug name, outcome, and source."
- "Show me any new economics research on housing affordability in the UK from the past month."
Start Tracking Research Today
Set up your first research-tracking prompt at aidular.com. The Lite plan is free, so you can try it without putting in a card. Pick your topic, choose weekly, and your first report will arrive without you having to think about it again.