AI—or artificial intelligence—is often used as a way to summarize data and improve writing. But AI tools also represent a powerful and efficient way to analyze large amounts of text to search for patterns. In addition, AI tools can assist with developing research products that can be shared widely.

It's with that in mind that we, as researchers in social science, developed a new database of AI tools for the field. In the database, we compiled information about each tool and documented whether it was useful for literature reviews, data collection and analyses, or research dissemination. We also provided information on the costs, logins and plug-in extensions available for each tool.

When asked about their perceptions of AI, many social scientists express caution or apprehension. In a sample of faculty and students from over 600 institutions, only 22% of university faculty reported that they regularly used AI tools.

From combing through lengthy transcripts or text-based data to writing literature reviews and sharing results, we believe AI can help social science researchers—such as those in psychology, sociology and communication—as well as others get the most out of their data and present it to a wider audience.

Analyze text using AI

Qualitative research often involves poring over transcripts or written language to identify themes and patterns. While this kind of research is powerful, it is also labor-intensive. The power of AI platforms to sift through large datasets not only saves researchers time, but it can also help them analyze data that couldn't have been analyzed previously because of the size of the dataset.

Specifically, AI can assist social scientists by identifying potential themes or common topics in large, text-based data that scientists can interrogate using qualitative research methods. For example, AI can analyze 15 million social media posts to identify themes in how people coped with COVID-19. These themes can then give researchers insight into larger trends in the data, allowing us to refine criteria for a more in-depth, qualitative analysis.

AI tools can also be used to adapt language and scientists' word choice in research designs. In particular, AI can reduce bias by improving the wording of questions in surveys or refining keywords used in social media data collection.

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