What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have Elicit set up to search academic databases and extract summaries, methods, and findings from relevant papers automatically — cutting your literature review discovery phase from 8–10 hours to 2–3 hours. Instead of reading 40 abstracts one by one, you'll see a structured table of what each paper says about your research question.
What you'll need
- A free account at elicit.com (no credit card required)
- A research question written out in plain language
- Time needed: 30 minutes for setup and first use
- Cost: Free tier (limited searches/month) / $10/mo for full access — worth it during an active writing period
How-To Guide: AI-Assisted Literature Review with Elicit
Step 1: Create your Elicit account
Go to elicit.com in your browser. Click Sign Up in the top right. Use your university email or a personal email — either works. Verify your email when prompted.
What you should see: The Elicit dashboard with a large search bar labeled "What is your research question?" Troubleshooting: If you don't receive the verification email, check your spam folder or try a different email address.