Faculty Specific Uses and Issues - NMU AI Literacy Initiative

The resources listed on this page are not necessarily endorsed or supported by NMU, but may still be useful for faculty. Some resources may only be partially free.

• Step 1: Identify specific challenges in your research workflow—such as data analysis, literature review, or writing.
• Step 2: Start with beginner-friendly tools like Grammarly for writing or Semantic Scholar for literature review.
• Step 3: Explore advanced AI tools like Google Colab or RapidMiner to expand your capabilities.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing academic research, providing tools that can accelerate data analysis, improve literature reviews, and enhance collaborative efforts. Faculty members can use AI to gain deeper insights, increase efficiency, and tackle complex problems with innovative solutions. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive guide to how AI can enhance your research process, along with resources to help you integrate these tools into your workflow.

1. Accelerating Literature Reviews

AI tools can streamline the process of finding, summarizing, and organizing research articles:

• Automated Literature Search:
  • Semantic Scholar uses AI to identify relevant papers, highlight key findings, and suggest related research.
  • Connected Papers visualizes relationships between academic papers to help you discover connections and trends.
• AI Summarization Tools:
  • Scholarcy extracts key points, citations, and summaries from research papers.
  • Quillbot provides quick summaries of text to condense long articles or literature reviews.

2. Data Analysis and Modeling

AI tools can process large datasets and generate insights faster than traditional methods:

• Statistical Analysis:
  • JASP provides an open-source AI-supported tool for statistical analysis with an intuitive interface.
• Machine Learning Platforms:
  • Google Colab allows researchers to develop and train machine learning models with free cloud resources.
  • RapidMiner simplifies AI and machine learning workflows for researchers without extensive coding experience.

3. Enhancing Collaboration and Communication

AI can support collaborative research and simplify sharing of complex ideas:

• Collaborative Platforms:
  • Overleaf integrates AI for collaborative LaTeX document editing, making it easier to write research papers with multiple authors.
  • Mendeley uses AI to manage citations and recommend new literature based on your library.

4. Writing and Publishing Research

AI tools can improve the clarity and quality of your writing, as well as assist in the publishing process:

• AI Writing Assistance:
  • Grammarly enhances grammar, tone, and clarity for research papers.
  • Writefull is tailored to academic writing, offering AI-driven corrections and recommendations based on published literature.
• Journal Recommendations:
  • Springer Journal Suggester use AI to suggest suitable journals for your manuscript.

5. Ethical AI and Responsible Research

Ensure your use of AI in research aligns with ethical standards:

• Data Privacy and Security:
  • OpenDP provides resources for ensuring data privacy when working with sensitive datasets.
• Learning Resources:
  • AI Ethics Hub offers guidelines and tools for ethical AI usage in research.

AI can be a powerful ally in the grant writing process, offering tools that streamline proposal development, identify funding opportunities, and improve writing quality. For faculty members navigating the competitive world of academic grants, AI tools can save time, enhance productivity, and increase the likelihood of securing funding. This page explores how AI can assist in every step of the grant writing process, from finding funding sources to drafting and submitting proposals.
 

• Step 1: Use grant search engines like GrantForward to identify funding sources and set up personalized alerts.
• Step 2: Begin writing your proposal with AI tools such as Grammarly or Writefull for clear, professional writing.
• Step 3: Use budgeting tools like Mavenlink to ensure your project is financially feasible and within funding guidelines.
• Step 4: Improve your proposal with peer review tools like Publons or AIReviewer to simulate feedback and refine your application.

1. Identifying Funding Opportunities

AI tools can help you quickly find funding sources that align with your research or project goals:

• Grant Search Engines:
  • GrantForward uses AI to match your research profile with appropriate funding opportunities from a wide range of sources.
  • Pivot provides personalized funding alerts based on your research interests and funding history.
• Funding Alerts:
  • Research Professional uses AI to send tailored alerts for new grant opportunities that fit your academic focus.
  • Candid’s Foundation Directory Online offers comprehensive databases to search for grants and proposals relevant to your field.

2. Proposal Writing Assistance

AI-powered tools help improve the clarity, structure, and quality of your grant proposals:

• AI Writing Assistance:
  • Grammarly provides real-time grammar checks, style suggestions, and readability enhancements to strengthen your writing.
  • Quillbot assists in rephrasing sentences for clarity and impact, ensuring that your proposals are clear and compelling.
• Proposal Templates and Structuring:
  • Proposify provides templates and AI-driven suggestions to help structure grant proposals professionally.
  • GrantWriterTeam offers AI-enhanced support to ensure your grant proposal is tailored to the requirements of specific funding agencies.

3. Budgeting and Financial Planning

AI tools can help you develop accurate and transparent project budgets:

• Budget Calculators:
  • Budgeting for Research offers AI-driven tools and templates to develop research budgets in compliance with funding agency requirements.
• Expense Tracking:
  • Expensify integrates AI to track and manage expenses, ensuring your budget aligns with your grant proposal.
  • Mavenlink provides AI-assisted tools for managing budgets, timelines, and resources across multiple projects.

4. Proposal Review and Feedback

AI can assist with self-review and provide constructive feedback to improve your proposal before submission:

• Automated Review Tools:
  • Grammarly reviews your writing for clarity and grammar, ensuring your proposal is polished.
  • Writefull offers AI-driven suggestions based on academic writing databases, improving the quality and professionalism of your proposal.
• Peer Review Tools:
  • Publons allows you to manage and track your contributions to peer review, offering insight into the review process.
  • AIReviewer simulates peer review feedback to help identify areas for improvement in your proposal.

5. Improving Proposal Impact and Persuasion

AI can analyze the language of your proposal to ensure it has a greater impact on reviewers:

• Impact Analysis:
  • Hemingway Editor enhances readability by identifying complex sentences and suggesting simpler alternatives, ensuring your proposal is easy to follow.
• AI-Powered Persuasion:
  • WordRake helps sharpen your writing by cutting unnecessary words, improving persuasiveness and overall readability.
  • Slick Write uses AI to detect overused phrases and sentences that could detract from the proposal’s impact.

6. Managing Submission and Deadlines

AI tools can help you track submission deadlines, manage revisions, and ensure timely proposals:

• Deadline Management:
  • Trello uses AI-powered features to keep track of your grant deadlines and milestones.
  • Asana helps you create tasks and reminders to manage proposal deadlines and submission dates.
• Proposal Tracking:
  • Zotero can store your proposal drafts and track citations, ensuring everything is in order before submission.
  • GrantHub offers AI tools to track multiple grant applications, submission statuses, and deadlines in one platform.