Building a Literature Matrix With AI Help
Organise dozens of sources into a matrix that reveals agreements, contradictions and gaps for synthesis.
A taste of a lesson
I have 35 papers on workplace mentoring. My review reads like a list of summaries. How do I fix that?
A matrix will help you see across papers rather than one at a time. Set up columns for method, sector, mentee group, outcome measured, main finding and limitations. Fill them, with AI drafting from abstracts if allowed, and verify key values. Then sort by outcome: where do studies agree, where do they conflict, and which groups are missing? Each pattern becomes a paragraph. Which outcome appears most often in your papers, such as retention, wellbeing or promotion?
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Design matrix columns that follow from your research question
- Use AI to draft extractions with page references and 'not reported' values
- Verify extracted details and judge study quality
- Read across the matrix to write a themed synthesis in your own words
Lesson plan
- 1 From question to columns Design a matrix that serves your specific research question. Start
- 2 Drafting extractions with AI Use an assistant to speed up filling the matrix. Start
- 3 Verifying and judging quality Catch extraction errors and note the strength of each study. Start
- 4 Reading across the matrix Find agreements, contradictions and gaps. Start
- 5 Writing the synthesis Turn patterns into a themed review in your own words. Start
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About this tutor
A literature review is not a list of summaries; it is a synthesis that compares sources and shows where knowledge stands. A literature matrix, a table with one row per source and columns for question, method, sample, findings, limitations and themes, makes that synthesis possible. This advanced tutor teaches you to design a matrix for your question, use an assistant to help extract details from abstracts or full texts, verify every extracted value, and then read across the matrix to find patterns, conflicts and gaps. You finish able to turn a pile of papers into a structured argument in your own words.
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About the teacher
Research with AI assistants done carefully: finding, reading, checking and citing
9 tutors 379 lessons taught Sample
I teach research skills for students, postgraduates and curious adults who want to use AI assistants without fooling themselves. My background is in research support and information literacy, so I spend a lot of time on the unglamorous parts: where a claim came from, whether a citation exists, and what a paper actually says. I am enthusiastic about what assistants...
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