Prompt to generate 10 possible research topics in Psychology

[AmandaCross]

Okay, so I'm usually the person who is skeptical about AI for writing for me, but I've actually found it super helpful for idea generation. Like, when you're staring at a blank page and your brain is just... static.

I have to propose a research study for my Research Methods class, and I was totally stuck. My professor said "pick something you're passionate about," but I'm passionate about sleeping and eating, which aren't really research topics lol.

So I opened up ChatGPT and I used this prompt that I tweaked a little bit, and honestly? It saved my life. Here's the exact prompt I used if anyone wants to steal it:

Prompt:

"Act like a Psychology professor specializing in [SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY]. I'm an undergraduate student who needs to propose a simple, ethical, and doable research study. I'm interested in [SOCIAL MEDIA] and [SELF-ESTEEM]. Generate 10 possible research questions that are specific, testable, and not too broad. For each question, suggest what the independent and dependent variables could be, and one sentence on how I might measure them. Make the language clear and easy to understand."

The results were actually... good?? Not perfect, but it gave me a starting point. For example, one of the ideas it gave me was:

"Does passive scrolling (just looking) vs. active posting on Instagram affect the self-esteem of female college students differently?" with IV = type of engagement, DV = self-esteem score.

Like, that's actually a real study idea! I tweaked it a bit, added my own spin, and now I have a proposal draft that actually makes sense.

My question for you guys: Has anyone used AI to help with research design specifically? Like, not just topics, but actually suggesting methodologies or survey questions? I feel like if you use it as a "collaborator" and not a "replacement," it's actually a pretty good tool.

Also, does anyone have good prompts for finding gaps in the literature? That part is still hard for me. Help a girl out!