How to Search & Best Practices
How to search with Consensus
There is no ‘correct’ way to structure a Consensus query, however, keep in mind that Consensus is a search engine first – not a chatbot. Consensus will perform best when there is a research question or research topic at the “heart” of your query. With every search, our purpose-built search engine will first attempt find the best and most relevant research papers to ground its response.
You can start with a keyword search or a question, ask about the relationship between concepts, or enter a conversational command for our Copilot.
In this article we will dive into some of the ways we have seen users get the most value form Consensus. Click on any of the links below to see what that search query looks like in Consensus!
Ask a yes/no question
Ask about the relationship between concepts
Copilot: Add a command to your search
Input an “open-ended phrase”
Two concepts separated by an “and”
Ask about “what is the best…”
Ask “how to” do something
Keyword searching
Long ‘chat-like’ commands for Copilot
Note: When using Consensus, we always start with a search of the literature to ground all of our responses in scientific studies. The longer the command the more challenging it will be to find relevant papers to cite in our response!
Focus on the right subject matter
Consensus only searches through peer-reviewed scientific research papers to find the most credible insights to your queries. But keep in mind this covers many areas!
Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Oceanography, Materials Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Linguistics, Economics, Political Science, Geography, History of Science, Philosophy of Science, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Ecology, Meteorology, Geology, Paleontology, Zoology, Botany, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Biophysics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Astrophysics, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Biotechnology, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Social Psychology, Behavioral Science, Archaeology, Demography, Public Health, Nursing Science, Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, Agriculture, Forestry, Nutrition Science, Kinesiology, Environmental Health, Renewable Energy, Conservation Science, Space Science, Acoustics, Optics, Material Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Systems Science, Cybernetics, Urban Studies, Science Education, Science Policy, Science Communication, Science and Technology Studies.
This is a small example of searches that have plenty of research papers to help answer them:
This page was created based on feedback from Consensus users.
Is there something we missed? Email us with your feedback!
