Good prompts help the AI help you. A prompt that provides context and a specific request enables the AI to give you useful results. A vague prompt may result in irrelevant data or lead you away from the best research.
Good prompts are more cost effective. Some AI research tools charge per task. A good prompt can help you get the desired output without a lot of repeated searches, lower cost and waste less time for you.
Good prompts are more environmentally friendly. A single generative AI search uses exponentially more resources (electricity, fresh water) than a single Google search.
The CLEAR framework for writing prompts was developed by Leo Lo, a librarian and professor at the University of New Mexico.
Concise (also Clear) - Focus on the key words for the AI tool to analyze. Try to omit as many needless words* as possible.
Logical - Most AI tools look for relationships between words and concepts, so make sure your query is coherent and follows a recognizable progression.
Explicit - Provide precise directions for the desired content, format, and scope.
Adaptive - Like all search tools, revising search strategies to align with how the tools works will yield better results.
Reflective - Critically evaluate the articles, chapters, books the tool returns, and the summaries and syntheses produced. Does the tool produce current research? Are there perspectives that aren't represented in the response?
Lo, Leo S.. "The CLEAR Path: A Framework for Enhancing Information Literacy through Prompt Engineering." Journal of Academic Librarianship , 4 (2023). doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102720.