Ask better questions
Goal. Get sharper, better-sourced answers by being specific about scope, recency, and form — and by using follow-up questions to drill in instead of starting over.
Find 3 peer-reviewed papers from the last 2 years on CRISPR off-target effects in primary human cells. For each: one-sentence finding, the journal, the year, and a DOI or link.
Notice what makes this strong: a number (3), a recency window (last 2 years), a source type (peer-reviewed), a population (primary human cells), and an exact output shape (finding + journal + year + DOI). Vague asks get vague, lightly-sourced answers.
- 1Pin down scope and recency. Say "peer-reviewed", "last 2 years", "reviews only", or "human studies" — Perplexity searches whatever you imply, so spell it out.
- 2Ask for a shape. "As a table with columns finding / sample size / DOI" or "as 3 bullet points with one source each" — structured asks come back structured and easier to verify.
- 3Follow up instead of restarting. After the answer, ask "now narrow that to in-vivo studies" or "which of these is the most cited?". Perplexity keeps the thread's context and refines — a follow-up is cheaper and tighter than a fresh broad search.
- 4Trick: end a query with "...and list anything you could NOT find good sources for." It surfaces the gaps instead of papering over them — exactly what you want before trusting a scan.
You'll see. Compared to a one-word query, your specific question returns a tidy, structured answer where each item carries its own citation — and follow-ups sharpen it without losing the thread.
Cost. Free. Specific questions also tend to need fewer follow-up searches, which keeps you under the free-tier limits longer.
Takeaway. Specificity is the whole game: name the scope, the recency, the source type, and the output shape — then refine with follow-ups rather than starting over.