Teaching Students the Difference Between AI Search and Real Research
Week 2: A guide to helping students compare Google Scholar Labs, Google Search, and databases
Helping students understand AI-assisted academic search, web search, and databases
Students often use Google Scholar Labs, Google Search, and library databases as if they all serve the same purpose. They do not. Each tool retrieves information differently, prioritizes different types of sources, and structures search results according to various rules.
This week focuses on helping students understand these differences. Many students begin with a general AI tool or with Google because it feels fast. They trust the clarity of the response without recognizing how much academic context is lost. They also assume that Google Scholar Labs and academic databases function the same way, even though they retrieve scholarly content differently.
Understanding these distinctions is one of the most critical research skills students need in 2026. This lesson also supports the larger book series I am writing on AI-supported student research. Students must understand how search tools work before they can evaluate the quality of the information they find.
Tool of the Week: Google Scholar Labs
Link:https://scholar.google.com/scholar_labs/search
Google Scholar Labs is an experimental feature that brings AI-assisted insights to traditional Google Scholar search results. It is not an AI search engine. Instead, it identifies key concepts from a student’s question and surfaces topic summaries drawn from scholarly literature.
This makes Google Scholar Labs an effective bridge tool. It feels accessible to students who prefer AI tools but keeps them anchored in academic sources. It also makes it easy for librarians to demonstrate:
• how Google Scholar retrieves scholarly content
• how AI assists with a summary rather than a search
• how to trace AI-assisted explanations back to original articles
• how to evaluate the credibility of academic sources
Students often trust summaries too quickly. Google Scholar Labs helps you model how to read past an AI-assisted summary and dive into fundamental research.
Lesson Plan
Comparing Search Tools in Academic Research
Middle and High School
Objective
Students will compare how AI-assisted academic search, web search, and academic databases retrieve and present information. Students will explain why these differences matter for research.
Time
One class period
Materials
Google Scholar Labs:https://scholar.google.com/scholar_labs/search
Google Search
A school database such as Gale, EBSCO, JSTOR, or ProQuest
A research question chosen by the librarian or teacher
1. Warm-Up Discussion
Ask students where they usually begin research.
Explain that different search tools retrieve different types of information.
Set the lesson goal: compare how each tool structures and sources information.
2. Demonstration: Three Searches
Use the same research question in each tool. For example:
How does noise affect student concentration?
Search One. Google Scholar Labs
Search Two. Google Search
Search Three. Library database search
Ask students to observe:
• how each tool structures the results
• the presence or absence of peer-reviewed sources
• where citations appear
• how much academic detail each tool provides
• how clearly each tool connects users to original studies
3. Comparison Activity
Students complete a three-section comparison chart:
Google Scholar Labs (AI-assisted academic search)
• What types of sources appeared
• What the AI-assisted summary emphasized
• How well the tool connected them to the original articles
Google Search (web search)
• What types of sources appeared
• Which sources required caution
• How much academic context was missing
Academic Database
• Types of peer-reviewed studies returned
• Useful subject filters
• How easily full articles were accessed
Students note the main difference that stood out to them.
4. Class Discussion
Ask:
Which tool provided the strongest research sources?
Which tool was most straightforward to use?
Which tool offered the most straightforward path back to the original study?
Where could a researcher be misled?
How does each tool shape the story a student might tell in their research?
5. Exit Ticket
Students write one statement describing the best use case for each tool.
AI Ethics Corner
Why AI-assisted academic search still requires verification
Students may believe that because Google Scholar Labs includes academic content, its summaries are complete. They need to understand:
• The summaries omit limitations and methodology
• The tool cannot evaluate the strength of a study
• Not all sources in Google Scholar are peer-reviewed
• AI-assisted topic maps are suggestions, not conclusions
• Original reading remains essential for accurate research
AI can support exploration.
It cannot replace academic judgment.
Reading List
The potential impact of Artificial Intelligence on equity and inclusion in education
Samo Varsik and Lydia Vosberg, OECD, 2024
Read it here:
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/the-potential-impact-of-artificial-intelligence-on-equity-and-inclusion-in-education_15df715b-en.html
Practical and Ethical Challenges of Large Language Models in Education: A Systematic Scoping Review
L. Yan et al., 2023
Read it here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13379
Proactive and Reactive Engagement of Artificial Intelligence Methods for Education: A Review
S. Mallik and A. Gangopadhyay, 2023
Read it here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.10231
Google Scholar Labs brings AI-powered research searches to academics
NewsBytes, 2025
Read it here:
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/google-scholar-labs-brings-ai-powered-research-searches-to-academics/story
Students cannot build strong inquiry habits without understanding how search tools shape the information they see. AI-assisted academic search, web search, and database search serve different purposes. When students learn to compare them, they choose stronger sources, read more critically, and make more accurate claims.
Next week will focus on literature mapping, a strategy that helps students visualize how research studies connect.
Paywall Preview
This bonus edition provides the complete instructional toolkit for Week 2 of the Research Literacy in the Age of AI series. It expands on the free edition by providing ready-to-use materials to support direct instruction, co-taught lessons, and faculty professional development.
These resources also support the book series I am writing on AI-supported student research. Search literacy is one of the foundational skills students need, and this week’s materials help you teach it with clarity.
Students typically rely on the search method they know best. For most, that is Google or an AI tool. Few students understand how AI-assisted academic search works or how it differs from a traditional academic database. This set of materials helps your students build that understanding.
