A scientific white paper turns a body of research into something a decision maker can use. It is the document a research consortium sends to a funder, a learned society publishes before a policy debate, or a lab writes for the industry that will use its findings. The White paper module in AI for Research drafts one from published research, with each claim cited and the strength of the evidence said plainly.
What a scientific white paper contains
Choose Scientific or research white paper as the kind. A whole draft has these sections:
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Executive summary | The question, what the evidence shows, how sure we are and the main recommendation |
| Introduction and scope | Who the paper is for, what it covers and what it leaves out |
| The state of the science | One subsection per theme, each saying how strong the evidence is |
| Where the evidence agrees and where it is uncertain | Consensus, open questions and conflicting results, side by side |
| Implications | What the findings mean for practice, industry or policy |
| Recommendations | Research priorities and actions, numbered |
| How this paper was prepared | The evidence base: the kinds of studies cited and its limits |
| Glossary | Key terms in plain words |
| Conclusion | The answer in a few sentences |
| Suggested figures | Two to four charts or tables a designer could make, with the data that backs each |
Every finding cites a real paper as a numbered marker. If the sources do not cover a point, the draft says so instead of filling the gap.
How to write a white paper for research, step by step
- Open the Writing Studio, choose White paper under Deliverables and set the kind to Scientific or research white paper.
- Write the question or topic as precisely as you can, for example "What does the evidence say about microplastics in drinking water and human health?" A precise question gives a sharper search.
- Choose the reader. Policy makers and officials, Investors, funders and partners and An informed general reader get more plain-language explanation; Scientists and specialists get precise claims and less background.
- Keep the voice educational and neutral unless the paper argues for your own method or programme.
- Choose the sources: All papers for most fields, Medical for health and clinical topics, Preprints for fast-moving fields (and say so in the paper), or My Library for papers you have already chosen. Filter by year, study type or journal tier, and attach your own files under "Your own sources".
- Add your own results in the material field if the paper should include them, and add notes for scope, house style or the organisation's name.
- Run it, then open the draft in the editor. Read each cited paper, check that the strength-of-evidence statements match what you read, and fill the placeholders. Export to Word or PDF.
A worked example
Example (invented for illustration): a university water research centre is asked by its regional water authority for a short paper on microplastics in drinking water.
- White paper, kind Scientific or research, written for policy makers and officials, voice educational and neutral, sources All papers from the last ten years: 15 credits.
- The draft groups the evidence into themes such as detection methods, levels found in treated water and what is known about health effects, and says where the evidence is limited or methods differ between studies.
- The authority wants the recommendations to address monitoring. The centre reruns Recommendations and next steps with a note on the authority's current monitoring: 3 credits.
- The researchers check every citation, add the centre's own sampling results to the evidence section as their own data, and send the Word file for expert review before release.
What it does not do
- It does not run a systematic review. The search is fast and focused, not exhaustive. If the paper must cover every eligible study, use the Systematic Review workspace and cite the result.
- Evidence-strength statements are a writer's judgement from the abstracts, not a formal grading such as GRADE.
- It reads abstracts and the details the sources provide, not full texts. Read the papers you cite in full.
- Health and medical white papers need review by a qualified professional. The draft gives no treatment advice.
- It does not do layout, peer review or publishing. Expert review before release is your organisation's step.
Who uses it
- Research groups, centres and consortia writing for funders, partners and policy makers: see AI for academics.
- Doctoral researchers who want their thesis findings used in practice: see AI for PhD students.
- Clinicians and health researchers writing for health systems: see AI for medicine.
- Companies whose product rests on research: see AI for industry.
The white paper writer page covers all seven kinds of white paper. For a technical or policy paper, start from the technical white paper template or the policy white paper template, and for the general structure copy the white paper template. For a quick draft without an account, use the free white paper generator.
Learn more
- How to write a scientific white paper
- White paper vs research paper: purpose, reader and structure
- What is a white paper?
- How to write a white paper
Last updated 2026-11-13