Internal Medicine Physicians' Reflections on AI Tools for Research Tasks in Turkey: A Qualitative Descriptive Study...

This study explored internal medicine physicians' perceptions of AI tools used for research tasks (eg, literature searching, reference management, scholarly writing support, and visualization) following a brief educational session.

This qualitative descriptive study was conducted with internal medicine physicians who attended a structured and interactive educational session entitled "Artificial Intelligence on the Path to Academia" delivered as part of the 4th National Congress of Internal Medicine. Following the session, individual semi structured interviews were carried out with the participants. Interviews were conducted within 24 hours after the session and documented as written field notes. The study design, conduct, and reporting were planned in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist for qualitative research. The data were systematically analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis approach.

Participants reported heterogeneous and generally limited baseline familiarity with AI-based research task tools. After the session, narratives shifted toward viewing AI as a supportive resource used conditionally under human oversight. Participants described increased intention to use these tools, while concerns regarding ethics, reliability, and academic originality remained salient. A clear need emerged for practical, structured training with a well-defined ethical framework.

Brief educational sessions may help elicit short-term reflections and clarify perceived opportunities and boundaries for using AI tools in research-related academic workflows; the effectiveness of brief interventions remains uncertain and warrants longitudinal evaluation.