This is a five-part tutorial to help academic researchers get started with Codex.
I have written it in an accessible language, and you don't need any technical background to understand this tutorial or use Codex.
Codex is a tool that can run on your computer. Don't be intimidated by the word "code." You don't need any coding or programming skills to use it. You install the Codex app on your computer just like you would an app like Zoom or Zotero.
Once you have it on your computer, you open your project folder (dissertation, paper, etc.) and let Codex work inside the folder. Codex can read files in the folder, edit existing files, and create new ones. It can also continue with saved sessions and project instructions when you return to your work.
Unlike browser-based apps like ChatGPT and Gemini that only "talk," Codex can actually "do" things for you.
You are a researcher and have a folder on your computer with several PDFs, drafts of your papers, spreadsheets, datasets, and a few transcripts of interviews. All these documents are relevant to your project, but you need to make connections across published literature, gathered data, and your own notes.
This is the kind of use-case that Codex is useful for.
Most academics and researchers have used AI apps in their browsers (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) You open a tab and type in a prompt and the AI replies. If you want to ask questions about your papers or drafts, you add them to ChatGPT or Claude.
Codex is different because instead of you bringing your files to an AI app in the browser, you bring the AI into the folder containing all your data.
There are two fundamental ways in which Codex can work as your reliable and powerful research assistant.
First, Codex can follow project instructions about you, your research, your writing style, and your evolving research requirements. You won't have to explain your requirements repeatedly if you put them in a visible instruction file.
Second, since Codex works within a folder on your computer, it can process multiple files at a time. For example, it can go through the PDFs it can read in your folder and extract relevant information (objectives, methodology, etc.) from them. You can even ask it to create a new file based on extracted information.
Codex can work with many types of files from Word files to Excel sheets, PDFs, etc., though scanned or badly formatted files may need extra checking.