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How To: Navigate the Research Process

HOW TO | NAVIGATE THE RESEARCH PROCESS


Search Process

There are multitudes of ways to search for information in our data driven world. However, finding, parsing, and utilizing the right kind of information is becoming more and more difficult, as we generate multifarious amounts of information daily. This is where having the right techniques to search becomes important. 

Due to the complexity of searching we have broken this into three sections: what, where, and how. You need to know what resources you are looking for before you can figure out where to find for them, and based on where you are looking you need to know how to find the best results. 

What - Determine the types of resources and publications you are seeking and how to understand their differences. 

Where - Decide the best place to search for the information you're seeking based on your scope. 

How - Effective use of tools and operations to produce the best results. 

Searching Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

When using Artificial Intelligence (AI) it is important to know how it works, where it pulls its information from, and how it chooses to respond to you. Chatbots are the most commonly used form of AI when researching, as they respond to a question the user has prompted. Different AI systems can pull their information from a myriad of sources, such as books, news articles, forums, code repositories, social media platforms, and much more. Chatbots also have the possibility of artificially hallucinating, or creating inaccurate or deceptive resources including resources that don't exist. 

Some AI systems are better than others for completing research because they work with and pull materials from academic publishers and respected institutions. It is important to note that, like a library search, the searches are limited to the resources hosted by that particular AI system. 

  • Semantic Scholar - Takes a user prompts and provides relevant articles from their scholarly affiliates, found here. Semantic Scholar has a Zotero integration and is free. 
  • Scholarcy - Upload a text readable document and the AI system will give you a snapshot of the key concepts, highlighting areas they believe are most important. Scholarcy has a Zotero integration. The free Scholarcy subscription allows up to 3 summaries a day. 
  • SciteAllows the user to ask a question and parses through scholarly articles to find answers to the prompt. All of the journals in there system can be found here. Scite has a Zotero integration. Scite requires a subscription but does have a 7-day free trial. 
  • Research RabbitWorks to find resources by continuously citation mining resources after a text readable document is uploaded. Research Rabbit has a Zotero integration and is free. 

AI systems for library databases are on the horizon, including ProQuest, EBSCO AI, and Scopus AI. To ensure that they are working appropriately many librarians across the country are beta testing these AI systems. 

Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity

When using Artificial Intelligence (AI) we must insure that we are using academic honesty and integrity in the work that we present.

The most common form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Do not use AI to compose assignments and pass them off as your own. When using quotations, images, media, etc. from an AI generator, use appropriate citations to give credit to the AI. 

Always make sure that your professor allows you to use AI during their course. If your professor gives specific limitations on how AI can be used in their course, make sure that you clearly understand the parameters they give you. If a professor asks you not to use Artificial Intelligence in their course, do not use it for any part of your course work.