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Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: For Faculty

Using Database and Copyrighted Content with AI

Iona University students, faculty and staff should not upload copyrighted materials into generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Users must comply with Iona University's AI Use policy.  When the library subscribes to a database on behalf of the University, the community must adhere to that database's licensing agreements designed to protect the intellectual property of content found in that database.

Most database vendors prohibit the sharing of their resources with those who do not have authorized access. Because users have very little control over how their input will or could be used by an AI tool, this also applies to inputting content from licensed databases into most AI platforms. 

Use of content from Iona University licensed databases is subject to the Iona University Computer Use Policy. Iona University online databases are to be used for academic purposes only. Copyrighted materials extracted from licensed databases may not be published, redistributed, or made available to third parties (including AI platforms) unless explicitly permitted by the licensed database's terms of use.  

AI Features in Library Databases

Several academic databases have begun to integrate AI features into their platforms, while others have announced plans to release AI features in the near future. Read more in the box below to learn how some of our library databases have integrated AI. 

Database AI Integrations

Ebsco AI Insights

In some EBSCOhost databases, EBSCOhost has introduced a new "Generative AI Insights" button available next to some full-text results. Select this button to display an AI-generated summary of the full text of the article.

This summary helps you get a quick overview of a resource and determine whether it may be relevant to your research. If it looks relevant, you should then access the full text and read it, being sure to verify whether the information provided by AI was accurate.

Not all EBSCO databases have this feature (EBSCO has provided a list of databases with this feature),  and some results do not have this button either because the content is too short to summarize or the publisher has not granted permission to EBSCO. For more information, please see EBSCO's AI Insights documentation. 

Ebsco Natural Language Search

EBSCO has also introduced a new Natural Language Search mode. This does not replace traditional searching; instead, it is an additional search option. The Natural Language Search allows you to enter a query using everyday language, which is transformed using a LLM (Large Language Model) into a Boolean search (a classic library search method using AND, OR, NOT to form a nuanced query). You may then view your results along with the constructed Boolean query to 1) to determine if the tool interpreted your natural language query accurately; 2) see how Boolean queries are constructed; 3) see if you want to revise your query to improve your results.

"Natural language" has been turned on as default for all searches. To turn off this option while you're searching, deselect "Natural language" in the "Search options" tab.

After running a Natural Language Search, in the results page, you will see the results retrieved by EBSCOhost plus an option "Show refined query", which will display the Boolean search that the tool ran based on your query. This allows you to see how the Natural Language Search has interpreted a query and turned it into a Boolean search.

For more information on Ebsco's Natural Language Searching:

Introducing EBSCO’s AI Natural Language Search Mode  
EBSCOhost's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Transparency Fact Sheet - Natural Language Search  
 

Ovid’s first GenAI feature: AI Article Summary (beta)  provide concise summaries of articles based on their HTML full text. Initially, this beta feature will be available on proprietary Lippincott titles on the Ovid platform. 
The AI Article Summary is designed to highlight the key elements of each article, making it easier for researchers to quickly understand the main points and key takeaways. If available, the summaries will be located on the "Ovid Full-text" page.  The link to Ovid full text is located on the right side of the record screen.  

To learn more about  AI Article Summary:

ProQuest Research Assistant is a recently released research companion that integrates AI-powered capabilities into research workflows, offering suggestions and prompts. Please note that not all content within ProQuest databases has access to ProQuest Research Assistant.  

AI features are embedded within some documents, supporting their review, analysis, and examination. Here’s how:

  • A key takeaway of the full-text document is presented, allowing users to quickly determine relevance and then guide the next steps in their research.

  • Important concepts in the document – explaining each term and why it’s relevant – are instantly available. Users can easily search a key concept, leading to deeper research and investigation.

  • Recommendations act as idea generation partners, suggesting relevant research topics and prompting users with a Boolean search that can easily be conducted. 

Learn More

Try the ProQuest Research Assistant Tool

Statista Research AI is a generative artificial intelligence tool located within Statista that allows users to access and interpret information from Statista's database by asking questions in natural language, providing answers with relevant statistics, infographics, and insights based on the queried topic, all while citing its data sources for verification; acting as a "data concierge" powered by AI within the Statista platform. 

Key differences between "regular" Statista and Statista Research AI:

  • Both platforms access the same underlying Statista data, but Research AI uses AI to generate insights from it, going beyond simple data retrieval.

  • Regular Statista relies on keyword-based search to find specific data points, while Research AI uses natural language processing to understand complex questions and is designed to provide more nuanced answers.

  • Regular Statista presents data in tables, charts, and graphs, whereas Research AI can provide summaries, interpretations, and generate text responses based on the query. 

Learn More:

Try the Statista Research AI Tool 

JSTOR's interactive research tool will be activated for all JSTOR participants sometime between July 7-18, 2025.  The tool helps users explore JSTOR's trusted content more deeply, uncover new insights, and refine their research with support from AI and other advanced technologies.

 

To learn more about the tool, visit the JSTOR support site, or watch a demo video of the tool in action. 

 

JSTOR's interactive research tool uses AI to enhance research and understanding of the materials within JSTOR's corpus. The tool is still in its beta development phase and is not yet available for use on images, audio, video, and text-based primary sources. Access to this beta tool is at the vendor's discretion and can change at any time. A JSTOR account and access request is required (please instructions below).

AI features are embedded in content pages and in the standard keyword search function. Here's how:

  • The beta search feature appears after you complete your initial search. You can click on the BETA button at the top of the results list to see the 25 most relevant results determined by the beta tool. This feature will also give you results for natural language searches. 

  • When you open an item, the research tool window appears on the right side of the document. The window will explain the relationship between your search term and the document, as well as suggest follow-up prompts.  You can also write your question directly into the box. JSTOR offers guidance on asking questions about a text. 

  • These features allow you to find relevant material more quickly, expand content discovery, use conversational language to understand the text, and search in a new way. 

To request access to participate in the JSTOR's interactive research tool beta:

  1. Visit www.jstor.org and log in to your personal JSTOR account. Be sure to use your Iona University email address. 

    1. Don’t have an account yet? See how to register for a free account.

  2. Confirm you’re logged in by looking for Iona University’s name at the top of the page. See how to tell if you’re logged in to JSTOR.

  3. When the sign-up window appears, click the Sign up button.

    1. If you just created your account, it may take up to five minutes for the window to display. Try coming back in a few minutes.

    2. Clicking the No thanks option will permanently dismiss the sign-up window.

Not seeing the sign-up window? You can also email JSTOR’s beta team using the email address associated with your personal JSTOR account.

Learn more:

About JSTOR's interactive research tool

Video demo of JSTOR's interactive research tool

JSTOR guidance on asking questions about a text

JSTOR Research Tool Beta Overview

Britannica Academic Edition uses AI to power its ASK Britannica research tool. The tool answers questions using Britannica content. With an educational focus that allows for natural language questions. 

When you click on the new ASK Britannica box, you can type in your question and get a response from the chatbot In addition to the text response, features include:

  • Links to supporting Britannica articles
  • Suggested follow up questions
  • Ability to ask multiple queries and click back and forth between questions
  • Save chat feature that downloads a plain text file of the chat, links, and follow up questions

Britannica notes that while "ASK Britannica is designed to provide information only from Britannica’s content. However, in cases where the AI misinterprets a question or experiences an error, it might inadvertently include information from non-Britannica sources. Such instances are unintentional and do not align with the system’s intended functionality. As a result, users are advised to verify any AI-generated responses using Britannica’s official published content."

Moving Between AI Tools and Library Databases

AI is just one tool in our research toolbox. It is often a great place to start your research. You could use an AI chatbot to generate topic ideas or search terms, or you might use a search or literature review tool to find articles that relate to your research.

However, you may encounter a point with AI where you aren't able to access an article or other type of resource that seems key to your research interests, either due to subscription firewalls or incorrect citation information. This is where our library databases can come in handy. 

  • If an AI tool has provided you with a citation for an article you'd like to use in your research, it is essential to confirm that the resource actually exists. You can do this in Iona WorldCat or with a tool like Google Scholar.
  • If you've confirmed that the article is real and would like to access a copy of the article, you can use our Full-Text Citation Finder to see if we have the article for free in our databases.
  • If we don't have the article, you can use request the item through Interlibrary Loan. 

The relationship with databases is more than just getting full-text. There is content in the databases that isn't used to train AI tools, so it's always a good idea to add a database search once you've identified topics and keywords and done some initial research. For example, the New York Times, available to Iona students via the NYT Academic Pass and through our U.S. Major Dailies database, updated its Terms of Service in 2023 to restrict AI tools from using its content as training data.

Wetherbed, J. (2023, August 14). The New York Times prohibits using its content to train AI models. The Verge. www.theverge.com/2023/8/14/23831109/the-new-york-times-ai-web-scraping-rules-terms-of-service 

  • Last Updated: Jul 1, 2025 12:47 PM
  • URL: https://guides.iona.edu/ai
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