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Artificial Intelligence: For Students

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. 

Important: Students should consult with their Professor to determine whether utilizing these AI tools is allowed for the course and/or assignment.  

Database AI Integrations

Ebsco AI Insights

In some EBSCOhost databases (look for Insights Enabled in the description), 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 AI Research is now active for all JSTOR users.  The tool enables users to explore JSTOR's trusted content more deeply, uncover new insights, and refine their research with the support of AI and other advanced technologies. 

A JSTOR account is required to access the AI Research Tool.  You will be prompted to create an account at your first attempt to access the AI Research Tool. 

Why do you need a JSTOR account? 

Accessing JSTOR’s AI-enabled features requires a personal account to support transparency and shared accountability for how the tool is used. Logging in helps JSTOR manage user permissions effectively, safeguarding user data and privacy while allowing for tailored access based on institutional affiliations and user preferences. This approach helps balance transparency, academic integrity, and user support.

Source: https://about.jstor.org/research-tool/#FAQ

JSTOR's AI Research tool utilizes AI to enhance the research and understanding of materials within JSTOR's corpus. 

What does the JSTOR AI tool do? 

About JSTOR's AI Research Tool 

Video on using the AI Research Tool 

JSTOR guidance on asking questions about a text

JSTOR AI Research Tool Overview

The Oxford English Dictionary’s Advanced Search gives researchers to opportunity to take a deep-dive into the dictionary’s content. The many different filters that can be applied enable you to refine your search and find the most relevant information. To make this searching easier and more accessible, they created the OED AI Search Assistant.

With the Oxford English Dictionary AI Search Assistant anyone can submit a question, for example “what words relating to dining entered the English language during the twentieth century?”. The AI Search Assistant will provide a URL to a pre-filtered Advanced Search results page, showing you the parameters it has used. By clicking that URL, you will go to that search results page, and then be able to manipulate or filter down further.  

You can also use the AI Search Assistant to find out more about the Oxford English Dictionary itself. “How do words enter the Oxford English Dictionary?” is a common question, and the AI Search Assistant will direct you straight to the relevant information page, where you can find more.  

This is a pilot for the OED, running from January 2025. Feedback on the accuracy of results given by the Assistant is welcome and can be submitted by using the thumb up/thumb down icons in the chat window. 

How does the OED AI Search Assistant work?

The AI Search Assistant is only trained on OED.com’s URL structure, limited to search results and information pages. This means it has not been trained on Oxford English Dictionary content itself, so it will not be able to summarise or interpret Oxford English Dictionary content. It can only give Oxford English Dictionary URLs as its answers. 

Learn more by watching a video on how to use OED AI Search Assistant.

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."