By Ozlem Tuncel, PhD

Research Data Services at GSU Library

**[email protected]**

November, 2024

About me

In this document, I aim to explore two key areas where AI can significantly enhance your research process:

• AI for Literature Review : Learn how AI can assist in efficiently sifting through vast amounts of academic literature, identifying relevant sources, and summarizing key findings.
• AI for Data Analysis and Visualization: Discover how AI tools can help in processing and analyzing complex datasets, uncovering patterns, and generating insights that might be challenging to detect manually. Explore how AI can aid in creating compelling and informative visualizations of your research data, making your findings more accessible and impactful.

Important Considerations

1. Before we dive in, it's crucial to note that the AI landscape is diverse and rapidly evolving. Different AI tools come with their own sets of advantages and limitations. What's possible today might change tomorrow, so it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments in AI technologies relevant to your field.

2. Some AI sources are free and some are not. Georgia State University has subscription to Microsoft Co-Pilot which is great because it comes with commercial data protection. ⚠️ This guarantees that Microsoft Co-Pilot:

   • Uses university campus account for authentication.
   • Does not link search queries to users or organizations.
   • Does not retain prompts or responses.
   • Encrypts chat data in transit and at rest.
   • Does not use chat data for training large language models.
   • Does not target advertising based on workplace identity or chat history.

   So, if you’re using Co-Pilot with your credentials, your information is safe. I cannot guarantee this for any other generative AIs.

3. Never trust any generative AIs! I know this is a dramatic statement. But, at this stage, I would always verify the information they provide. While AI can be a powerful tool for research, it's crucial to approach its outputs critically and cross-reference with reliable, peer-reviewed sources. Remember, AI models can sometimes produce inaccurate or biased information, so human oversight and validation remain essential in the research process.

Generative AIs

Here are some of the most popular and widely used generative AI tools:

• ChatGPT

  

  Text-based generative AI tool created by OpenAI

• Google Gemini (fka Bard)

  

  Text-based generative AI tool created by Google

• Bing Copilot

  

  Text-based generative AI tool created by Bing/Microsoft

In addition to these well-known generative AI tools, there are also specialized AI assistants designed specifically for academic research. These tools are being developed and integrated into various scholarly databases and platforms to enhance the research process. They aim to provide more targeted and academically-focused AI assistance, leveraging the vast amounts of scholarly literature and data available in these platforms.

Literature Review with Generative AIs

Generative AI tools can significantly enhance the literature review process by helping researchers efficiently navigate through vast amounts of academic publications. These AI-powered assistants can quickly identify relevant sources, extract key information, and even provide summaries of complex research papers. By leveraging AI in literature reviews, researchers can save time, discover connections between studies, and gain a more comprehensive understanding of their field.

Some key benefits of using AI for literature reviews include:

• Rapid identification of relevant sources across multiple databases
• Automated summarization of key findings and methodologies