AI Tools and Resources

Using AI tools for research is a great option in many cases. One thing to keep in mind is that you need to evaluate the information you get from generative AI tools. This includes scholarly articles, books, book chapters, or other resources recommended by a generative AI tool like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT.

Use generative AI to find ideas. Use the library to find sources.

Microsoft Copilot and other generative AI like ChatGPT currently do a terrible job when it comes to finding scholarly sources. At Lavery Library, this is what we recommend to Fisher students:

Use generative AI to find ideas. Use the library to find sources.

About AI Hallucinations

Gen AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT will "hallucinate" sources. In other words, they can create fake information. The fake information can include:

• Articles that don't actually exist.
• A misrepresentation of a real source by inaccurately reporting what it says.
• Labeling a source peer-reviewed when it is not.

At Lavery Library, we are continually testing Copilot and ChatGPT and other gen AI tools. Over and over again we see the same thing in the results: hallucinated articles, and mislabeling undergraduate student papers and other sources as scholarly, peer-reviewed articles.

Fact-Checking

One of the best ways to protect yourself against AI hallucinations is to fact-check any sources provided to you by generative AI. If generative AI recommends an article to you and calls it scholarly or peer-reviewed, you should:

1. Make sure it's a real article. You can use Lavery Library's Big Red Box or Google Scholar. 
2. Make sure it is a scholarly article.

Make Sure It's a Real Article: Use the Library's Big Red Box

This video is a quick how-to about how to make sure an article actually exists by searching for the title in the Big Red Box.

Make Sure It Is A Scholarly Article

This video shows you four things you can check to make sure an article is scholarly, and one trap to avoid.

Additional Library Resources

You can explore the rest of this research guide, AI Tools and Resources, to learn how to use AI in research, whether you're a student or a faculty member. The library also offers these:

Further Reading About Hallucinations

These articles show how ChatGPT and similar tools can hallucinate:

A note from the Librarians:

• For Students: It is your responsibility to check with your instructors to find out their individual policy for the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools for course work.
• For Faculty & Staff: If using ChatGPT or other AI powered tools for research, you should consult your discipline associations, target publication journals or other publication avenues, grant guidelines, etc. regarding their policies for using and acknowledging use of AI in research.

Getting help from Fisher experts

You can always check with Fisher experts about the use of AI in your courses or research. These experts include Fisher librarians, academic advisors, Writing & Tutoring, DePeters Center staff, and your faculty.

If you need help citing your use of AI, consult the Library's Citation Guide: