What are AI tools?
You're probably using AI already!
Most of us have been using AI (Artificial Intelligence) powered resources for years. Things like YouTube, TikTok and Netflix use AI to suggest new content, and virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa use AI to interpret and respond to our questions. You may even already be using AI in your studies, with tools like reference management software or grammar checkers. These kinds of AI are reactive, they provide a predictable output based on the input received. Reactive machines can't function beyond the tasks they were initially designed for, they always respond to identical situations in the same way every time, and they are not able to learn new actions.
There is no change to the way you can use reactive AI, so you can carry on using your reference management software, spell checkers and other reactive AI tools without having to acknowledge or cite them. Reactive AI doesn't create new content for you.
So What's New?
Recent advancements in AI mean we now have 'generative' AI, tools like ChatGPT, Bard, perplexity AI and others. These tools can deliver fully formed responses to a question or prompt, in a sense writing for you by drawing on other people’s work from their data bank. Although generative AI is still limited to its data bank it can 'learn' from the past and build experiential knowledge so it can create 'new' content and new responses each time it answers a prompt. This means that anybody using generative AI in academia needs to understand how it works, be aware of its limitations, use critical thinking in assessing its output and acknowledge or cite any use of it in thier work.
What is UEA policy on the use of generative AI?
UEA policy
The UEA AI Policy for Teaching and Learning sets out the University’s policy for the use of Generative AI for taught programmes and for taught components of professional doctorates. The policy does not prohibit the use of Generative AI for teaching and learning but aims to add clarity around appropriate use for both staff and students and positions the requirement for ongoing training across the whole community to influence behaviour and surface best practice.
The AI policy for teaching and learning should be read in conjunction with other University policies, all UEA policies can be found on the UEA University policies pages.
The UEA plagiarism and Collusion Policy is another key policy for AI advice for students and has been used to inform this page.
Please be aware that policy allows for differential use across the institution according to discipline area so please also always check with your school if you are unsure.
If you are a researcher you should refer to the Generative AI Policy for Research and Innovation.
What are the limitations of using generative AI in study and research?
While you're permitted to use AI please be aware that:
If you were to produce whole assessment submissions through AI tool responses you would be in breach of the UEA Plagiarism and Collusion regulations in the form of contract cheating.
AI generated responses can sound convincing but they actually don't “know” what they are saying, they simply put together symbols (words) that are likely to come after one another based on the data set they were trained on. Unless you are already an expert on your research topic you may not be able to spot mistakes and misleading information.
Generative AI can create biased outputs, false information and mistakes, known as ‘hallucinations’ (In this video clip an IBM representative explores AI 'hallucinations').
Generative AI tools don't create 'new' information, they access the work of others and assimilate the information in your requested format. It's often unclear where the information in an AI response comes from so its very hard to check credibility and cite the original author- checking credibility and citing are both vital steps in your academic work.
Use of generative AI may interfere with how you engage with important course materials and if you rely on it too heavily, this could be problematic when it comes to exams, presentations or class discussions.
You must ensure that your final work is your own and is not copied and pasted from a generative AI tool. Your own style and voice should be evident.
Green light ideas for using generative AI at the UEA
Developing the skills to use AI
To sensibly use generative AI you will need to have strong skills in strategic searching and critical thinking and a sound understanding of academic integrity. These skills will all be learnt throughout your academic studies and working hard to hone these skills is the most important step in gaining confidence and ability as a researcher.
Remember to:
Use the support available from your school, library and learning enhancement team to develop skills in referencing, critical thinking and evaluation.
Check your assignment brief and school level guidance in case AI is specifically prohibited.
Keep a log of how you are using AI as you work so that you can credit or cite it where needed when you write up
Credit any use of generative AI, this includes searching, gathering concept overviews and formatting, if you used it in any way you must acknowledge it. How you do this will vary from school to school and referencing style. Check your assignment brief and any school guidance or ask your lecturer.
Remember- if you would cite a person then cite AI (e.g. if quoting, drawing from AI as the source). If you find yourself citing generative AI and you haven't been explicitly instructed to for your assignment then this could be a sign that you are using generative AI inappropriately (see the red lighted activities on this page). Talk to your module leader if you think this applies to you.
Find out about the academic research tools available to you before you decide to use generative AI, AI is just one of your many research and study tools,.
‘Green light’ approaches for student use as set out in the Generative AI Policy for Teaching and Learning
Some examples from UEA policy of 'Green light' approaches to using generative AI sensibly:
• Generative AI as mentor -
timely feedback is crucial for students, and generative AI can be used to gain ongoing feedback on tasks and assignments. It can also be used as a tool to help support effective study. Students should reflect on AI feedback and other outputs against their own knowledge and understanding and report on the guidance which has been provided and how they may or may not include it in their work. This is to complement and not substitute for engagement with formative tasks, and guidance from teaching staff, Learning Enhancement Tutors, Academic Librarians and others and the University.
• Generative AI as tutor -
explanations can be provided to gain understanding. Inspiration and ideas can be provided. AI can help develop thinking by checking responses, providing counterarguments and generating questions. Students should always check AI output against their own knowledge and understanding, and other sources, as content can be inaccurate biased and misleading.
• Generative AI as a team member -
Team working is an important workplace skill, and Generative AI can be used by a team of students to act as a virtual member, maybe playing a role which other students might find awkward or difficult, e.g. asking for a counterargument or acting as a disrupter. Students do not need to take the advice of the AI and must be critical and evaluate the output before it is used.
• Generative AI as researcher-
doing a literature search is a crucial part of starting most items of assessment. Generative AI can be used to surface relevant literature, however students should be aware that references can be fictional, not current and - 3 - non-exhaustive. There are certainly better and more accurate tools to surface research papers.
Red light activities where you should not use Generative AI
‘Red light’ activities where students should not use Generative AI -as set out in the Generative AI Policy for Teaching and Learning
• UEA aims to encourage, develop and assess written English; unless specifically required to use AI as part of the assessment submitted work must always be the student’s own writing therefore they must not copy and paste computer generated text directly.
• Students should be aware that the output from Generative AI can contain errors, bias, misinformation, missing information, and hallucinations (false information). Students should always check the content against their own knowledge and understanding.
• Students should not use Generative AI as the first step in their thinking (i.e. to immediately ask the computer the exact question that they have been asked). • Students should not circumvent their learning, e.g. when asked to reflect on a task or output from a task.
• Students should not rely on Generative AI when working in an important context where the student is reliant on the generated output being correct (e.g. legal contexts such as placement risk assessments).
• Students should not use content or ideas from Generative AI without appropriate citation.
• Students should be aware of privacy and GDPR and not input personal and private information about themselves or others. This is because the software will store data and information and potentially use it for other content.
• Students should not input confidential research data, both quantitative and qualitative or copyrighted data/text into an AI tool without approval. If personal data is to be put into an AI tool this must be part of the ethics application process.
Creating prompts to assist study and research
Use of AI in academic institutions and communities
Generative AI tools work by the user inputting prompts (words, phrases, questions, instructions or key words) which the tool then uses to assemble a reply from it's data bank. Well crafted prompts are likely to generate better responses and so there is much discussion in the global academic community around understanding what kinds of prompts are appropriate and how best to go about crafting them. There are some wonderful examples of academic institutions and communities working together to better understand and assemble useful prompts to assist study and research and there are short practical courses available to help users better understand how to hone their prompting skills, some examples of these are listed below.
As you browse these examples please keep the UEA policies and guidelines in mind as not all university guidelines are the same.
The prompts and materials linked to in this section come from The University of Sydney's AI in Education course pages content in this Canvas course is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 licence.
Cross institution collaborations:
You will find a number of cross institution 'sandpits' or collaborations investigating the use of generative AI in education in the 'how are others using AI in academia' section of this AI Tools online reading list .
Sage Campus free course 'The Art of ChatGPT interactions'
We are excited to announce the launch of the new free Sage Campus course “The Art of ChatGPT Interactions”. Created by Dr Leo S. Lo, Librarian and expert in AI literacy to empower and equip learners to develop structured prompt engineering skills, this short and practical course will help users better understand not only how ChatGPT works but how to get the most out of it.
Whether you would like to brush up on your prompting skills, or use the course with your students, you can access it now.
You don’t need to subscribe to Sage Campus to try it – head over to our demo hub and Access it now for free.
AI search tools at the UEA
Scopus AI
The UEA library have embarked on a yearlong trial of Scopus AI. You can access it via the AI tab on scopus.com. If you are off campus will need to use the ‘sign in via your organization’ option on the site for access.
Its technology is like Generative AI’s such as ChatGPT, but it is trained on a smaller managed set of data and content and results are underpinned with a detailed knowledge graph of works, individuals and concepts to minimise inaccuracy.
Not all of Scopus is currently covered. The product currently indexes back to 2013 and does not learn from full texts, only abstracts and citations. Elsevier refer to it as a small language model as opposed to a large language model. There is some humanities coverage but Scopus generally reflects STEM and Social Science fields.
To find out more check the supplier’s product webpage and for a good overview and for more details check the Scopus Libguide
Statista
Stastia offers over 1.5 million statistics from 18,000 sources. It includes market data, industry reports, forecasts, opinion polls and infographics. Statista now has Generative AI enabled search functions via its 'research AI' tab.
AI powered research updates from APA PsycInfo
Register for free for personalized AI powered research updates from APA PsycInfo.
Your institution’s subscription to APA PsycInfo provides courtesy access to a suite of complimentary, premium features to optimize your search process. Leveraging AI and machine learning, these services ease access to full text, analytics tools, and discovery of the latest scientific literature—all within the most trusted index of psychological science in the world. Find out more on the APA researcher services pages.
