Looking for literature sources

 Purpose

The purpose of this prompt is to help search for literature sources for a given topic. 

 Acknowledge

Please check and follow your local guidelines about whether this use of generative AI is permitted. If it is permitted and if you use this prompt in the process of creating work for assessment, you may need to acknowledge the use of AI. 

 Prompt

Note: The following prompts were tested in elicit.com

Links to an external site.

. It is most suitable for language-based generative AI that has access to academic sources (check out our list of AI tools for others). Beware that general purpose generative AI tools such as ChatGPT have difficulty accurately providing sources unless they are connected to a database of scholarly sources.

AI-supported learning and its impact on adult education

Alternative prompts to use in other generative AI tools

The following prompts can be used in generative AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot for Web, which can leverage the internet to draw from real sources. Note, however, that some generative AI tools are not connected to scholarly databases. You won’t know if their outputs are reliable unless you check their accuracy and relevance for yourself using tools like a library catalogue.

You are an expert in <FIELD> and preparing to write a paper on <TOPIC>. List reliable sources you can use and summarize the main ideas of the paper. Include links to the sources.

You are a tertiary level student  in <FIELD> and preparing to write a literature review on <TOPIC> for <YEAR> <DEGREE> unit. Suggest reliable sources you can use and write a short summary for each. Include links to the sources.

 Explanation

The prompt used for elicit.com is very short and looks more like a standard search string. This particular AI tool is able to handle this form of prompting. The reason it can do this is because it uses an underlying process called 'retrieval augmented generation' where the tool first uses the prompt to search its scholarly database for sources, retrieves relevant sources, and uses text from the sources to augment the AI generation of the response.

The alternative prompts give the AI a role (researcher in a certain field), the task (list sources), and instructions (how it should structure and write the completion). These ask for possible sources you can use for writing a paper on a given topic. This is useful for the initial gathering of sources and information and other scenarios where sources on a given subject need to be retrieved for further use.

 Examples

Note: The following example output is from elicit.com.

Note: The following example output is from Copilot for Web. Note how it cites its sources towards the bottom of its response. 

Literature search considerations

It is important that when using AI in literature searches to carefully verify the reliability of the sources suggested. Even though AI can adequately sort out large amounts of data, the quality and reliability of the advice given by it is more important than anything else. Students and researchers should investigate a variety of topics, such as the credentials and experiences of the authors, publication channels, peer review procedures, and any potential biases in AI algorithms. Furthermore, this upholds the integrity of their study and contributes to a critical thinking methodology for their scholarly work.

Be mindful of the scope of your research project. Consult multiple sources and databases to ensure you are getting a more accurate read of relevant literature.