How to use artificial intelligence in information searching

Using AI tools for academic information searching requires special attention from the user compared to conventional database and web searches:

• Not all sources found by AI tools have open access. The full text may be found, for example, on SeAMK-Finna.
• AI tools may require you to log in. Read the terms of use and find out how your data will be processed.
• Do not use the username and password provided by SeAMK when registering for or using online services.
• Some services are currently free of charge and some have additional features for a fee.
• Do not enter articles or other texts from databases provided by the library. If in doubt, do not copy them into the AI tool!
• Critically evaluate the information provided by the services. Compare the information with other sources.

A variety of AI tools developed for article search can be used for academic information searching. There are many AI tools for academic information searching, below are examples of the most commonly used tools.

Keenious is an AI-based tool for finding article recommendations, either by article or by written text. Keenious works both in a web browser and in Word and Google Docs word processors.

Keenious plus available at SeAMK

Students and staff of Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences have access to the fee-based Keenious plus tool. Access to the Keenious plus is activated with a Microsoft login. Use your SeAMK email address to create an account. After creating an account, the tool is available at https://keenious.com. Once logged in, you can use all the features of Keenious plus. There is a separate guide on Keenious plus AI search tool available for SeAMK students and staff. The guide contains detailed instructions on how to use it.

Free version of Keenious

Other than students and staff of SeAMK can create a free account at https://keenious.com. The free version has more limited features. Keenious works without a separate login for now, but it is recommended to create an account for oneself, as one can save bookmarks there and export them to reference manager programs.

For word processing software (MS Word and Google Docs), you can download the Keenious plug-in, which allows you to search for sources related to the text you are writing.

Guidelines in brief.

Watch the video tutorial on how Keenious works:

Semantic Scholar does not require a login, but offers more tools for registered users. The service is available at https://www.semanticscholar.org/ 

The search is focused on scientific articles. The search is based on word search, but does not use Boolean searches or Boolean operators. Instead, it identifies a topic based on context by looking at the relationship between words in close proximity to each other. Linking to Open Access articles only.

Semantic Scholar displays article citations and tries to find not only the most cited articles but also the most relevant ones. It also makes article recommendations based on the articles selected by the user.

Guidelines in brief.

Watch the tutorial video on how Semantic Scholar works:

Watch more tutorial videos.

Starting to use the service (Basic) is free of charge, but registration is required. The service searches for scientific articles. You can use a natural language phrase or an abstract of the article as a search term.

There is also a fee-based of the service (Plus). The service is available at https://elicit.com

This tool searches and summarises scholarly articles based on a given research question or an article. On the search results page, Elicit does not display the number of results (like traditional search services) but shows the top eight most relevant articles.     

Guideines in brief.

Watch the video tutorial on how Elicit works:

Watch more tutorial videos.