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How to use artificial intelligence in information searching

This guide covers the use of AI to support information searching in higher education. It also presents topics related to the responsible use of AI. It will be updated as necessary.

Choosing the tool for information seeking

We recommend that you try using several tools to search for information. Choosing one tool does not exclude others. Always critically evaluate the information sources regardless of which tool you use.

Which tool to use to find find information?

  SeAMK-Finna Databases Google Scholar Microsoft Copilot
Use when

you are looking for a good starting point for your information search.

searching for books required for courses at SeAMK and other materials selected from the perspective of teaching and research at SeAMK.

searching for printed or electronic material from the SeAMK Library's collections.

you need professional or scholarly information on your topic.

you want inspiration for your topic.

searching for Finnish or international reliable and peer-reviewed material, such as e-books, e-journals and their articles.

you want to conduct systematic information retrieval and utilise the rich search features of databases.

 

searching for scholarly articles, for example.

searching for open access scholarly publications online.

searching for the most recent information that may not be available elsewhere.

you want to orient yourself on a topic.

you want ideas on a topic or to formulate it..

you want to generate ideas for keywords and to find synonyms.

you want to search for databases relevant to your topic.

Note that

you should learn the search features of the search service to get better search results.

SeAMK-Finna also contains open online material.

international e-material search will find a large number of full-text articles and other open access material, but also references where full text is not available.

databases generally require user rights.

the databases purchased by the SeAMK Library can be found in the E-library and SeAMK-Finna and are accessible by SeAMK students and staff members.

there are general databases and subject-specific databases.

databases are suitable for systematic information retrieval.

databases generally provide full text access to articles and other material.

you should learn the search features of a database so that you can use it effectively and get better search results.

the result also includes articles behind the paywall.

when using Google Scholar outside the SeAMK computer network, you should add SeAMK Library links to your Google Scholar settings. This will allow you to see full-text links to articles that are available through e-resources at SeAMK. Log in to your Google account and select settings from the hamburger menu. Click on Library Links, type SeAMK in the search box and select ReadFullText@SeAMK.

you can have results for both peer-reviewed published articles and non-peer-reviewed manuscript versions, and it can be difficult to distinguish between them.

the search language affects the search results, for example, searching in Finnish will return mostly theses and dissertations.

there are usually several versions of the same article available.

the corporate version of Copilot is available for the students and staff at SeAMK. The use of  the corporate version of Copilot is recommended at SeAMK, as it does not share the data provided and protects corporate information. The corporate version of Copilot can also be accessed via the Edge browser sidebar.

the Semantic Scholar, Elicit and Keenious AI tools presented in this guide are particularly suitable for searching academic articles.

the search results are the outcome of a large dataset, so they can include material ranging from discussion groups to research articles.

information sources provided by AI should always be checked.

large language models are mainly trained on English data, so they may contain culture-specific values, opinions and biases.

AI may not be able to find the most recent information because it is not included in its data.

AI is constantly being developed and is evolving rapidly, so it is necessary to check whether, for example, new features can be used in teaching, learning and research.

you should always follow the teacher's instructions on the use of AI in your course.

you are always responsible for the accuracy, copyright and ethics of any content you create using AI.

you must express your use of AI in your presentations and written work.

Using artificial intelligence in the information searching process

Using AI for information searching is a slow and demanding process that requires good language skills, expertise and critical evaluation on the part of the user. AI is not a search engine! Conversational AI cannot be used as a source of information.

Conversational AI (e.g. ChatGPT) can be used at the beginning of the information retrieval process

  • for orientation on a topic
  • for topic brainstorming and formulation
  • for brainstorming search terms.

Academic information retrieval tools can be used to find articles, but they are not a substitute for conventional library databases and electronic resources.

Further guidance on planning your search, evaluating sources and the reliability of online information can be found in our library guide "How to find information".

Consider these things when using AI to search for information

  • AI works best in cooperation with humans as a so-called augmented intelligence. AI can assist you in the information search process.
  • AI is not a search engine.
    • AI makes use of the open online information sources. It does not have access to full-text resources behind paywalls. For example, to licensed e-resources acquired by a library.
    • AI is hallucinating, i.e. inventing sources of information that do not really exist. That is why we recommend checking the sources. If you want to be sure of the reliability of the sources, use library's electronic resources and databases. You can find them by using SeAMK-Finna.
    • AI is not necessarily trained with current knowledge. It may only have access to older information.
    • English conversation and prompts are better for finding information.
  • AI search algorithms are not public, so it is difficult to know what the search result is based on.
  • AI can provide new perspectives and interdisciplinary information, which is a positive. However, AI also often embellishes and explains things in the best possible way.
  • Stay critical. AI can present opinions and biases.
  •  It is worth trying several AI tools and not just relying on the answers provided by one. AI can give different answers to the same question at different times and for different users.
  • AI can also be integrated into conventional databases. AI features are constantly being developed for online services and electronic resources. In the future, the use of AI in e-resources is likely to increase. A good example of this is Statista Research AI (link via SeAMK-Finna, click on Database interface).

Read more about the responsible use of AI.

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