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, which includes GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) tools like Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, Bard, perplexity AI and others. These models construct fully formed responses to questions or prompts without ‘knowing’ what the information they’re delivering means. GPTs are trained on vast banks of data from the internet and use patterns and predictions from these data banks to generate strings of words to simulate human output.
Because the output from these tools is generated from patterns in huge data sets it’s often hard to know if the output you’re receiving is correct and reliable. Because GPTs aren’t transparent about which information they’re drawing from it is also hard to check or credit the original sources which is problematic for adhering to academic integrity.
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 use of it in their work.
You can find out more about this and UEA policy and guidance in the UEA Developing AI Skills course which is available for all students at UEA.
UEA policy
sets out the University’s policy for the use of Generative AI for taught programmes and for taught components of professional doctorates.
Not all AI tools are built the same
AI tools differ in the size of their data banks, how securely they handle data, and how transparent they are about their sources. Here's what that means for your use of them:
Consider
Consider
Why it matters: For academic integrity and data protection, transparency and security are key.
Always check your assignment brief and your school guidance to ensure that AI use is allowed within the scope of the work you're doing.
UEA Developing AI Skills Course
A course available for all students at UEA to provide guidance and links to further support the use of Generative AI in your learning. The course should take around 60 minutes to complete, but will take longer if all links are explored.
An important part of using AI is choosing the right tool or service for the work you're doing (the 'Generative AI tool considerations' section of this guide offers more information on this).
Although you are currently able to access a limited version of Microsoft Copilot included in the Edge browser through the UEA Microsoft Licence, please remember that Copilot is Large GPT model trained on huge amounts of general internet data. You can find out more about the UEA Copilot licence and other UEA licenced AI tools on the UEA Developing AI skills course.
AI tools with small to medium sized data banks of academic material that are transparent about how deal with your data and clear about the use of existing resources in their results, can be fantastic aids in helping you to prepare to work on an academic literature search by supporting you in:
Exploring relevant keywords
Learning discipline-specific terminology
Summarising across articles
Identifying key authors, theories, or debates
Sparking Ideas
Considering how to phrase your question
All of these 'pre search' steps will help prepare you for the academic searching stage of your work. For your actual academic searching stage tools like Library search and other academic databases should be used.
You can find an A-Z list of the the academic databases most relevant to your studies by selecting your subject area from the options on the Library Databases A-Z page.
A number of the databases available to you from the library as a UEA student have AI features and are built on closed academic data sets, here are some to explore:
Great for: STEM and Social Sciences
Scopus AI uses a Small Language Model to help you search academic articles more effectively. It gives clear, transparent results and even shows how ideas and researchers are connected through a visual knowledge graph.
How to access: Log into my.uea and go to the library pages → A-Z Databases → Scopus → Click the “AI” tab. If you're off-campus, use “Sign in via your organisation” and search for “University of East Anglia.”
Note: Scopus AI only searches abstracts and citations (not full texts), and only covers content from 2013 onwards.
Great for: Business, Economics, Social Trends
Statista is packed with stats, charts, and reports. Its Research AI tool lets you ask a question and get a quick summary, plus links to the top 10 relevant data points.
How to use it: Use the “Research AI” tab on Statista’s homepage.
Things to note:
Your prompts aren’t saved – copy and paste them if you want to keep track.
Clicking on a result will reset your search, so save anything useful as you go.
Great for: Psychology and related fields
PsycInfo now offer additional AI enhanced services as part of their research services suite of tools on their research services site. These are services you can sign up to in addition to having access to the main Psycinfo academic database as part of your UEA provision. The research service tools aim to help you explore topics visually and get personalised research updates.
Generative AI is just one of many tools available to you. Before you dive in, explore the academic research tools already at your fingertips through the Library. They’re designed to help you succeed – with or without AI
You can find an A-Z list of the the academic databases most relevant to your studies by selecting your subject area from the options on the Library Databases A-Z page.
The UEA Developing AI Skills course is available for all students at UEA to provide guidance and links to further support the use of Generative AI in your learning. The course should take around 60 minutes to complete, but will take longer if all links are explored.
For queries about using the library building, booking study spaces, accessing electronic resources and finding and borrowing print books, email the Library Helpdesk at lib.helpdesk@uea.ac.uk.
For more in-depth subject support, you can email the Teaching Librarians at lib.teaching@uea.ac.uk.
