Subject Guides: Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI Research Tools

AI Conversational Chatbot

AI Tool	Type	Purpose	Strengths	Weaknesses
ChatGPT (free version)	Conversational GAI chatbot	Generate text responses based on user input, e.g., code, emails, poetry, presentation outlines, summaries. Search Query Optimizer - provide details about your topic then ask the ChatGPT tool to create a search string using keywords, truncation, and Boolean operators.	Topic exploration and idea generation Paper outline and structure design, e.g., themes for literature reviews Editing and proofreading Multiple language recognition	Content can be biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate No quality control Data set stops at Sep 2021 Not connected to the Internet
Copilot (previously Bing AI)	Conversational GAI chatbot AI image generator	Generate text responses based on user input, e.g. code, emails, poetry, presentation outlines, summaries Create graphical artwork from text prompts	Topic exploration and idea generation Paper outline and structure design, e.g., themes for literature reviews Editing and proofreading Multiple language recognition Unique image creation	Textual content can be biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate No quality control Images of people can go wrong, e.g., distorted faces, extra appendages
Gemini (previously Bard)	Conversational Generative AI (GAI) chatbot	Generate text responses based on user input, e.g., code, emails, poetry, presentation outlines, summaries	Topic exploration and idea generation Paper outline and structure design, e.g., themes for literature reviews Editing and proofreading Multiple language recognition	Content can be biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate No quality control

Possible uses of conversational generative AI in research

Sabzalieva, E., & Valentini, A. (2023). ChatGPT and artificial intelligence in higher education: quick start guide. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385146 (C-BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

AI Image Generator

AI Tool	Type	Purpose	Strengths	Weaknesses
Bing Image Creator	Conversational GAI chatbot AI image generator	Generate text responses based on user input, e.g. code, emails, poetry, presentation outlines, summaries Create graphical artwork from text prompts	Topic exploration and idea generation Paper outline and structure design, e.g., themes for literature reviews Editing and proofreading Multiple language recognition Unique image creation	Textual content can be biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate No quality control Images of people can go wrong, e.g., distorted faces, extra appendages
Canva Text to Image	AI image generator	Create graphical artwork from text prompts	Unique image creation Image styles can be changed, e.g., watercolor, anime	Images of people can go wrong, e.g., distorted faces, extra appendages Only 50 images can be generated from the free version

AI Tool

Type

Purpose

Strengths

Weaknesses

Bing Image Creator

Conversational GAI chatbot

AI image generator

Generate text responses based on user input, e.g. code, emails, poetry, presentation outlines, summaries

Create graphical artwork from text prompts

Topic exploration and idea generation
Paper outline and structure design, e.g., themes for literature reviews
Editing and proofreading
Multiple language recognition
Unique image creation

Textual content can be biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate
No quality control
Images of people can go wrong, e.g., distorted faces, extra appendages

Canva Text to Image

AI image generator

Create graphical artwork from text prompts

Unique image creation
Image styles can be changed, e.g., watercolor, anime

Images of people can go wrong, e.g., distorted faces, extra appendages
Only 50 images can be generated from the free version

AI Academic Search Engine

AI Tool	Type	Purpose	Strengths	Weaknesses
Consensus AI	AI academic search engine	Find supporting evidence for a research problem or clinical question	Analyzing and summarizing the top search results Consensus meter, showing how much agreement there is in the search results on your clinical question Filtering by study type	Free version limits usage of the Consensus meter Analysis is not totally accurate Search results are not as comprehensive as those from the Library Databases
Keenious (SIT Library subscription - see more)	AI academic search engine	Find articles based on a text search or the analysis of a chosen article (PDF or URL)	Analyzing articles to find similar or related articles Linking to SIT Library OneSearch Filtering results by year, citation count, or added keywords Refining the focus by highlighting a section of your uploaded article, or using the Topics filter	Results may not be as comprehensive as those from the Library Databases Simple keyword searches don’t work well, as much detail as possible needs to be entered

AI Research Assistant

AI Tool	Type	Purpose	Strengths	Weaknesses
Elicit	AI research assistant	Find articles by entering a research problem or clinical question.	Find relevant papers without perfect keyword match. Summarize takeaways from the paper specific to your question. Extract key information from the papers. Save and export your work to citation managers such as Zotero.	Limited to 2 columns for comparison on the free version.
Research Rabbit	AI research assistant	Find and map articles into graph format by entering a title, a DOI, or keywords	Finds related papers Provides interactive conceptual maps Links directly with Zotero Able to export to Mendeley	Results are not as comprehensive as those from the Library Databases or Google Scholar The Zotero import is not always 100% successful Explore Papers option can suddenly stop working
SciSpace	AI research assistant	Find articles by entering a research problem or clinical question, or uploading an article. SciSpace Chat allows users to directly interact with research papers, asking questions and receiving explanations. SciSpace Literature Review is a broader tool that helps researchers discover, analyze, and organize research papers, streamlining the entire literature review process.	Critically evaluates articles Finds related articles Imports articles from Zotero Explains maths and tables Multiple language recognition	Asking questions may not provide the expected responses The Zotero import may not always 100% successful Free version Literature Review is limited