Before you start: Always check if and how the use of generative artificial intelligence is permitted in the preparation of your assessment task. Unauthorised use of generative AI or paraphrasing tools can be a form of academic misconduct.
This resource will help you to:
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools can help you quickly grasp a topic and find sources. GenAI can also provide new perspectives, sparking creativity and promoting critical thinking. Used responsibly, GenAI can make a great study buddy.
Remember that consulting GenAI is like chatting with a smart Uncle or Auntie. They may know what they are talking about, but you would not use them as a reference in your assignment.
Your critical thinking and knowledge are key to evaluating GenAI outputs.
GenAI tools can be great brainstorming buddies when starting the research process for an assessment or project. Ask a GenAI tool, such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemin, to brainstorm ideas, or use a more specific GenAI research tool such as SciSpace to search for key concepts or ask a research question.
Tip: You can also ask for the technical terms or the name of a theory. But be sure to cross-reference these terms with credible sources!
GenAI tools can be useful for concepts which are difficult to understand. Ask a tool such as Copilot to summarise a section which you are finding hard to understand or ask for the GenAI tool to give an example of how this content might be applied in a specific context. You can also ask the GenAI tool to explain a concept in language which a first-year university (or high school) student would understand. Writing good prompts will help produce useful output, but still use critical thinking to ensure the information is accurate and useful.
Some GenAI tools can summarise academic papers. Ask Copilot to summarise an article or look for TLDRs (Too Long; Didn't Read) which are super short summaries of the main objective and results, for instance Semantic Scholar and SciSpace. Other tools such as ChatPDF can summarise and answer questions about PDF documents users upload onto the site.
You can also consider using GenAI to help compare and contrast articles or offer suggestions of articles to read related to a topic of interest.
Tip: GenAI tools may reflect existing social biases, and you may get results from social groups who have traditionally had more power and privilege. Use multiple sources for readings and consider using a tool like Google Scholar to determine if the reading has been referenced by other authors regularly. Always check summaries provided against the source.
GenAI tools can be used to generate lists of related terms to use when you are searching in library databases. For example, if you are working on an assignment about adolescents, you could ask for synonyms of this term.
GenAI tools can provide advice on how to use applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel or generate code in a specific programming language. Leveraging AI tools for coding can significantly enhance productivity and accuracy.
Tip: The code generated may not always follow conventional formats, cross-reference it with other examples.
Always check if and how the use of GenAI is permitted in the preparation of your assessment. Unauthorised use of GenAI or paraphrasing tools can be a form of academic misconduct. If you are using GenAI tools to support your research, keep accurate records of your use so you can acknowledge using AI if required. Ensure you cross-reference any information obtained with credible sources.
We have included an example of a table that could be used to track how you have used GenAI on the Acknowledge Generative AI page.
GenAI is a tool to help you, but it cannot be relied on to provide accurate information or know all the details of your needs or the content from your course. For these reasons, you will need to critically review everything which GenAI produces to make sure it is correct and suits your needs.
Before pursuing any ideas, ensure they align with what you have learned within your courses and the context you are writing about. For example, do not pursue ideas related to Canadian nursing practices when you are supposed to write about Australian standards.
Did you know? UniSC students have access to Microsoft Copilot, enabling students to engage in AI-assisted research, content development, and image creation with enterprise-grade data protection and properly referenced, current information.
Charles Sturt University Library. (2024). Using AI tools at university. Charles Sturt University.
Futurepedia. (2024). All AI tools category.
