I'm not sure if this was answered elsewhere, as I am watching the recordings. I do literature searches for scientists and I experimented with ChatGPT before watching the recording. Seemed at first like a minor miracle - i entered the following query: can you find me peer reviewed journal citations about the relationship between allostatic load and alcohol use and socioeconomic status published since 2013?
I got batches of articles, but upon checking them realized (as with either a Scholar search or EBSCO dbase search) that the majority of articles were not relevant. The main issue I have with search engines is that terms may be present but not in a context that makes the article relevant. Subject headings and keywords are often not relevant for my work as I'm looking for research that is very specific and often has not yet been done. I was hoping AI would be able to understand that context and assist in getting results. Is this what Steve means about checking sources?
OTOH I see I could have played with syntax more in that search, perhaps using commas instead of "and" - "allostatic load, alcohol use and socioeconomic status "
Edited to add - today I tried another search and got "dream results" - but in checking each citation - the PMID led to a completely different article, as did the DOI (and not on topic) and often the titles did not exist in Scholar or any of my other databases. They were cobbled together citations of content that did not exist. Most fascinating was ChatGPTs kind summary of each article that made them sound even more wonderful. So glad I checked!!! It seems it won't work for literature searching, at least not for the complexity of topics I'm working on.
Thanks for sharing that experience. I do think that AI enhanced databases are going to greatly improve the finding of research and other documents, but I sure don't think ChatGPT is the right tool right now!
If you want some AI help with Lit Searches I recommend using Elicit.org. I also know of - but have not used - Litmaps and Research Rabbit.
Julie Murphy > Miranda WalstonMay 1, 2023 at 1:46pm
Thank you! I'll give those tools a try. An upcoming virtual conference that I'm attending in my field (substance use prevention) has a session on AI and the literature so it will be interesting to see what that presenter's experience has been.
Replies
I'm not sure if this was answered elsewhere, as I am watching the recordings. I do literature searches for scientists and I experimented with ChatGPT before watching the recording. Seemed at first like a minor miracle - i entered the following query: can you find me peer reviewed journal citations about the relationship between allostatic load and alcohol use and socioeconomic status published since 2013?
I got batches of articles, but upon checking them realized (as with either a Scholar search or EBSCO dbase search) that the majority of articles were not relevant. The main issue I have with search engines is that terms may be present but not in a context that makes the article relevant. Subject headings and keywords are often not relevant for my work as I'm looking for research that is very specific and often has not yet been done. I was hoping AI would be able to understand that context and assist in getting results. Is this what Steve means about checking sources?
OTOH I see I could have played with syntax more in that search, perhaps using commas instead of "and" - "allostatic load, alcohol use and socioeconomic status "
Edited to add - today I tried another search and got "dream results" - but in checking each citation - the PMID led to a completely different article, as did the DOI (and not on topic) and often the titles did not exist in Scholar or any of my other databases. They were cobbled together citations of content that did not exist. Most fascinating was ChatGPTs kind summary of each article that made them sound even more wonderful. So glad I checked!!! It seems it won't work for literature searching, at least not for the complexity of topics I'm working on.
Thanks for sharing that experience. I do think that AI enhanced databases are going to greatly improve the finding of research and other documents, but I sure don't think ChatGPT is the right tool right now!
If you want some AI help with Lit Searches I recommend using Elicit.org. I also know of - but have not used - Litmaps and Research Rabbit.
Thank you! I'll give those tools a try. An upcoming virtual conference that I'm attending in my field (substance use prevention) has a session on AI and the literature so it will be interesting to see what that presenter's experience has been.