Take part in the pilot test
The UOC Library is taking part in an international pilot test carried out by Clarivate, together with seventeen other institutions including Yale University and Sorbonne University, to assess its AI Research Assistant.
The aim is to establish whether it can help improve the UOC community's search experience at the Library.
Try it and see what you think.
What is it?
A generative AI-based search assistant, currently in the beta testing phase, which has been integrated into the Library's search engine. It lets you:
The AI assistant is continuously trained and improves the more it is used, so it may have some limitations in the testing phase. As with any other generative AI tool, we recommend that you always check information to ensure it is accurate, taking possible errors or bias into account.
Bear in mind:
- Currently, the tool generates answers based on the abstracts available in the search engine.
You can access the full text of the sources proposed by the assistant when they are open access or subscribed to by the Library.
- It is not able to interpret certain advanced search requests, such as specific types of document (search for peer-reviewed articles), information in a particular language (look for resources only in Catalan) or information from a specific period (look for recent information on climate change).
- Each question is self-contained and unrelated to previous questions. For example, if you ask: "What subjects did Simone de Beauvoir write about?", you cannot then ask: "Can you give me some examples?" You must phrase the questions like this: "What is The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir about?"
How do you use the assistant?
The Research Assistant interprets your query with GPT 3.5 technology, identifies the five resources it considers most relevant and generates a response based on the titles and abstracts.
Ask a question
Your questions should relate to academic or scientific matters and be as clear and detailed as possible. Make the query as specific as you can, and word it as a question.
Here are a few examples of questions you could ask:
Did Picasso's time in Paris influence his artistic style?
How can diversity in clinical trials be improved?
You can carry out searches in Catalan, English and Spanish. However, as most academic content is in English, if you ask a question in another language, the assistant will search sources in both English and the other language.
The answers
For example, if you ask "What sections should a good marketing plan have?", you'll get:
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Overview
A brief answer in the language of the search, with a list of the sources used.
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Assessment
Use the thumbs up or thumbs down icon to rate the answers.
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Try again
There may be more than one possible answer and a variety of relevant resources. If you're not satisfied with the answer, you can click on the button.
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Sources
You can access the full text of the sources proposed by the assistant when they are open access or subscribed to by the Library.
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View more results
A direct link to the UOC Library's search engine with more results on the subject.
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Related research questions
Recommended questions in case you wish to expand your search.
Development of the project
We're looking for innovative solutions to offer the best possible service. Integrating AI in the search engine is a starting point to improve the user's search experience, guiding them and making it easier and more intuitive.
Operative group:
Rosa Llussà, member of the Research Assistant working group
Our priority is to make it easier and easier to find what you need, and this pilot test is a step in that direction. We'll evaluate the tool to find out if it meets the needs of the UOC community.
Operative group:
Sara Zerini, member of the Research Assistant working group
Generative AIs using natural language questions aid the information retrieval processes and help explore the literature from any domain of knowledge.
Operative group:
Joaquim Espín, member of the Research Assistant working group
The pilot test will be carried out in three stages:
Internal testing by a Library and Learning Resources department working group.
Configuration and initial customization of the tool.
First joint assessments by the eighteen participating institutions, based on 500 tests:
- General structure and length of results: Changes proposed to make the answers more complete and improve their structure.
- Sources of information: DataCite records are temporarily excluded. The sources the tool uses need to be accurately identified.
- Limitations: The instructions that it does not currently recognize need to be made clear.
The pilot test is extended to the entire Library and Learning Resources department and to UOC teaching staff, research staff and administrative staff.
The pilot test is opened up to the entire UOC community.
