Do you want to take part?
The UOC Library has been chosen to take part in the pilot test of a generative AI-based search tool – Research Assistant – to assess whether it improves the information search experience for Library users.
We'd encourage the whole UOC community to take part.
Fill in this form to let us know what you think and how you rate it.
The AI search assistant developed by Clarivate is continuously trained and improves the more it is used, so it may have some limitations in the testing phase.
The answers it gives may contain errors, as can happen with any generative artificial intelligence tool. For this reason, it is important to always check each answer against the original sources to make sure that it is complete and correct.
What can the assistant help me do?
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.
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?
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.
Find out about the project
Some 17 institutions from 10 countries, representing different cultures and languages, have been invited to join this pilot test being run by Clarivate. The UOC is the first institution in Spain taking part.
Ball State University,
Cardiff University,
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano,
Keio University,
Sorbonne University,
Swansea University,
Swiss Library Service Platform (SLSP),
The New School
Tulane University,
University at Buffalo (SUNY),
University College London (UCL),
University of Liège,
University of New South Wales (UNSW),
Waseda University,
Yale University,
Beijing Normal University
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Our aims
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.
Following a pilot test involving seventeen institutions, Clarivate has opened up their Research Assistant AI tool to all the institutions that use their search engine, Primo.
