AI and Machine Learning for Evidence Syntheses: Generative AI & Other Tools
Created by Health Science Librarians
GenAI for Citation Screening
Application of generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) to article screening is evolving rapidly. Currently, there are no commercial products available that use GenAI to categorize citations as relevant or not relevant. Machine learning approaches (predictive AI) used by HSL are available to prioritize citations for screening. This guide will be updated when resources and tested approaches become available.
Compare Generative AI Tools
| Criteria | ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Claude AI | Perplexity AI | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | A conversational AI developed by OpenAI, capable of generating human-like text, answering questions, and assisting with a wide range of tasks. | A conversational AI with a focus on ethical considerations, safety, and providing reliable outputs. | An AI-powered search assistant that retrieves answers and summaries from trusted sources across the web. | AI integrated within Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) that helps with tasks like writing, analysis, and data visualization. |
| Key Features | Text generation, answering questions, creative writing, coding assistance, conversation, content creation, summarization, language understanding. | Safe, reliable text generation, conversational assistance, can summarize, explain complex topics, with an emphasis on ethical behavior and avoiding harmful outputs. | Provides answers from reliable sources, optimized for precise information retrieval, research, and summarization. | Integrated productivity assistance within Office apps, including automated writing, data analysis, email drafting, and workflow optimization. |
| Cautions | Can generate inaccurate or biased information; sometimes lacks context, requiring user verification. | Can occasionally generate overly cautious or overly safe responses, which might limit creativity. | May lack nuance in answers, heavily reliant on available search data, potentially missing some important details. | Limited to Microsoft tools, may not fully replace expert-level tasks, and requires subscription to Microsoft 365. |
| Cost | Free with limited features (ChatGPT Free), premium version available (ChatGPT Plus for GPT-4 access). | Free with limited access, premium features available for paid users. | Free with a Pro version available for more advanced features and functionality. | Available with a Microsoft 365 subscription (paid). Free to UNC community via our Microsoft 365 subscription. |
| Website | https://chatgpt.com/ | https://claude.ai/ | perplexity.ai | https://microsoft.com/copilot |
More Information on Generative AI Tools
Overview
ChatGPT is an AI-powered conversational model developed by OpenAI that is designed to assist with a wide range of tasks, including answering questions, providing explanations, generating content, and more. It can help with writing, brainstorming, coding, tutoring, and even engaging in casual conversation.
How to Use
- ChatGPT YouTube ChannelCheck out the ChatGPT YouTube Channel for helpful videos and tutorials on how to use the platform effectively.
- LinkedIn Learning: Chat-GPTCollection of LinkedIn Learning modules on Chat-GPT. LinkedIn Learning is free for UNC affiliates. Learn more at https://software.sites.unc.edu/linkedin/
- ChatGPTAccess ChatGPT
Overview
Claude AI is an advanced language model developed by Anthropic. It's design focused on safety and ethical considerations while providing highly capable natural language processing. Claude can assist with a wide range of tasks, from answering questions to helping with coding, generating content, and data analysis.
How to Use
- Claude AI YouTube ChannelThe Claude AI YouTube Channel contains video tutorials, demonstrations, and helpful tips on getting started.
- Tutorials for Claude AIVisit Anthropic's support website for step-by-step guides on how to effectively use Claude for various tasks
- Claude AIAccess Claude AI
- LinkedIn Learning: Claude AIA collection of LinkedIn Learning modules on Claude AI. LinkedIn Learning is free for UNC affiliates. Learn more at https://software.sites.unc.edu/linkedin/
Overview
Perplexity is an "AI-powered Swiss Army Knife" for information discovery, capable of answering questions, exploring topics, organizing research, and interacting with data. It generates answer-based responses based on question prompts, providing research and information to support its answers. Users should be mindful of data hallucinations, as these can lead to inaccuracies or misleading information.
How to Use
- Perplexity YouTube ChannelExplore the Perplexity YouTube channel.
- Getting started with PerplexityA tutorial on how to begin using Perplexity.
- PerplexityAccess Perplexity
Overview
Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered tool integrated into Microsoft 365 applications. It enhances productivity by assisting users in drafting documents, generating insights, and creating presentations. By providing contextual suggestions and automating tasks, Copilot streamlines workflows and improves collaboration, helping users work more efficiently across tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
How to Use
- Microsoft Copilot YouTube ChannelAccess Microsoft Copilot's YouTube channel
- LinkedIn Learning: Microsoft CopilotCollection of LinkedIn Learning modules on Microsoft Copilot. LinkedIn Learning is free for UNC affiliates. Learn more at https://software.sites.unc.edu/linkedin/
- CopilotAccess Copilot
Compare AI-Assisted Tools for Research
| Criteria | Consensus | Research Rabbit | Elicit | Scholarcy | Litmaps | Inciteful |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | Search engine that answers questions based on academic papers. | Research discovery tool that helps users find and visualize related papers. | Tool designed to help researchers and analysts systematically explore complex questions and gather insights. | AI-powered tool that summarizes research papers, extracting key information and references. | Visual tool for creating and managing research maps, connecting papers and ideas. | AI tool that visualizes research papers, showing how they relate to each other and helps you discover relevant literature. |
| Key Features | Summarizes papers, showing where the literature agrees, and where it differs. Includes citations for all the papers referenced. | Visual citation mapping, automatic paper recommendations, collaboration tools. | Research question exploration, data collection, and synthesis, interactive templates. | Summarizes papers, extracts key points, generates bibliographies, finds references. | Visual mapping of research, interactive timelines, dynamic relationships between papers. | Citation graph visualization, paper relationships, discovering hidden connections, recommendation engine. |
| Cautions | You should check the cited papers to ensure the summaries are accurate. Additionally, results are limited to academic papers in Semantic Scholar. | Limited to academic papers; may not always capture the most recent publications. | Some limitations in citation accuracy; requires manual input for complex questions. | Dependent on the quality of the input paper; may not capture nuanced concepts. | Some complexity in using the visual maps; may require manual updates for new publications. | May miss some niche or obscure papers; visualization can become cluttered. |
| Cost | Free with premium options | Free with premium options | Free with premium options | Free trial available, then paid access | Free trial available, then paid access | Free trial available, then paid access |
| Website | https://consensus.app/ | https://www.researchrabbit.ai/ | https://elicit.org/ | https://scholarcy.com/ | litmaps.com | https://inciteful.xyz/ |
AI-Assisted Tools for Research
Overview
Consensus is an AI-powered search engine. It provides answers to academic questions based on academic articles in the Semantic Scholar database. Search results show how much agreement ('consensus') there is between papers on that topic. It includes citations to all the papers it used to answer the question.
How to Use
- How to Use Consensus and Best PracticesBlog post from Consensus AI with tips about how to use Consensus
- Consensus YouTube ChannelExplore the Consensus YouTube Channel
- ConsensusAccess Consensus
Overview
Research Rabbit is a free online tool that uses artificial intelligence to search for and map related publications based on a set of seed papers or a research topic.
How to Use
- Research Rabbit YouTube ChannelExplore the Research Rabbit YouTube Channel
- Research RabbitAccess Research Rabbit
Overview
Elicit is a tool that semi-automates research processes like summarizing papers, extracting data, and synthesizing information, pulling literature from Semantic Scholar.
How to Use
- Elicit YouTube ChannelExplore the Elicit YouTube channel.
- Systematic Reviews and ElicitA tutorial on how to use Elicit for data extraction.
- ElicitAccess Elicit
Overview
Scholarcy is an innovative research assistant that helps users quickly summarize and understand academic papers. It offers features like automatic summarization, citation generation, and highlights key insights, making it easier for users to digest complex information and improve their research efficiency.
How to Use
- Scholarcy YouTube ChannelExplore the Scholarcy YouTube channel.
- What is Scholarcy?Basic tutorial video on how to use Scholarcy.
- ScholarcyAccess Scholarcy
Overview
Litmaps is a dynamic research tool that allows users to create interactive literature maps, helping them track academic papers and visualize connections between research topics. With features like citation tracking and personalized recommendations, it streamlines the research process and aids in uncovering relevant literature.
How to Use
- Litmaps YouTube channelExplore the Litmaps YouTube channel
- What is Litmaps?Basic tutorial video on how to use Litmaps.
- LitmapsAccess Litmaps
Overview
Inciteful is an advanced research tool designed to help users explore academic literature through citation analysis and visualization. It offers features like citation tracking, related papers discovery, and author insights, enabling researchers to uncover impactful studies and enhance their literature review process.
How to Use
- Inciteful YouTube TutorialTutorial on using Inciteful.
- IncitefulAccess Inciteful
Compare AI Writing Tools
| Criteria | Grammarly | Canva Magic Write | Jenni AI | Paperpal | Wordtune |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | A powerful writing assistant that enhances writing clarity, grammar, and style. | An intuitive writing tool integrated within Canva for generating text for design projects. | An AI-driven writing assistant designed for efficient content creation. | A research companion for enhancing academic writing and publication standards. | An AI-based tool that helps users refine and enhance their writing. |
| Key Features | Real-time grammar checks, style and tone suggestions, plagiarism detection. | Text generation for marketing, social media; integrates with Canva; customizable tone. | AI-generated content suggestions, user-friendly interface, customizable styles. | AI insights for research papers, formatting and citation assistance, collaboration tools. | Instant rewriting suggestions, tone/style adjustments, integrates with popular platforms. |
| Cautions | Occasional inaccuracies; users should review changes for context. | Watch for inaccuracies or awkward phrasing; refine suggestions. | Potential inaccuracies; verify information and adapt outputs. | Monitor for inaccuracies; cross-check for integrity. | Watch for inaccuracies or awkward phrasing; maintain unique voice. |
| Cost | Free and premium options | Free with Canva subscription | Free and premium options | Free trial available, then paid access. | Free and premium options |
| Website | https://grammarly.com/ | https://canva.com/magic-write | https://jenni.ai/ | https://paperpal.com/ | https://wordtune.com/ |
AI Tools for Writing
Overview
Grammarly is an advanced writing assistant that enhances clarity, grammar, and style in writing through real-time suggestions. It offers features like plagiarism detection, tone adjustments, and customizable writing goals to help users improve their communication.
How to use
- Grammarly Youtube ChannelExplore the Grammarly YouTube channel for instructional videos and resources on using Grammarly’s writing tools. Find tips, tutorials, and feature overviews to enhance your writing skills.
- What is Grammarly?Basic tutorial video on how to use Grammarly
- GrammarlyAccess Grammarly.
Overview
Canva Magic Write is an AI-powered writing tool integrated within Canva that helps users generate text for various design projects. It offers features like customizable tone and style options, making it ideal for creating marketing copy, social media posts, and more. With its seamless integration into Canva’s design platform, users can easily enhance their visual content with compelling written material.
How to Use
- Canva Youtube ChannelExplore the Canva YouTube channel
- What is Canva Magic Write?A short introduction to Canva Magic Write.
- Canva Magic WriteAccess Canva Magic Write.
Overview
Jenni AI is an AI-driven writing assistant designed to help users create content more efficiently, from blog posts to creative writing. It provides AI-generated content suggestions and features a user-friendly interface for easy navigation. Users can also customize their writing style preferences, allowing them to tailor their content to fit their unique voice.
How to Use
- How to Use Jenni AI?A brief overview of Jenni AI's capabilities and features.
- Use Jenni AIAccess Jenni AI.
Overview
Paperpal is a research companion that assists scholars and students in enhancing their academic writing and ensuring adherence to publication standards. It offers AI-driven insights for improving research papers, provides formatting and citation assistance, and includes collaboration tools for team projects.
How to Use
- Paperpal YouTube ChannelExplore Paperpal's YouTube channel.
- Paperpal TutorialTutorial on how to get started using Paperpal
- PaperpalAccess Paperpal.
Overview
Wordtune is an AI-powered writing assistant focused on improving and refining your written communication. It helps you rewrite, rephrase, and polish sentences to enhance clarity, tone, and style. Wordtune is designed for both professional and casual writers looking to improve their writing effortlessly.
How to Use
- Wordtune YouTube ChannelExplore the Wordtune YouTube Channel for tutorials, demonstrations, and tips.
- WordtuneAccess Wordtune
Compare AI Tools for Systematic Reviews
| Criteria | Covidence | Robot Reviewer | Rayyan AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | A web-based tool designed for streamlining systematic reviews, helping researchers manage and analyze large volumes of research papers. | An AI tool for automating the screening of systematic reviews, designed to help researchers save time in identifying relevant studies. | A collaborative tool for systematic reviews, leveraging AI to assist in study screening, tagging, and decision-making. |
| Key Features | Managing and streamlining systematic review workflows (screening, data extraction, quality assessment), integrates with reference managers, incorporates active machine learning. | Automated study screening using AI, customizable inclusion/exclusion criteria, increases efficiency in literature reviews. | AI-assisted study screening, tagging, fast decision-making, collaborative workspaces, integrates with reference managers. |
| Cautions | Active machine learning requires specific amount of human screening first. Learns in an iterative manner, but is unable to provide a cutoff point for screening. | Accuracy depends on training data and can require manual verification, limited in advanced analytics. | Limited to systematic review stages; relies on AI predictions, which may require validation. |
| Cost | Access provided by UNC. Paid subscription with a free trial available for non-UNC affiliates. | Paid subscription with a free trial available. | Free for basic use, premium features available. |
| Website | covidence.org | robotreviewer.net | rayyan.ai |
AI Tools for Systematic Reviews
Overview
Covidence is a web-based platform that streamlines the systematic review process, helping researchers manage references, screen studies, extract data, and create evidence tables efficiently. A key feature of Covidence is its integration of active machine learning, which may enhance the study screening phase.
How to Use
- Covidence YouTube ChannelA collection of Covidence-created videos
- Covidence Knowledge BaseAccess dozens of help topics from Covidence.
- CovidenceHSL help guide on Covidence
- Covidence: UNC Sign UpUse this link to create a UNC Covidence account.
Overview
Robot Reviewer utilizes machine learning to assist researchers in automating tasks within the systematic review process, such as study screening and data extraction, ultimately reducing workload and enhancing efficiency.
How to Use
- Robot ReviewerAccess Robot Reviewer
- RobotReviewer's BlogLearn more from RobotReviewer by reading their blog.
Overview
Rayyan AI is a web-based application designed to facilitate the systematic review process by allowing researchers to screen articles quickly and efficiently, featuring AI-assisted recommendations for prioritizing studies.
How to Use
- Rayyan AI YouTube ChannelAccess Rayyan AI's YouTube Channel
- Rayyan AIAccess Rayyan AI
Generative AI Training and Support
What is generative AI and how does it work?
- Generative AI in a Nutshell - how to survive and thrive in the age of AIThis YouTube video summarizes what generative AI is, and goes over how AI models work, how they are trained, and summarizes ways to work with AI models (18 minutes).
- Explained: Generative AIThis MIT News article gives a brief overview of what generative AI is, and how it works.
How can I get good responses from generative AI tools?
- Master the Perfect ChatGPT Prompt FormulaThis YouTube video goes over the components of good generative AI prompts with examples (8 minutes).
- Getting started with prompts for text-based Generative AI toolsThis Harvard University article provides guidance on how to create prompts for text-based generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT).
UNC Generative AI Support
- Library WorkshopsThis page contains information on upcoming library workshops. We regularly hold workshops on generative AI.
- Student Guide to Generative AIThis UNC library guide gives an overview of generative AI and its uses.
- AI ToolsThis UNC page contains links and descriptions of AI tools available to people at UNC.
- Generative AI Employee ResourcesThis UNC page provides links to various resources on student policies, research, and teaching guidance, and training modules on using generative AI.