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Rugby Coaching, Development and Performance: AI for Research

Mae'r dudalen hon hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg

An Introduction to AI in Research

AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think, learn, and solve problems like a human. AI tools like ChatGPT are examples of large language models, which use extensive datasets to generate increasingly complex and sophisticated text responses to user queries. Similarly, other AI tools can create music, images, and videos based on similar principles.

Accuracy and fact-checking: While using Generative AI can be a valuable tool, it's crucial to remember that it's an AI model and may not always be accurate. Always fact-check information generated and verify it with reliable sources. It must be used honestly, ethically and responsibly, for more information see the USW AI position statement. 

AI Literacy: These resources will help you begin to develop your understanding of AI Literacy in order to approach the technologies critically and responsibly. AI Literacy is the ability to recognise, understand, and critically evaluate AI, including its capabilities, limitations, and ethical implications. It involves assessing AI-generated information, making informed decisions, and communicating effectively through well-crafted prompts.

If you have any concerns about using AI in an assignment please contact your lecturer or supervisor.

AI Ethics

Ethical use of AI means using artificial intelligence in ways that are fair, transparent, and responsible. It involves protecting people's privacy, avoiding bias, and making sure AI benefits everyone equally. It also requires careful monitoring to make sure AI is used safely and in line with values that respect human rights.

 

To avoid plagiarism when using AI, always ensure that any content generated by AI is properly cited if it draws from external sources. Paraphrase or summarize AI-generated text in your own words, and give credit to the original authors or creators. Additionally, use plagiarism-checking tools to verify the originality of your work before submitting it.

Check our referencing guides for help with referencing AI. 

Using AI tools responsibly is important, especially in your academic work. While AI can help with tasks like generating text or summarizing information, it's essential to ensure your work remains original and ethical. Always cite your sources when using AI-generated content that builds on others' ideas. AI should be a tool to enhance your work, not replace your own thinking. By doing this, you maintain academic integrity and respect others' intellectual property.

The ethical use of data protection in AI ensures that personal information is collected and used responsibly while respecting individuals' privacy. It involves transparency about how data is gathered, ensuring it is secure, and giving people control over their own information. Students and researchers using AI tools must follow ethical guidelines and privacy laws to protect data and prevent harm.

Top tips to safeguard your privacy

 1. Always check the provider’s privacy policy before use

Checking the terms and conditions of the models before using them may seem like a chore but it is well worth the effort. You can find out if the provider uses the data you input to train the model, which could result in any information you input into the chat being used to produce output for other users. 

You can find out if the provider is likely to share the information you enter with any third parties and advise on how to exercise your rights under data protection legislation.

2. Keep the data entry to a minimum

Avoid entering any personal, private, or sensitive information into a platform where the data may be seen, used or disclosed by the provider.  Additionally, we do not know how secure these platforms are - the threat of a data breach or a cyber-attack can never be ruled out. If you do decide to use the tools, only input the minimum amount of data required to achieve your objective.

3. Change the Settings

Explore the privacy and security controls inside the AI tools. Most providers make these controls visible and easy to operate within the Settings options. You may be able to delete your chat history and prevent this data being used by the provider.

ROBOT

ROBOT Test

Being AI literate doesn't require a deep understanding of the complex mechanics behind AI. Instead, it involves actively learning about the relevant technologies and critically evaluating any information you encounter. 

This tool can be used when reading about AI applications to help consider the legitimacy of the technology.

 

 Reliability

 Objective

 Bias

 Ownership                   

 Type

 

 

 

Hervieux, S. & Wheatley, A. (2020). The ROBOT test [Evaluation tool]. The LibrAIry. https://thelibrairy.wordpress.com/

Reliability
  • How reliable is the information available about the AI technology?

  • A 'hallucination' in AI terms is "a plausible but false or misleading response generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm" (Merriam Webster).

    This means that even though the information or text generated may sound plausible, it can be misleading, or simply wrong. Always check the results.

  • AI is limited in knowledge because it can only work with the data it has been trained on and cannot access information beyond that scope. It lacks true understanding or reasoning abilities, as it processes patterns and makes predictions based on existing data, rather than forming original thoughts or concepts. Additionally, AI is unable to learn from real-world experiences in the same way humans do, meaning it may struggle with novel or unpredictable situations outside its training data.

Objective
  • What is the goal or objective of the use of AI?
  • What is the goal of sharing information about it?
    • To inform?
    • To convince?
    • To find financial support?

 

Bias and inaccuracies: AI systems can sometimes reflect biases in the data they are trained on, leading to flawed or incomplete analysis, which could mislead decision-making.

AI can perpetuate and even amplify existing biases if the data it’s trained on is biased. This can lead to skewed research findings or discriminatory practices. 

Owner
  • Who is the owner or developer of the AI technology?
  • Who is responsible for it?
    • Is it a private company?
    • The government?
    • A think tank or research group?
  • Who has access to it?
  • Who can use it?
Type
  • Which subtype of AI is it?
  • Is the technology theoretical or applied?

AI Limitations

Pros and Cons of using AI 

Pros 

  1. Enhanced information access: AI can quickly analyze vast amounts of data, providing valuable insights and allowing users to make informed decisions faster.
     
  2. Diverse perspectives: AI tools can offer multiple viewpoints and solutions to a problem, helping to broaden critical thinking by presenting alternative approaches.
     
  3. Support for complex analysis: AI can assist in processing complex problems or data sets, improving the accuracy and depth of analysis.

Cons 

  1. Over-reliance on technology: Dependence on AI may reduce opportunities to develop your own analytical skills and think independently.
     
  2. Limited creativity: AI can only work with existing data and patterns, which may hinder creative thinking and the generation of truly novel ideas.
     
  3. Bias and inaccuracies: AI systems can sometimes reflect biases in the data they are trained on, leading to flawed or incomplete analysis, which could mislead decision-making.

 

To use or not to use

To explain a new concept in a simplified way. Generative AI text tools can be useful for summarising text, providing basic introductions, or presenting information in a different way, such as simplifying complex concepts for a non-expert audience. By using prompts that adopt a specific perspective, you can ask an AI tool to explain a challenging concept from a lecture in a way that is more accessible to you.
To help you get started on a piece of work and break writer’s block. One of the strengths of generative AI is its ability to help you get started on a task or spark ideas. Using AI in the early stages of planning—to generate ideas, suggest topics for further exploration, or provide examples—can be a useful tool, as long as you engage with the suggestions critically and ensure that AI supports, rather than replaces, your own thinking and ideas.
To support students’ productivity, time management and productivity. AI can help with managing time effectively by assisting in creating study plans, schedules, and to-do lists. To optimise time and focus, AI can suggest time management techniques, recommend study breaks, and provide quick explanations of complex topics.

 

To pretend that AI is you in a conversation. AI tools can help generate text quickly, but it's important to be open and transparent when using them for personal communication. When engaging with your module leader or peers via email, Teams, or a discussion board, for instance, they expect to be communicating with you directly rather than receiving a computer-generated response.
Doing your information gathering, research or reading for you. Reading and synthesising sources to produce your work can be time-consuming, so it may be tempting to use AI tools to generate your evidence base and information sources. However, generative AI can produce text that is factually incorrect, misrepresents source material, or is entirely fabricated. These tools aim to provide responses they think you want rather than accurately reflecting sources or producing academically rigorous content. Developing your own research skills, critically evaluating information, and engaging with sources firsthand are essential academic and professional abilities. Relying on AI for this undermines your learning and development.
Using AI tools during a module or for an assessment where the expectation has been articulated by your module leader that AI should not be used. Your programme and modules are designed to help you achieve the intended learning outcomes, including core competencies relevant to your discipline or accreditation requirements. In some cases, your module leader may explicitly state that AI tools should not be used for an entire module, a specific assessment, or a particular task. In these instances, using AI would be considered academic misconduct.

 

AI Prompts

It is important to be clear and specific about what you want from AI. This means thinking about what your needs are first before asking and engaging AI tools. 

Prompt engineering is the ability to generating search queries for AI systems like Chat-GPT or Co-Pilot. It is similar to searching in Google but requires a more refined approach. To construct effective and well thought out prompts they need to include several elements to produce meaningful and informative responses.

Tips for Crafting Effective Prompts:

  1. Be specific: Provide clear instructions and define the scope of your question. 
  2. Use context & examples: Give background information to guide the AI
  3. Set boundaries: Specify word count, tone, or format 
  4. Ask follow-up questions: To refine or clarify output. Large language model AI tools 'learn' by getting feedback and additional data which help them to improve their responses.
  5. Do not share personal data: Don't ask a question which contains personal or otherwise confidential information, as the privacy and security of AI tools are still unclear.

Take a look at this video for information on prompts: Bullingam, L., Ylinen, O., Burnet, B. (2024). Prompt Engineering in Libraries. [Video]. Digital Shift Forum. Research Libraries UK. 

AI Tools for text

ChatGPT  is an advanced language model developed by OpenAI that uses artificial intelligence to understand and generate human-like text. With its ability to engage in conversations, ChatGPT serves as a valuable tool for research, learning, and creative projects.

Best for:

  • Generating keywords for a topic to use in your search strategy.
  • Brainstorming and idea generation

 

Google Gemini is a set of advanced AI tools created by Google to improve how computers understand and respond to human language. It helps provide more accurate answers and better conversations in search, writing, and other tasks. Google Gemini uses smart technology to make interacting with AI easier and more helpful.

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated into Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook. It helps users by generating content, summarizing information, automating tasks, and offering insights based on data within documents or spreadsheets.

Perplexity AI is an advanced search engine and information retrieval tool powered by artificial intelligence. It uses AI algorithms to provide users with concise, relevant answers to questions, draw insights from various sources, and assist with research. By leveraging natural language processing, Perplexity AI enhances the search experience, offering more intuitive and efficient access to information.

AI Tools for Literature Reviews & Systematic Reviews

Research Rabbit

Is a literature mapping tool, known as Spotify for research papers. You can create personalised collections -  it learns what you love and improves its recommendations. Research Rabbit promises it will always be free to use.

Best for:

  • Creating visual maps of papers and authors, helping students to see how different papers are connected.
  • The curious undergrad, who wants to see the bigger research picture of a new topic or subject area.

Semantic Scholar 

Semantic Scholar is designed to highlight the most important and influential elements of a paper. The AI technology is designed to identify hidden connections and links between research topics.

Best for: 

  • Gaining direct access to open source papers.
  • Finding out how papers are connected and which studies are most influential. 
  • Providing paper summaries, figures and key highlights for faster comprehension.

 

Connected Papers
Connected Papers is a visual tool to help researchers and applied scientists find academic papers relevant to their field of work.

Best for:

 

Rayyan

It is utilized by researchers to conduct systematic literature reviews–and other types of evidence synthesis–to inform all types of evidence-based decision-making.

Good for:

  • Systematic reviews or any research involving sifting through a large number of articles.
  • Speeding up the process of screening titles and abstracts to determine which articles are relevant to your research.


    This is a huge time-saver, especially when dealing with hundreds or thousands of potential sources.

More information

Rayyan Tutorials and Quick start guide. 

Keenious

Keenious will analyse your documents and suggest relevant research papers. You could upload an assignment you're working on or a PDF and it will suggest useful papers to inform your work. You can add Keenious to Word or Google Docs.

AI Tools for Reading and Summarising

SciSpace is an AI-powered research platform designed to assist users in reading, understanding, and analyzing academic papers. It offers features like intelligent document search, summarisation, and citation extraction, streamlining the research process. SciSpace helps researchers, students, and academics save time and improve efficiency in finding relevant information and synthesizing complex research findings.

Best for:

  • Helping students quickly understand complex research papers.
  • Summarsing papers, helping students grasp key insights.
  • Grouping related papers making it easier to see how different papers contribute to a topic.

 

ChatPDF is an AI-powered tool that allows you to interact with and extract information from PDF documents in a conversational way. By uploading a PDF, you can ask specific questions about the content, and ChatPDF will provide detailed, relevant answers based on the document.

Best for:

  1. Efficient Document Review: Instead of manually reading through long PDFs, users can ask specific questions about the content and get direct answers, saving time and effort.

  2. Research and Study: It helps students, researchers, and professionals quickly extract relevant information from academic papers, reports, or technical documents.

  3. Summarizing Complex Texts: ChatPDF can summarize key points from lengthy documents, making it easier to understand and digest the material.

  4. Improved Accessibility: For users with limited time or those seeking targeted information, ChatPDF offers an interactive way to engage with the content and retrieve specific data.

In short, it's great for anyone needing to quickly analyze, search, or interact with large PDF files.

Elicit AI is an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist with research by helping users structure and analyze complex questions. It enables users to gather, summarize, and compare evidence from various sources, supporting decision-making and data-driven insights. Elicit AI streamlines the research process, making it easier to generate hypotheses, synthesize information, and explore different perspectives.

Best for:

  • Uploading pdfs to summarise and understand articles.
  • Exploring new research directions and questions by analysing your existing research and suggesting related concepts.
  • Getting one sentence abstract summaries.

Expain Paper is an AI tool designed to help users understand complex academic papers by providing simplified explanations of research concepts and terminology. It allows users to upload or link to academic papers, and then generates concise, accessible summaries and clarifications of difficult sections. Explainpaper is especially useful for students, researchers, and anyone looking to quickly grasp the main ideas of scholarly articles without needing to delve into dense academic language.

AI tools for Image Creation

GenCraft is an AI-powered image generation tool that transforms text descriptions into high-quality, creative visuals. By using advanced machine learning, it enables users to create custom illustrations, designs, and art in various styles with ease. GenCraft is a valuable resource for artists, marketers, and content creators seeking unique and personalized visuals for their projects.

AI image generator

Freepik AI is an artificial intelligence-powered tool that helps users create and customize visual content, such as illustrations, graphics, and designs. By leveraging AI technology, it provides personalized suggestions, automates design tasks, and allows for easy generation of high-quality assets. Freepik AI enhances the design process, making it accessible for both professionals and beginners to create visually appealing content quickly and efficiently.

Canva is a user-friendly graphic design platform that enables individuals to create a wide range of visual content, including presentations, posters, social media graphics, and more. With its drag-and-drop interface, Canva offers a vast library of templates, images, and fonts, making design accessible to users of all skill levels. It also provides collaboration features, allowing teams to work together on projects in real time, enhancing productivity and creativity.

Copilot Designer is an AI-powered design assistant integrated into Microsoft tools like PowerPoint and Word, helping users create visually appealing content effortlessly. It provides automated design suggestions, adjusts layouts, and enhances graphics, ensuring that presentations and documents look polished and professional. By streamlining the design process, Copilot Designer saves time and improves the overall quality of user-generated content.