Finding reading material for your assignment

Be clear about the guidelines for AI use at your institution, if unclear, seek clarification and permission

 

Chatbot/AI has the capability to …

Suggest reading materials in response to your prompts.

If prompted further, AI can make:

• Further suggestions
• More specific suggestions

Please note the examples given below and for summarising texts, which illustrates limitations on the suggestions ChatGPT can make.

 

Your role as a student

1. Provide focussed prompts to help the AI suggest useful, good quality sources that will be worthwhile for you to investigate for your assignment. Don’t just rely on one prompt, try different angles to gain different suggestions.
2. Check whether the sources are appropriate
   • Real or not? AI systems are prone to hallucinations, sometimes inventing information so you need to verify the sources.
   • Suitable for academic work. Are the sources suggested by the AI a good match to what you might need to develop your argument and support it with good evidence/examples?
   • Current and recent. Check that you have the most up-to-date material. AI will suggest material it has been trained on, which may not include recent publications or ones inside protected databases. You could use a specialist database or Google Scholar to help.
   • Fair representation. Be sensitive to in-built bias towards certain sources over others. For example, you might need to use specific prompts (or use specialist search engines) to find material on minorities, or for sources from outside of the USA or your own country.
3. Select wisely. You don’t need to read everything suggested – just what is relevant. Skim material quickly to help decide which items, and which sections of each item, merit more focussed reading and note-making to support the points you wish to make. Use smart reading strategies.

 

Ensure you...

• Apply thinking skills. As you read, you need to be applying critical thinking, decision-making and judgements, about whether what you read is accurate, misleading, the full story, sufficient to prove a point, worth using in your assignment. and so on. For more about these skills see the topic on Reading effectively and the module on Critical thinking.
• Maintain a record by making notes. Take notes of important points that you are likely to use in the assignment, in exams, at work, or for the course more generally. See the topic Making notes when reading.
• Keep a record of your sources. Remember that you need to cite your sources in your work, so always jot down where each piece of information or inspiration came from, to make this an easy task. See Referencing module.
• Use an iterative process. As you find out more about the topic, new questions will arise. It is likely that you will need to search out further sources to answer these.
• Not to reply or rely solely on ChatGPT. Use research strategies to seek out good quality sources, such as by using specialist search engines for your topic and browsing through items listed as references for relevant online journal articles.

 

Student prompt 1: for reading suggestions

"List some good quality reading sources for my 1500 word undergraduate essay: ‘A recipe for disaster’: poor nutrition has a significant impact on student academic outcomes’. Discuss with reference to students in Higher Education"

 

ChatGPT response 1

Certainly! Here are some potential high-quality reading sources you can consider for your essay on the impact of poor nutrition on student academic outcomes in Higher Education:

Academic Journals:

• Larson, N., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2011). Weight control behaviors and dietary intake among adolescents and young adults: Longitudinal findings from Project EAT. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(2), 283-289.
• Rampersaud, G. C., Pereira, M. A., Girard, B. L., Adams, J., & Metzl, J. D. (2005). Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(5), 743-760.

Research Reports:

• National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). The Condition of Education 2019 (NCES 2019-144), Undergraduate Enrollment.
• World Health Organization. (2016). Report of the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity.

Books:

• Pollan, M. (2009). In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Penguin.
• Nestle, M. (2007). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. University of California Press.

Government and Institutional Reports:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Health and Academic Achievement.

Online Articles and Websites:

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2019). The Best Foods for Brain Health.
• American Psychological Association. (2019). Healthy Eating Linked to Kids' Academic Success.

Remember to critically evaluate each source for its credibility, relevance to your topic, and the authority of the authors or organizations. Use a mix of peer-reviewed academic sources, reputable research reports, and recognized experts' insights to build a well-rounded argument for your essay.

 

Is it worth looking up?

The student noticed that the item American Psychological Association. (2019). Healthy Eating Linked to Kids' Academic Success, suggested by ChatGPT does not list any authors:

• When this was checked via Google Scholar, lots of items came up as results, but not this title
• It might have been invented by ChatGPT
• The student considered using a specialist search engine for psychologists, or going to the Association itself
• However, as the title suggested this was about schoolchildren, the student decided to leave this aside for now, and look for items that focussed specifically on students in Higher Education

Currency

The student recognised that many of the recommended items in this case were over a decade old and there was nothing from the previous 4-5 years:

• They reasoned that for the 2019 Research Report from the National Center for Education Statistics, suggested by ChatGPT, there might be a more recent report
• They checked this using Google and found there were annual reports
• They looked up the most recent, which had been published after their version of ChatGPT had been trained
• Their prompts to ChatGPT on fair representation also helped in this respect

Fair representation

The student also noticed that there was a strong focus on the USA in the initial list of ChatGPT suggestions, and not much on Higher Education elsewhere, so asked about reading materials from elsewhere in the world:

• As you can see (below), this generated material from Africa, Australia, Europe, Japan and Canada
• This prompt had the added advantage of bringing up material that had been published more recently
• After seeing these suggestions, the student decided to browse via Google Scholar for nutritional journals

Selection

The student then had to decide what from this list was best to look into and what to leave. They called up various titles online and browsed them to decide what was worth using. For example, a quick browse at the first item recommended, by Larson et al, revealed that this study was also based on school children so likely to be of more peripheral interest.

Note: See the examples under the Summarising texts page, which illustrate further shortcomings in generating such lists. 

Finding research papers

You would gain more reliable searches using other tools such as:

• Elicit. 
• Research rabbit
• Skite.AI Assistant

The same general points about fair representation and selection would apply.

 

Student prompt 2: follow-up

"How about reading material from elsewhere in the world?"

 

ChatGPT response 2

Absolutely, incorporating reading material from around the world can provide a broader perspective on the impact of poor nutrition on student academic outcomes. Here's a selection of international sources to consider for your essay:

Academic Journals:

• Thorpe, M. G., Kestin, M., Riddell, L. J., & Keast, R. S. (2014). Associations between Dietary Intake and Academic Achievement in College Students: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 6(9), 3653-3663. (Australia)
• Adom, T., Lachat, C., Huybregts, L., Zotor, F., & Kolsteren, P. (2011). Household Dietary Diversity and Academic Performance among Children in Ghana. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 58(4), 262-268. (Ghana)

Research Reports:

• Ministry of Education and Sports, Republic of Uganda. (2015). The State of Education Report for Uganda 2014. (Uganda)
• Public Health England. (2019). Health Matters: Obesity and the Food Environment. (United Kingdom)
• Books:
• Drewnowski, A., & Almiron-Roig, E. (2010). Human perceptions and preferences for fat-rich foods. In Montmayeur J. P., le Coutre J. (Eds.), Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects (pp. 265-290). CRC Press/Taylor & Francis. (International focus)

Government and Institutional Reports:

• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. (2020). White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (Japan)
• Department of Health, Government of Western Australia. (2019). Food Law Guidelines: Information for the Education Sector. (Australia)

Online Articles and Websites:

• European Food Information Council. (2020). The Role of Diet and Nutrition on Learning and Memory. (Europe)
• Government of Canada. (2021). Nutrients for a Bright Mind - Nutritional Influences on Cognitive Development and Function. (Canada)

Remember to adapt and analyze these sources in the context of your essay's focus on the impact of poor nutrition on student academic outcomes in Higher Education. International sources can provide valuable insights into diverse educational systems and nutritional challenges faced by students around the world.

 

Student prompt 3

"What are the best journals on nutrition for students?"

 

ChatGPT response 3

Here are some reputable journals in the field of nutrition that can be valuable resources for students:

1. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN): A highly regarded journal covering a wide range of topics in clinical nutrition, metabolism, and dietary studies.
2. Journal of Nutrition: This journal publishes research articles on various aspects of nutrition science, including dietary patterns, micronutrients, bioactive compounds, and health outcomes.
3. Nutrition Reviews: Focuses on critical reviews of nutrition-related research, offering insights into emerging trends, controversies, and advancements in the field.
4. Public Health Nutrition: This journal addresses the public health aspects of nutrition, covering topics like community nutrition, policy interventions, and population-based studies.
5. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Publishes research on clinical nutrition, dietary practices, foodservice management, and related topics.
6. Nutrients: An open-access journal that covers all aspects of human nutrition, offering a wide range of research articles, reviews, and communications.
7. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity: This journal focuses on the behavioral aspects of nutrition and physical activity, making it relevant for understanding dietary behaviors and interventions.
8. Journal of Nutritional Science: An open-access journal that publishes research spanning from molecular nutrition to population studies, making it accessible to both experts and students.
9. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Covers clinical aspects of nutrition, including studies related to disease prevention, nutritional assessment, and dietary interventions.
10. Nutrition Research Reviews: Provides comprehensive reviews of research in various nutrition-related fields, offering insights into both basic and applied aspects.

Remember that while these journals are reputable, it's essential to access the specific articles that are relevant to your research and essay topics. Also, always check with your educational institution to see if you have access to these journals through your library or online resources.

 

What are your overall thoughts on the generated texts?

• Strengths and weaknesses in the suggestions?
• Would this kind of interaction be useful to you as a learner?

 

Commentary: Does this count as ‘my own work?’

Yes, if …

On many courses, students are given a reading list provided by the course, rather than being expected to assemble their own list.

Typically, they would be expected to supplement this by some wider reading, based on items they found themselves. Using ChatGPT for suggested reading is similar to having such a list provided. Similarly, it is expected that you would use search engines and specialist tools to find reading material. ChatGPT does not necessarily confer any additional benefit: it is likely to be faster in finding some items but more time-consuming in checking the reliability and usefulness of the sources. Using ChatGPT for reading suggestions is likely be considered as acceptable as ‘your own work’ from that perspective.

The student who provided these prompts to ChatGPT illustrates the kind of thinking and work that is likely to be involved even when using suggestions. The bulk of the work is also in the reading itself, and thinking about the material you read.

For the reasons described above, it is risky to use suggested lists without undertaking other searches and thinking about what is needed.

No, if…

This goes against the regulations set out by your institution when writing assignments. Check whether such use of AI tools, like ChatGPT, is permitted by your course for assessments such as this.