Important: This course is not identical to courses on 'AI in Scientific Writing', which focus on the process of writing scientific texts. Here, the focus is exclusively on the topic of literature searching.

This course teaches the basics of how to use AI-supported tools in literature searching. AI-supported tools for literature searching will be categorized and their possibilities and risks discussed. Selected tools and their specific applications are presented and explored.

Aims
Course participants:
· understand the differences between literature searches in traditional databases, LLMs and RAG tools.
· know which tools are best suited to which tasks in literature searches.
· are familiar with at least one traditional database, one LLM and one RAG tool, and have experimented with them in their own search queries.

Content
The course consists of a mix of classroom teaching on theory (mainly in the first part) and interactive, hands-on exercises and discussions (mainly in the second part):
· What are large language models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) tools?
· How does literature searching using traditional databases differ from searching with LLMs and RAG tools, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?
· Which approach is best suited for which tasks in literature searching (and academic writing)?
· Introduction to Consensus - currently the RAG tool licensed by the University Library and freely accessible to all members of the University of Basel with an @unibas.ch or @stud.unibas.ch email address.
· Opportunity to try out the various tools and applications.
· Exchange of experiences and insights, discussion and Q&A in plenary.

Target Group
Anyone interested. The course builds on our two introductory courses "Basics in Literature Searching: PubMed and Other Resources" and "Literature Searching with PubMed – Advanced". Prior attendance of these two introductory courses is recommended, but not essential.

About the Trainer
Dr. Thomas Fürst
Medical Information Specialist
University of Basel | University Medical Library

Feature
Note for medical students: WIKO.flex confirmation of participation with a signature from the course instructor on the form after the course.

Registration

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