AI and the Library. Week Four. Perplexity AI – Tool Review.

You probably don’t need us to tell you—there are a lot of AI tools out there. While ChatGPT might have grabbed the headlines early on, Perplexity AI is quickly becoming one of our favourites here in the library.

Perplexity AI is making waves in the world of information retrieval, and for good reason. Unlike its more conversational counterpart, ChatGPT, which often indulges in lengthy dialogues, Perplexity adopts a direct and efficient approach to answering queries. This makes it an ideal tool for those who need quick facts, thorough research, or insights into specific topics. Not only that, but it provides citations for all its responses.

Why Choose Perplexity?

Here are the standout features that make Perplexity a top choice:

  • Real-Time Information: Perplexity pulls fresh data directly from the web, ensuring you always get the most current information.
  • Clear Summaries: Instead of bombarding you with endless links, it delivers concise, direct answers to save you time.
  • [This is the big winner for us] Fact Verification: Every response comes with citations, so you can easily verify the credibility of the information and explore further if needed.

How can Perplexity help you?

  • Resource discovery. It can suggest effective keywords or phrases to refine your searches in the library catalogue or other online databases. (Stay tuned for our upcoming blog post on smart keyword searches)
  • Study Aid: It can quickly clarify topics, provide concise explanations, or further explore topics for better understanding, all of which can save time during study sessions.
  • Fact-Checking: Perplexity can quickly verify claims or statistics for essays or presentations, ensuring your work is both accurate and credible.

Some Things to Remember About Perplexity

  • Limited Conversation Depth: Perplexity isn’t as good as ChatGPT at maintaining contextual follow-ups or extended conversational exchanges.
  • Reliance on External Sources: While citations are a strong feature, the tool’s accuracy depends on the quality of its referenced sources. Always cross-check critical information where possible.
  • No Creative or Open-Ended Outputs: Perplexity isn’t designed for tasks like creative writing, brainstorming, or exploratory discussions—ChatGPT is much more suited to these tasks.

Putting it All Together.

Perplexity AI is a powerful tool for students and researchers, offering quick access to up-to-date information and helpful citations for fact-checking and further study.

Unlike ChatGPT, which excels in conversations, Perplexity delivers concise answers, making it ideal for academic work. It also helps you to discover further resources by suggesting effective search keywords.

However, it lacks the conversational depth of ChatGPT, and its accuracy depends on the quality of the sources that it cites. By combining both tools, you can make the most of your study time and make your research process more focused and effective.

AI and the Library Week three. Prompt writing: How to write effective prompts for better AI results

AI can be a valuable tool to help you to get the most out of your time in the library. By utilising the conversational style of AI tools like ChatGPT, you can collaborate with the AI to refine searches, get personalised recommendations, and quickly discover relevant resources that meet your specific academic needs.

To get the best results from AI, it’s important to ask the right questions, and this is a skill in itself,

Pixabay

This skill, known as prompt building or prompt engineering, involves structuring your queries in a way that directly impacts the usefulness of the AI’s responses. Mastering this technique can significantly improve your results from AI tools. (For more on the importance of effective prompt building, see our AI and the Library Guide here).

What is an effective prompt?

A good AI prompt is concise, structured, and specific. You might like to think of it as a formula, where each element plays a role in making the prompt clear, targeted, and focused on the desired outcome.

The elements of the formula might look something like this:

Task + Topic + Structure + Style + Level

Let’s have a look at what we mean by those elements and how we might apply them in a library scenario.

The Task component of the formula specifies what you want the tool to do. Some examples might include: Find; Summarise; Explain; Describe; Compare.

The Topic defines the subject matter or scenario that we want the Task to explore. Examples might include: The Origins of the Second World War; Romanticism in English Literature; The Aims of Positive Psychology.

The Structure specifies the format in which the response should be presented. You could ask for responses in: One Sentence; 200 words; A Bullet Point List; A table; A Graphic or Chart.

The Style specifies how the content should be written. Styles might include: Formal; Informal; Academic; Witty.

The Level of detail indicates the depth and scope of the information needed. This level of detail could be a Basic Overview or an In-Depth Analysis (or anywhere inbetween!)

Here’s an example that you might use in the library. You want to find some library resources that will help you to answer the following question: “Analyse the themes and characteristics of English Romanticism in the poetry of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.”

  • Task: Find
  • Topic: Books that discuss English Romanticism and the poetry of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • Structure. A bullet point list
  • Style. Academic
  • Level. An introductory overview

The full prompt may look something like this:

Please find me some academic books that give an introductory overview of English Romanticism and the poetry of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and show them in a bullet point list

This was the output that the AI provided* (for this example, we used perplexity.ai, a tool we will be reviewing in our next AI blog post):

*We always recommend checking any AI outputs for accuracy.

By getting to grips with the art of prompt building, you can more effectively communicate your needs to the AI. This ensures that the responses are both academically relevant and that they meet your specific learning needs – saving you time spent searching. You could then visit Primo, the library catalogue to see if the library has the suggested titles available for you.

As demonstrated in our example, a well-structured prompt can help you uncover valuable academic resources that can quickly help you get a better understanding of topics.

Your Subject Librarians – Supercharge Your Studies with the Library’s Secret Weapon!

Welcome (back) to university! Whether you’re a new student or returning for another year, your Subject Librarian is here to help you get the best out of the library resources at Aberystwyth.  

Each department has a subject librarian (a list of them can be found here

Here are some of the things they can help with: 

Finding your way around the library.  

Getting to grips with the library catalogue (Primo) including: 

  • Finding Books and Articles: Get help locating books, journal articles, and other materials for your work. 
  • Accessing Databases: Learn how to navigate academic databases to find high-quality information. 

Understanding how to evaluate the information that you find and how to spot possible misinformation. 

Learning how to properly reference and cite your sources in various styles (APA, Harvard, MLA, etc.) 

You can schedule a one-on-one meeting with your librarian here, or you will usually find one of the team on the Level F desk on the top floor of the Hugh Owen Library between the hours of 10am and 5pm. 

For more information on our library services see our Library Guides here.  

Don’t think that we’ve forgotten teachers or researchers. Do contact your subject librarian with any library-related questions and we’ll do our best to help. You can also find information on our Teacher’s Library Guide here, and our Researcher’s Library Guide here

Shwmae Su’mae Day

15 October 2024

Today is Shwmae Su’mae Day, a day to celebrate and promote the Welsh language.

You’ll have plenty of opportunities during your time at Aber to learn and to use Welsh, so here’s a quick peek at some of the ways to make the most of it!

Learning Welsh

You’ll find details of Welsh courses at Aberystwyth University on the University website. For more information on Welsh lessons, contact learnwelsh@aber.ac.uk or visit learnwelsh.cymru.

Remember you can also download apps, such as Duolingo, to practise your skills between classes.

Library Resources

If you are on your journey to learning Welsh, thinking about starting it, or you’re a Welsh speaker looking to polish your skills, the library has a wide-range of helpful resources.

Head to the Celtic Collection on Level F of the Hugh Owen Library where you’ll find books to help you practise and develop your reading and speaking skills – from graded novels with vocabulary to grammar books to complete language courses.

And remember to say su’mae and more to the Library staff! You can identify the ones who speak or are learning Welsh by their ‘Speak Welsh” lanyards or badges.

Studying and learning through the medium of Welsh

The wealth of AberSkills skills development resources are available in both English and Welsh. The librarians offer workshops in both languages also – workshops will be held in the language of their title on the listing page: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/aberskills/skills-workshops/

Head over to our Digital Skills blog to find out ways to make working in Welsh on your computer more convenient: https://wordpress.aber.ac.uk/digital-capabilities/2024/03/01/work-on-your-computer-in-welsh/

And did you know? You can use most IS systems and services including Primo, LibGuides and Aspire Reading Lists in Welsh or English. Click on the language on the top right of the webpage or on the globe icon to switch between languages.

UMCA – Welsh speaking Students Union

UMCA provides a voice and community for Welsh speaking students, learners and the curious! They also host Welsh-speaking events and cultural events, and give learners the opportunity to meet and practice their Welsh with Welsh speakers. Follow UMCA on social media to learn more.