A huge part of Information Literacy Skills (ILS) is the collection of reliable and relevant evidence that support your research topic and question. For student who struggle with ILS, especially neurodiverse students, sifting through the vast amounts of available sources can be difficult and daunting (Streatfield, 2021). However, there is positive research being conducted which indicates students gain self-efficacy, reduced anxiety, improved writing skills, and language learning benefits using generative AI chatbots (Lo & Hew, 2023; Mageira et al., 2022; Mollick & Mollick, 2023; Wang et al., 2021). AI tools can provide practical strategies—like tutoring, coaching, mentoring, and simulating—that promote and enhance learning outcomes (Mollick & Mollick, 2023; Lo & Hew, 2023; U.S. Department of Education, 2023). The U.S. Department of Education (2023) and Hiristiani (2019) found that AI systems enable new forms of personalized interactions and adaptivity that can strengthen and support learning. Generative AI chatbots can benefit learning by helping struggling students feel more relaxed through valuable practice and helpful feedback as they write with greater ease and efficiency (Leos, 2023). The merger of education and technology can provide a framework where students use AI tools to filter through vast amounts of information in order to find evidence that supports their topic.
AI tools like ResearchRabbit, Consensus, Elicit, and ConnectedPapers provide numerous, interconnected sources that align with the research topic students choose. The advantage for neurodiverse students is that they can focus more on the collection of information and evidence from relatable and reliable source rather than struggle with finding sources on their own. Students still need to read the sources, locate relatable information, take careful notes, and cite the works they use which are all key components of ILS in the research process. However, students who have reading, processing, and focusing difficulties now have a tool that helps them focus more on the research writing process rather than struggle to find relatable sources from the numerous amounts of platforms, search engines, applications, and websites.
- Have you used these AI tools in your research?
- How do you perceive their benefit or hindrance to the research process?
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