Artificial Intelligence (AI) - KU / KUMC / K-State
Purpose
AI Research Assistance & Resources
AI is changing the way we learn, teach, and conduct research. This guide brings together resources from the University of Kansas - Lawrence, University of Kansas Medical Center, and Kansas State University to introduce core concepts and connect you with campus-specific research assistance tools and support.
Basic Definitions
"Artificial Intelligence" (AI) has existed as a term since the 1950s, and has undergone several changes as different technologies and sub-terms have come into active use. This makes discussing AI challenging as related terminology may fluctuate between different tasks, contexts, and advancements. To aid in learning and understanding related to AI several key terms are defined below.
This guide utilizes definitions for AI and related sub-terms from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) AI term glossary. The NIST glossary includes several term variants depending on the scope and context of terminology used.
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The Language of Trustworthy AI - An In-Depth Glossary of TermsA glossary of overseen by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the U.S. Commerce Dept.
AI Terms and Definitions
Artificial Intelligence (AI) System
An engineered or machine-based system that can, for a given set of objectives, generate outputs such as predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments. Al systems are designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy.
Machine Learning
A branch of Artificial Intelligence (Al) that focuses on the development of systems capable of learning from data to perform a task without being explicitly programmed to perform that task. Learning refers to the process of optimizing model parameters through computational techniques such that the model's behavior is optimized for the training task.
Generative Modeling
An unsupervised learning task in machine learning that involves automatically discovering and learning the regularities or patterns in input data in such a way that the model can be used to generate or output new examples that plausibly could have been drawn from the original dataset.
Language Model
A language model is an approximative description that captures patterns and regularities present in natural language and is used for making assumptions on previously unseen language fragments.
Large Language Model (LLM)
A class of language models that use deep-learning algorithms and are trained on extremely large textual datasets.
Frequently Used AI Research Tools
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Consensus (Trial)An AI search engine for academic research. It searches over 200 million academic papers and uses language models to help find, understand, and synthesize peer-reviewed literature.
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JSTORProvides image and full-text online access of all licensed JSTOR archival journals and primary sources. The collection covers all academic disciplines.
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ProQuest One Academic (with ProQuest's Research Assistant)A comprehensive research database that provides access to a vast collection of scholarly journals, ebooks, dissertations, news articles, and videos across multiple disciplines that are international in scope.
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Scite (KU subscription)An AI-powered tool designed to help users discover and assess the credibility and impact of research literature. It offers access to nearly 2 million journal articles, book chapters, preprints, and datasets, along with 1.2 billion analyzed citations. Key features include the ability to identify an article's context, highlight supporting or opposing evidence, and a customizable research assistant that enhances topic understanding through relevant citations.
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Scite This link opens in a new windowAn AI-powered tool designed to help users discover and assess the credibility and impact of research literature. It offers access to nearly 2 million journal articles, book chapters, preprints, and datasets, along with 1.2 billion analyzed citations. Key features include the ability to identify an article's context, highlight supporting or opposing evidence, and a customizable research assistant that enhances topic understanding through relevant citations.
Advisory Notice: AI technologies may generate information that is incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading. When using AI tools, apply information literacy best practices—verify sources, evaluate accuracy, and use critical judgment before relying on any generated content. Learn more by visiting KU's AI Guidance website.
This resource is supported through collaborative efforts between the KU Libraries and Dykes Library.
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JSTOR (with JSTOR's AI Research Tool)A full-text collection of journals ranging from history to business to literature to science and mathematics. Coverage begins with the first issue of a title, but the most recent three to five years of each title are usually not available. The full article text is searchable. Images are available for searching as well.
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ProQuest Central (with ProQuest's Research Assistant)ProQuest Central brings together many of the most used ProQuest databases. It provides access to databases across all major subject areas (business, health and medical, social sciences, arts and humanities, education, science and technology, and religion). It includes full-text scholarly journals, trade and professional titles, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, case studies, and market reports. With our Ebook Central subscription (especially access to Academic Complete and Academic Video Online) users can now search in a comprehensive way that connects text and video.
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OpenEvidenceAn AI-powered clinical search and reasoning tool designed to help healthcare professionals quickly find and interpret evidence from medical research. It uses natural language processing to synthesize information from sources like PubMed and clinical guidelines, presenting concise, citation-backed summaries for clinical decision-making. The platform is intended for physicians and other licensed healthcare providers, though limited access may be available to non-professionals for educational or exploratory purposes.
Links to Other Guides
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AI Ethics, Bias, and Accessibility (Research Guide from K-State)This guide examines ethical issues related to linguistic diversity, intellectual property, environmental impact, and medicine. Each section includes a discussion and suggested resources.
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AI + Libraries: Information Literacy, Instruction, & ReferenceThis guide provides an extensive list of over 65 AI-related subject guides from a variety of Universities and Colleges.
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AI Literacy (Research Guide from K-State)Provides definitions and resources about artificial intelligence. Includes information about ethical issues related to generative AI.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Academia (Research Guide from KUMC)Provides basic definitions and information on artificial intelligence. Also provides links to tools and resources that can help with research and scholarly writing.
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AI - English 800 (Research Guide from KU-Lawrence)A beginner's guide to AI - assessing its use, evaluating ethics and sources, and ideas for using AI as an educational tool.
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Copyright Resources: Copyright and Artificial Intelligence (Research Guide from KU-Lawrence)This guide provides a brief overview of the nature of copyright and AI with regard to protected works.
