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Prompting the Robot: Testing Heuristic Acronyms for Successful AI Faceted Searching

Prompts Used

We used AI to create a heuristic acronym for this research.

Pilot Acronyms tested as a class assignment 

Final Acronym

used in structured overt participant observation research study

F.A.C.E.T.E.D (Developed by ChatGPT) 


F - Focus: Define the focus of your search. Be specific about the topic or keywords you're interested in. Example: "Search for information on renewable energy technologies."
A - Attributes: Identify the key attributes or facets you want the AI to consider during the search. These could include categories, dates, authors, etc. Example: "Consider facets such as cost, efficiency, and environmental impact."
C - Criteria: Set criteria for relevance. Specify any criteria that should be met for a resource to be considered valuable. Example: "Include only resources published within the last two years."
E - Exclude: Clearly mention any terms or types of information that should be excluded from the search results.
Example: "Exclude results related to outdated technologies."
T - Type: Specify the type of resources you are looking for, such as articles, videos, research papers, etc.
Example: "Retrieve scholarly articles and peer-reviewed research papers."
E - Expand: Allow for the possibility of expanding the search beyond the initial query. This could involve related terms or broader concepts.
Example: "Expand the search to include related terms like 'sustainable energy'."
D - Delimiters: Use delimiters or connectors to guide the AI in understanding the relationships between different facets or criteria.
Example: "Use AND to connect attributes and OR to connect related terms."

F.A.C.E.T

F - Focus: Define the focus of your search. Be specific about the topic or keywords you're interested in. Example: "Search for information on renewable energy technologies."
A - Attributes: Identify the key attributes or facets you want the AI to consider during the search. These could include categories, dates, authors, etc. Example: "Consider facets such as cost, efficiency, and environmental impact."
C - Criteria: Set criteria for relevance. Specify any criteria that should be met for a resource to be considered valuable.
Example: "Include only resources published within the last two years."
E - Exclude & Expand: Clearly mention any terms or types of information that should be excluded from the search results.
Example: "Exclude results related to outdated technologies."
Allow for the possibility of expanding the search beyond the initial query. This could involve related terms or broader concepts.
Example: "Expand the search to include related terms like 'sustainable energy'."
T - Type: Specify the type of resources you are looking for, such as articles, videos, research papers, etc. Example: "Retrieve scholarly articles and peer-reviewed research papers."

S.O.R.T ( Developed by CoPilot) 


S - Specify: Clearly define your search query or topic. Example: Focus on solar power, wind energy, or geothermal solutions.
O - Organize: Arrange relevant facets (such as date, author, type, etc.) to narrow down results. Example: Consider factors like efficiency, cost, environmental impact, and scalability.
R - Refine: Use facets to filter and refine your search. Example: Refine your query to find the most efficient solar panels or the latest wind turbine designs.
T - Target: Focus on the most relevant resources based on your refined criteria. Example: Look for research papers, case studies, or industry reports related to your chosen renewable energy technology.

 

  

 

Student Responses

Initial Acronym Comparison (Class Assignment) 

  • Prompts helpful when they are more specific. The longer acronym (faceted)  allowed for more detailed information to be included and the results were therefore narrower.
  • Facet better as it limited to peer-reviewed resources. Prompt should help limit to specific resources and date.

How did the AI model compare to a library discovery search?

  • Library requires familiarity with the interface and search techniques. AI easier to find specific information on research articles.
  • AI more efficient at finding specific information related to the prompt. Harder in library search to find sources specific to the question

Do you think AI models will enhance the research process?

Feedback from the class assignment 
  • Hard to trust AI in its current state. Bias exists within AI. 
  • AI sources are not vetted, but they provide more. The conversational interfaces make them easier to use. Library databases are complex and it takes time to construct a search with limiters, operators, quotations, specific words. The “AI model … requires no explanation and [gives] more relevant results”
Public Opinion Crawl
  • “AI isn't perfect, you have to do the research yourself.”
  • “Maybe. It can be inaccurate or vague and sometimes even incorrect with information it gives out. It is important to always double-check its results.”
  • “Not as specific as the Library catalog”
  • “Gave more results than library catalog, but I would need to check to make sure that the articles it found actually exist, which can be time-consuming on its own”
  • “Maybe. It can be inaccurate or vague and sometimes even incorrect with information it gives out. It is important to always double-check its results.”
  • “I would use the AI model to start my research, giving me a general basis to start my info gathering. I would then use the library catalog for when I wanted specific information.”
  • “I feel like it has a similar use as that of Wikipedia in the sense that it is good for general information gathering but not necessarily concrete information.”
  • “AI model is way easier” than the library catalog
  • “Speeds it up, more efficient, don't have to dig into different sources “
  • “...could help me refine my library search for specific articles.” “...the AI model is an excellent starting point for performing research.”
  • “AI made an overall summary of what I was looking for, while the library gives you the resources of what you are looking for and is more about you going deep into what it had to offer, making you spend more time on the library.”
  • “...I would start off with the AI to help me start with the theme that I am looking for, and then use the library to do the overall research. “
  • “... you can use the two sources together to make your search better. AI was able to give more specific results, but [library search] seems more reliable. 
  • “The Ai helped give an outline to what i can focus on as examples but the library catalog has all the information I need…”
  • “I have used it when i an in a slump writing it helps give me new ideas or something i can improve or focus on”
  • “The AI model showed a pretty decent information about the prompt; it followed my commands and it had everything I wrote. Although, I feel that it doesn't follows up on the information. If the AI would've given more information about the prompt, and give more evidence as to how they got into the information they gathered (more details on the quantitative side, interviews from different people, etc.), it would be more credible.”
  • “I think AI it's a nice way to start a student's work, they can brainstorm and find a decent idea as to what they want to write about, but the library would be more helpful on finding more information and evidence about their topic.”
  • “I think [genAI] gives people a better understanding of sources” “i think it will help future students”
  • “I think that they both lacked the amount of information I hoped to find, however I think that perhaps with a few other prompts I might be able to find more from both.”
  • “I think that beyond just getting answers straight from the AI itself, you can also use it to get resources that you can look into further. For example, in the response it gave me, it cited its sources at the bottom, which I could look into further.”


 

Observations: What We Learned