Epidemiology: Research Ethics & Development: EPID 5011/5013

Before you Use AI Tools - Pause and consider -  Is it is the best tool for what you are hoping to find?

If you are looking for precise information, research or data in the field of Epidemiology - there may be discipline specific tools that will be more effective.

*Reminder: Check your syllabus or ask your professor before using generative AI tools for an assignment.*

AI Tools Can be Helpful With:		Be More Cautious with AI Tools if You:
Writing Models		Need very recent information
Suggesting Synonyms		Do not have previous knowledge of a topic
Copy Editing		Are doing a substantive literature review or need articles on a narrow topic
Brainstorming		Need to perform complex mathematics
Summarizing*		Are unsure if you're permitted to use AI tools in your research or writing
Translation		Are concerned about the energy or water resources used in running these tools
Formatting Information		Are concerned about potential plagiarism or copyright violations

*Be aware of the copyright restrictions of any content you use in a prompt or upload to an AI tool.  Some tools allow you to state that you do not want the tool to add the information you provide in prompts or uploads to its training data.   Make sure that option is available and that you have it set if you are using copyrighted or proprietary information that is not meant to be shared.

• This includes your own research and data - If you don't want it to be out there for other users to find 
• This includes your professor's or research group's research or data - If they have not given you permission to share it publicly
• This includes your professor's teaching materials - if they have shared documents, syllabi, activities, study notes etc. with the class - that does not equal giving you permission to put it online or into an AI tool's training base.

For more information on using generative AI resources in your research, visit our Research Guide.