Open the source before you cite the AI answer

AI can suggest search terms and candidate papers. Students still need to read, verify and cite the material that supports their argument.

An AI answer can include a convincing bibliography even when a source is missing or does not support the argument. Treat suggested references as leads to investigate. Open the source, check its details and read the relevant passage before using it. The citation in your assignment should connect your claim to material you have actually examined.

The Bodleian Libraries’ [AI literature-searching guide](https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ai-for-literature-searching/ai-literature-searching) says AI should complement scholarly search methods. Its [research-skills presentation](https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/bodreader/documents/media/iskills-using-ai-for-research-presentation.pdf) supplies related library instruction. Oxford’s [student getting-started guidance](https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/it/genai-tools/getting-started-with-ai-for-students) discusses responsible learning use. These institutional resources offer a practical reference, with your course’s current assessment and citation rules remaining the authority for your own work.

An original illustrative student is researching how urban green space relates to wellbeing. The student first lists concepts and synonyms from course readings. An approved assistant may help suggest additional search terms if the assignment permits it. The student then searches the library catalogue or relevant scholarly database and records the terms used. This makes the search process more systematic than accepting the first generated list.

For every candidate paper, confirm the title, authors, year and publication venue. Use the publisher’s page, library record or another appropriate scholarly source. If a reference cannot be located, do not complete the missing details by guessing. Remove it from the working bibliography or ask a librarian for help identifying what the assistant may have meant.

Existence is only the first check. Read the abstract and the relevant sections to see whether the paper addresses your question. A study may concern a different age group, city, outcome or type of intervention. An assistant can omit those boundaries while making the summary sound general. Your notes should preserve the population, method and limits relevant to the claim.

Distinguish kinds of evidence. A randomised study, observational analysis, review, commentary and preprint serve different purposes. They can all be useful in the right context, but they should not be described as interchangeable proof. If a paper is a preprint or an author’s proposal, say so where that matters to the argument.

An original note can use three separate lines: what the source reports, what you infer and what remains uncertain. For example, a paper may report an association in a defined sample. You may infer that the topic deserves further study, but you should not rewrite that association as established causation. Keeping those lines separate prevents an AI summary from silently strengthening the evidence.

Quotes need direct checking. Copy the permitted short passage from the source you are citing, preserve its wording and record the location required by your referencing style. Do not use a quotation supplied only by the assistant. A plausible sentence attributed to a real author can still be invented or taken from an unrelated context.

AI summaries can help you prepare questions for close reading. Ask what assumptions the paper makes or which section explains its method, then verify the response. Do not outsource the reading of the key evidence your argument depends on. If access is unavailable, use the library’s support options and state any relevant limitation rather than pretending to have read the full text.

Keep a modest research record: search terms, source links, reading notes and the AI assistance your course asks you to disclose. Citation software can organise references, but imported metadata also needs checking. Protect private research material and respect licences when supplying excerpts to a tool. Easy upload does not establish permission.

The benefit is faster exploration with stronger source discipline. The failure is a polished assignment built on references no one has opened or claims that exceed the studies. A verified bibliography is not enough by itself; the reasoning must remain yours. Before submission, check each important sentence against the source and explain how it supports the argument.

A useful final exercise is to close the assistant and describe the strongest evidence in your own words. State what it establishes, where it is limited and why you included it. If that explanation is difficult, return to the source or seek library and teaching support. That is the point at which a suggested reference becomes part of your learning.