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AI Verification Guide

A Thorough Process for Verifying Books

1. Does it exist?

  1. Google it - just copy and paste the title of the book into Google from the citation. Did you find it?
  2. Is the book title exactly right?
  3. Are the author name/s correct? Spelled correctly?
  4. Feel free, check Amazon.

TAKEAWAY: Remember tokenization? AI makes up articles or mixes and matches authors and titles, messes up publication dates. If it doesn't exist....

2. Is it free online?

  1. If you found it on Google can you ACTUALLY read it? The whole book?

Takeaway: Be CAREFUL many books that are available online in GoogleBooks, HathiTrust, or the Internet Archive only have their covers and Table of Contents scanned. It's enough for AI to cite, but not enough to use for a research paper. This is a BIG flag of AI use.

3. How old is it?

  1. Did you have a date limit for materials on your assignment in the first place that negate the use of this book?
  2. Keep an eye on the date of the book cited in the paper.
  3. Is this an appropriate book for the topic?

Takeaway: Old books, especially ones that are out of copyright are a big AI flag. They're freely available online and easy for AI to use.

4. What is it?

  1. Take quick look at the book. Go ahead, look on Amazon. Is this an old textbook? A kid's book? Is it a book you think is appropriate for the assignment?

Takeaway: AI isn't discerning - it just looks for a convenient title.

 

5. Does FLITE own it?

  1. If the book isn't free online then copy and paste the title into SmartSearch. Make sure you aren't reading book reviews - there is a limiter on the left side of the database for just books.
  2. Does FLITE own the same edition as the one cited in the paper? Check that publication date.

TAKEAWAY: The student may have at least found the book through FLITE. We're not able to tell you what patrons check out.

6. If FLITE doesn't own it, who does?

  1. In order to do this you have to use WorldCat - a database of the holdings of libraries all over the world.
    1. Go to https://ferris.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/done=referer;dbname=WorldCat;fsip
    2. Search with the title and last name of the book's author.
    3. Look for major discrepancies. Are all copies of the book owned by libraries that won't loan it? Are all copies all in Europe?

TAKEAWAY: If the book isn't available then... I suppose it might be available on eBay. Seems pricey.

3. Is that book cited correctly?

  1. Is it in the same format as those articles? AI makes these mistakes regularly.