Heather Kincaide is a fall 2023 graduate of the CHIP program. During her last semester, she completed her internship, which was focused on the functionality of ChatGPT and being able to conduct a literature review utilizing the technology. She worked closely with her supervisor, Dr. Fei Yu to complete the project entitled An Empirical Study Evaluating ChatGPT's Performance in Generating Search Strategies for Systematic Reviews. Her project began with a literature and social media review of how ChatGPT is currently being used or how it can be used to assist in academic research. She then conducted a peer review of electronic search strategies using ChatGPT to formulate a research question, create a customized search strategy and discover recommended bibliographic databases. This was followed by result evaluation by two professional librarians. Findings indicated limitations with the technology such as challenges with accuracy and relevance, generalized answers and assumptions, difficulty with complex queries and the need for human oversight of use. However, the technology can be a valuable tool for students and provide guidance on systematic reviews. For librarians, ChatGPT can be a time saver and especially useful for search translation, teaching, and prioritizing research areas. Heather was rewarded for her project and findings with the acceptance of her abstract by the Medical Library Association (MLA). Congratulations to Heather on the completion of this challenging and interesting internship project!
