Announcing the New JSTOR AI Beta at NOVA Libraries

August 30, 2024 / General NOVA News

We are excited to introduce JSTOR AI, a cutting-edge tool now available in the NOVA Libraries database collection. This beta version of JSTOR leverages artificial intelligence to enhance the research experience for our students. We hope this will be the first in a series of trials as vendors experiment with AI research assistant overlays of the scholarly sources in their databases.

About JSTOR AI
JSTOR (www.jstor.org) is a comprehensive digital library that offers access to over 12 million academic journals, books, images and primary sources across 75 disciplines. The new AI tool streamlines the research process and enhances engagement with scholarly materials by:

  • Summarizing texts
  • Suggesting thematically similar topics
  • Recommending related content.

Users can interact with the content by asking questions about the text; the JSTOR AI will respond based on the information it finds in the text. JSTOR minimizes the risk of hallucinations by curating content from authoritative sources and allowing users to link to the underlying data.

Benefits of this beta for NOVA
NOVA is one of a handful of colleges chosen to participate in a beta test of JSTOR’s AI research assistant. NOVA students, faculty and staff will have access to JSTOR AI in the fall 2024 semester. The data collection and privacy conditions in NOVA’s license agreement with JSTOR remain in effect for the AI tool usage.

The benefits for students using the tool include:

  • Improved research: JSTOR AI enhances keyword search strategies, identifying related materials to consult without having to execute another search.
  • Tailored content: Recommendations based on the text help students easily access authoritative scholarly material.
  • Text summarization: Ideal for students, especially those whose first language is not English, by simplifying dense scholarly articles.
  • Reliable sources: By curating content from authoritative sources, JSTOR AI minimizes the risk of misinformation.
  • Familiarizing themselves with AI capabilities: NOVA students will be prepared to interact with the AI-enriched products will likely encounter in the workplace.

Instructors benefit too: The improved research assignments should result in less time spent correcting student submissions.

Support and Resources
To help students maximize the benefits of JSTOR AI, we have incorporated a JSTOR “starter pack” into the new AI Tools & Resources LibGuide. We’re looking to instructors to help make this AI beta test a positive experience to students. Please consider:

  • Incorporating JSTOR AI in your syllabus: Encourage students to use JSTOR AI for research projects. For example, those classes requiring students to create an annotated bibliography could offer extra credit for submitting a one or two-page reflection assignment explaining how JSTOR’s AI helped them discover and understand the resources they’ve included in their annotated bibliography.
    • Did the suggested themes help to focus students’ essay topics, shape their papers and enhance their understanding of their research topic?
    • Was the recommended related content included among the entries in their annotated bibliography?
  • Scheduling library instruction sessions: Request an overview of JSTOR AI during library sessions for your classes.
  • Collaborating with NOVA instruction librarians: Work with your campus librarians as you determine how best to integrate JSTOR AI into class assignments.

Join us in embracing this innovative tool that has the potential to transform academic research. Together, we can guide our students through the evolving research landscape and prepare them for future interactions with AI-enriched products.

Here’s how to get started:
Go to jstor.org or access JSTOR via our EZ proxy.

  1. Create a JSTOR personal account or sign in to your existing personal account.
  2. Ensure you have institutional access (visible at the top of your JSTOR screen).
  3. Run a search and open any journal article, book chapter or research report to start using the tool.

Learn more about the tool here.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact NOVA Libraries (LTS@nvcc.edu).

Submitted by:
Barbie Keiser, LO-Libraries, BKeiser@nvcc.edu