How Can ChatGPT Influence Academic Information Seeking?

Authors

  • Mike Thelwall University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Keywords:

ChatGPT, Large Language Models, Information Seeking, Scholarly Information

Abstract

This paper discusses some possible implications for academic information seeking of the availability of large language models like ChatGPT that can summarise topics and answer questions. A particular problem is that whilst their answers may almost always be plausible and often correct, they sometimes make mistakes, and these may be difficult to detect.

Author Biography

Mike Thelwall, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Mike Thelwall is a Professor of Data Science in the Information School at the University of Sheffield in the UK. He primarily investigates quantitative methods to support research evaluation, including artificial intelligence, citation analysis and altmetrics. Mike has also developed a wide range of software and methods for gathering and analysing social web data. His books include Web Indicators for Research Evaluation: A Practical Guide. He is an associate editor of the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology and sits on five other editorial boards.
Information School, University of Sheffield, UK.

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Published

2025-03-18

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2024): Trends in Information Management

Section

Articles