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How to Use This Guide
Welcome to the Research Guide for COB 204!
This guide suggests resources that will be useful for students completing the collaborative research assignment in Professor Gabriel's COB 204 courses.
Navigating This Guide
Use the menu bar to find Libraries resources and services relevant to research in COB 204 including how to find news on technology and business topics, researching your industry, and learning how to evaluate a source you find on the web for quality.
Feeling overwhelmed by the research process? That's normal! Try consulting with one of our research experts. Email bizinfo@jmu.libanswers.com or view the Get Help page for more information.
We're Using AI for this Assignment. What Do We Need to Know?
Your AI tool was trained using publicly available information
That means that information that is locked behind subscriptions or paywalls - such as many scholarly journal articles and almost all industry reports or market research reports -- weren't use in the AI tool's training materials and won't be factored into or cited in its responses to your prompts. It's easy to assume that AI tools know "everything" but that isn't true, at least not yet.
Be aware of your AI tool's Knowledge Cutoff Date
AI tools have access to information only up to a specific date, called the knowledge cutoff date. When using an AI tool for research, it's essential to identify this cutoff date and supplement the AI outputs with more up-to-date sources.
To test the knowledge cutoff date, inquire with the AI tool as to whether a recently deceased celebrity is alive.
Not all information can be uploaded to an AI tool
Some of the companies that sell business information are strict about how there information can be used in AI tools. Pay attention to the guidance on the pages of this research guide. And ask a librarian if you're unsure if your proposed usage might be illegal.
Acknowledge how you use AI in your work
When using generative AI tools for course assignments, academic work, or other forms of published writing, you should give special attention to how you acknowledge and cite the output of those tools in your work. Learn more about Citation & Attribution of AI.