Developing AI literacy for researchers in higher education - Lisa Bird and James Barnett.pptx
1.
Developing AI Literacy
forResearchers in
Higher Education
Lisa Bird
Copyright and Licensing
James Barnett
Research Skills Advisor
2.
The University of
Birmingham
•Founded in 1900, as England’s first
civic university.
• 76th
in QS World University
Rankings.
• 42,486 students.
• £250+ million in annual external
research awards.
• 92% of research is rated as world-
leading or internationally excellent
(REF 2021).
• 10 Nobel Prize Winners
3.
Outline of session
•Explore definitions of AI Literacy and its relationship to Information
Literacy.
• Outline why AI Literacy is significant for researchers by identifying the AI-
related issues specific to them.
• Share two interventions developed at University of Birmingham that
support researchers’ use of AI Tools through the lens of AI Literacy and
Information Literacy principles:
• Evaluative framework for AI Tools;
• AI Tools licencing review guidance.
4.
What do wemean by AI literacy?
• Variously defined, e.g.
• “The essential knowledge and skills needed to understand, interact
with, and critically assess AI technologies. AI literacy includes the
ability to use AI tools effectively and ethically, evaluate their output,
ensure humans are at the core of AI, and adapt to the evolving AI
landscape in both personal and professional settings.” (Digital
Education Council, 2025)
• Encompasses ‘competent use’ and ‘ethical perception’ of AI –
“[c]ompetent use refers to the ability to critically evaluate,
collaborate with and effectively apply AI technologies, while
ethical perception relates to how individuals interpret and respond to
the ethical implications of AI in practice.” (Ravi et al., 2025, p.2)
5.
AI and researchintegrity
• Link between AI literacy and ethical use significant to the research
community.
• In 2025, UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) produced Embracing AI
with integrity, guidance that considers the challenges of AI in research as
falling into 5 themes:
1. Breaching laws, regulations, and conditions.
2. Ethical considerations.
3. Protecting the research record.
4. Research dissemination.
5. Creativity and critical thinking.
(UKRIO, 2025)
6.
Importance of AIliteracy for researchers
• Researchers not just students but often staff too.
• Indemnification concerns.
• Accessibility not meeting WCAG 2.2 AA.
• Data Protection concerns.
• Reputational risk.
• Rights clearance concerns.
• Funder and publisher guidelines and contracts.
• Reproducibility.
• Commercialisation of research.
• Long term projects.
7.
AI literacy underpinnedby Information Literacy
• Researchers need to be AI literate to use AI in research with integrity.
• Ethical competencies that ensure a researcher is AI literate arguably
underpinned by information literacy principles.
• “Information literacy helps to understand the ethical and legal issues
associated with the use of information, including privacy, data protection,
freedom of information, open access/open data and intellectual property.”
(CILIP, 2018)
• “Information literate researchers will demonstrate an awareness of how they
gather, use, manage, synthesise and create information and data in an
ethical manner and will have to information skills to do so effectively.”
(SCONUL, 2011)
8.
Where we comein…
• Opportunity to support researchers with interventions that equip them with
the information literacy competencies needed to become AI literate.
• Focus not on how to use specific AI tools, but how to evaluate the broader
AI tools landscape.
• Ensures AI tool identification and selection happens through the lens of
integrity.
• Two sources of support:
• Evaluative framework for AI tools.
• Licensing review guidance.
1. Relevance oftool
• How does this tool compare to
alternatives?
• Is it the best tool for your
purpose?
• How does it impact on skill
acquisition?
Sconul 7 Pillars
Plan:
“The differences between search
tools (e.g. bibliographic databases,
subject gateways, search engines)
and the need to be familiar with a
range of different retrieval tools,
recognizing advantages and
limitations”
(SCONUL, 2011)
11.
2. Prompting andinput rights
• Are your prompts or inputs
added to the service?
• Do you provide the vendor with
rights to your inputs?
• Do you need to be the rights
owner of any inputs?
• Do you have ethical approval
to input your research data?
Sconul 7 Pillars
Manage:
“Their responsibility to act with
professional integrity and to be
honest in all aspects of research,
especially information handling
and dissemination (e.g. copyright,
plagiarism and IP issues)”.
(SCONUL, 2011)
12.
3. Outputs
• Howuseful is the output?
• Are the outputs accurate?
• Are there any limits on what
you can do with outputs?
Sconul 7 Pillars
Evaluate:
“Assess the credibility of the data
gathered”.
Gather:
“The importance of appraising and
evaluating search results”.
(SCONUL, 2011)
13.
4. Policy Complianceand Ethics
• Does use of the tool comply with
funder policies?
• Does use of the tool comply with
publisher policies?
• Does it comply with institutional
policies?
• Does use of the tool raise any
ethical concerns?
• Is my choice of tool the most
environmentally sustainable
option?
Sconul 7 Pillars
Manage:
“Demonstrate awareness of issues relating
to the rights of other researchers and
research participants, including ethics”.
Evaluate:
“How the outputs of research are evaluated
and disseminated, including the peer
review process, publication, other forms of
dissemination and research assessment”.
(SCONUL, 2011)
14.
5. Corpus
• Isthe underlying data suitable
for your needs?
• Is it transparent what the model
has been trained on?
• What bias may be in the
corpus?
• Are the date periods for the
corpus suitable for your needs?
Sconul 7 Pillars
Evaluate:
“Assess the quality, accuracy,
relevance, bias, reputation and
credibility of the information
resources found”.
(SCONUL, 2011)
15.
6. Costs
• Howmuch does the tool cost?
• Do you have institutional
access?
• What would you do if charges
started to be applied to a free
product?
16.
7. Terms, Conditions& Data Security
• Do the terms and conditions
raise any issues?
• Intellectual Property rights of
inputs/outputs?
• Accessibility standards not
being met?
• Are you indemnifying the
supplier?
• UK Data protection
laws/GDPR not being met?
Sconul 7 Pillars
Manage:
“Demonstrate awareness of issues
relating to the rights of other
researchers and research participants,
including ethics, data protection,
copyright, plagiarism and any other
intellectual property issues”
(SCONUL, 2011)
17.
AI tools licensingreview guidance
1. What type of tool is it?
2. What does it do with prompts or inputs?
3. Does it have an intellectual property warranty?
4. Do you need to own the copyright / IP in the input?
5. Do you give a licence to the inputs?
6. How are outputs allowed to be shared?
7. Does it meet the current WCAG standard?
8. Who indemnifies whom?
9. Does it comply with UK Data Protection legislation?
Summary
• AI literacyis not just about using AI tools competently – it’s about using AI
ethically and critically.
• For researchers, being AI literate means using AI so that research integrity is
upheld.
• Information literacy underpins the competencies that enable researchers to use AI
ethically, critically, and with integrity.
• Librarians/information professionals are ideally placed to support researchers
(and any of our communities) in developing IL competencies that inform AI
literacy.
• At University of Birmingham, we have developed two IL interventions to support
researchers, both available via a CC-BY licence:
• Evaluative framework for AI Tools;
• AI Tools licencing review guidance.
References
CILIP (2018) CILIPdefinition of Information Literacy 2018. Available at: https://infolit.org.uk/ildefinitioncilip2018-2/ (Accessed: 4 March
2026).
Digital Education Council (DEC) (2025) DEC AI literacy framework: AI literacy for all. Available at:
https://www.digitaleducationcouncil.com/post/digital-education-council-ai-literacy-framework (Accessed: 4 March 2026).
Ravi, M., Kaur, K., Wright, C., Bawn, M., and Cutillo, L. (2025) ‘University staff and student perspectives on competent and ethical use of AI:
uncovering similarities and divergences’, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 22 (1). Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-025-00557-7
SCONUL (2011) The SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy: a research lens for Higher Education. Available at:
https://www.sconul.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/library-structures-and-strategies/resources-and-links/ (Accessed: 4 March 2026).
UKRIO (2025) Embracing AI with integrity: a practical guide for researchers. Available at:
https://ukrio.org/ukrio-resources/embracing-ai-with-integrity/ (Accessed: 11 November 2025).
University of Birmingham (2025a) Responsible AI tool selection for researchers. Available at:
https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/student/libraries/copyright/researchers/responsible-ai-tool-selection.aspx (Accessed: 11 November 2025).
University of Birmingham (2025b) AI tools licensing review guidance. Available at:
https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/student/libraries/copyright/researchers/ai-tools-licensing-review-guidance.aspx (Accessed: 11 November
2025).
Editor's Notes
#10 Is an AI Tool necessary for the task being undertaken?
Has the tool been developed to perform the function you are intending to use it for?
Are you preventing yourself from developing a research skill by using an AI Tool for this task?
#13 Does the way in which the AI tool will be used in your research fit the parameters of stakeholder policies relevant to you?
Is your use of GAI in UKRI funding application process compliant with UKRI policy?
Does the publisher you wish to publish with have a clear policy on the extent GAI can be used in your manuscript?
If you are a PGR, has your use of GAI been compatible with the guidance on using Generative AI tools ethically for work? If GAI has been used as a third-party editor for your thesis, is it compatible with the Editorial help for PGR theses guidelines?
#14 Does the tool make it clear what the corpus (the underlying data) is that is driving the AI?
Is there a summary (single sentence/paragraph) of the methods used to develop the corpus and algorithm?
Is it clear what the start and end dates are for the corpus data?
Does the corpus raise concerns about built-in biases?
#15 Is the tool free to use or are there costs involved on a freemium or subscription basis?
If the tool is available on a freemium basis, how much can be achieved before a cost is incurred?
#16 Accessibility – an issue if you are making the tool available to a research group, however small. WCAG 2.1 with roadmap. WCAG 2.2 ideal.
e.g. if the tool is hosted outside UK and Europe, then may present issues with UK/GDPR compliance, e.g. if inputting any personal data, even an email address. Dropbox issue as an example.
![What do we mean by AI literacy?
• Variously defined, e.g.
• “The essential knowledge and skills needed to understand, interact
with, and critically assess AI technologies. AI literacy includes the
ability to use AI tools effectively and ethically, evaluate their output,
ensure humans are at the core of AI, and adapt to the evolving AI
landscape in both personal and professional settings.” (Digital
Education Council, 2025)
• Encompasses ‘competent use’ and ‘ethical perception’ of AI –
“[c]ompetent use refers to the ability to critically evaluate,
collaborate with and effectively apply AI technologies, while
ethical perception relates to how individuals interpret and respond to
the ethical implications of AI in practice.” (Ravi et al., 2025, p.2)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/developingailiteracyforresearchersinhighereducation-lisabirdandjamesbarnett-260417130723-9a2a8fc6/85/Developing-AI-literacy-for-researchers-in-higher-education-Lisa-Bird-and-James-Barnett-pptx-4-320.jpg)
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