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Leveraging AI-based Tools to Teach Literature Review for Engineering Students and Professionals: A Case Study

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Conference

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Publication Date

June 22, 2025

Start Date

June 22, 2025

End Date

August 15, 2025

Conference Session

Computers in Education Division (COED) Track 4.B

Tagged Division

Computers in Education Division (COED)

Page Count

12

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/56922

Paper Authors

biography

Arezou Harraf

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Dr. Arezou Harraf

Head of Department of Business Studies
Assistant Professor
Box Hill College Kuwait

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biography

Yuetong Lin Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide

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Yuetong Lin received the Ph.D. degree in Systems and Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 2005. He was with Indiana State University from 2005 to 2016, where he became associate professor of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology. He joined Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide in 2016 as an associate professor in the School of Engineering (formerly Department of Engineering and Technology).

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biography

A. Mehran Shahhosseini Indiana State University

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A. Mehran Shahhosseini is a Professor in the Department of Applied Engineering and Technology
Management at Indiana State University. He has published over 65 articles in different journals and conferences

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Abstract

The recent breakthrough in generative artificial intelligence (AI) exemplified by ChatGPT has pushed scientific and education community to gradually adopt AI-based tools to augment and partially automate research. While debates still exist on the scope and role that AI plays in the research activities, there is a consensus that we should try to leverage the potential of AI tools.

A literature review is essential in scientific research because it helps researchers understand the current state of knowledge in their field, identify gaps or inconsistencies in previous studies, and build on existing findings. It provides context and justification for the research by highlighting the relevance of the topic and supporting the need for further investigation. Additionally, a thorough literature review ensures that researchers avoid duplication of work, stay informed about methodological advances, and frame their research within a broader scientific conversation. In the past, the review is done manually and the volume of the literature needed to produce quality summary is significant. This is a particularly daunting task for students or working professionals with minimum experience, but it is also an area that is prime for AI applications.

As powerful as the AI tools, there are still imperfections and hurdles. The first is how to conduct the review in the most accurate way, i.e., how to instruct the tool to sift through the literature and extract the most relevant information. The second is the reliability of the AI returns. In this work-in-progress paper we will present a case study on guiding groups of fresh engineering and engineering technology students and professionals to conduct productive literature review using AI-based tools. The supervising faculty will provide guidance, based on the latest research, on the multiple steps of the review process, i.e., problem formulation, literature search, screening for inclusion, quality assessment, data extraction, or data analysis and interpretation. The participants will learn how to provide the proper instructions in each step, and also assess the accuracy of the returns.

Harraf, A., & Lin, Y., & Shahhosseini, A. M. (2025, June), Leveraging AI-based Tools to Teach Literature Review for Engineering Students and Professionals: A Case Study Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56922

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