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Generative AI Faculty Research Guide

--Intro to generative AI and explaining its impact on academic integrity and scholarship

Prompt Engineering

A prompt is your question, request, or other input. The CLEAR Framework by librarian and professor Leo S. Lo can help you create prompts.

The prompt (or text you input into the tool) should be:          You (the user of AI) should be:

 Concise

 Logical

 Explicit

          Adaptive

          Reflective

This guide from Georgetown University gives examples of using the CLEAR Framework for research. 

Elements of a Prompt

To increase the chances of getting a helpful response, include the following elements in a prompt for generative AI:

  • Instruction 
    • The specific task or instruction you want the AI tool to perform
    • Examples: List, summarize, explain...
  • Input Data 
    • The input or question you want a response for
    • Examples: A search strategy for an undergraduate nursing research paper, three potential topics for an English paper on The Yellow Wallpaper... 
  • Context 
    • Information that can steer the model to better responses
    • Examples: Write for a college student reading level, write for a middle school reading level...
  • Output Indicator 
    • The type or format of the output
    • Example: A short paragraph, a list in ascending difficulty... 

Read more about prompt engineering in the Prompt Engineering Guide written by technology consultants from an organization called DAIR.AI (Democratizing Artificial Intelligence Research, Education, and Technologies).

Prompt Libraries/Generators

Westmoreland County Community College Library - Student Achievement Center, 145 Pavilion Lane, Youngwood, PA 15697
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