Watch Out for Fake Citations from ChatGPT

ChatGPT, one of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, uses a language model to respond to questions and compose various written content. Many college students use ChatGPT to help them complete assignments. While there are times when this can be helpful, it has limitations as a reliable research assistant. One thing you need to watch out for is that ChatGPT will sometimes “hallucinate” (fabricate) citations. The citations may sound legitimate and scholarly, but they are not real. If you try to find these sources through Google or the library, you will search in vain.

If you need help finding resources on a topic, just Ask a Librarian to help you find real resources so you can be successful on your next assignment!

Build Your Research Identity with ORCID

Your research is important and we want to help you ensure it is making an impact. ORCID is a great way to start increasing your research impact with minimal effort.

What is ORCID?

An ORCID is a permanent unique identifier for researchers. Using your ORCID is more accurate and secure than a name: many people can have the same name but each ORCID is unique. They protect your unique scholarly identity and help you keep your publication record up-to-date with very little effort.

Why should you get an ORCID?

ORCID’s are permanent and will follow you throughout your entire career.

ORCID is increasingly used by individuals (e.g. as a signature in emails) and systems (e.g. in Scopus, PubMed), enabling recognition and discoverability.

ORCID automatically updates your profile from other systems – saving you time.

ORCID is unique to you.

How to get an ORCID ID?

Here is a detailed explanation of how to get your ORCID started. Reach out to the library for help!

home Gateway Carousel, J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Increase Your Scholarly Impact: Use the SPARC Author Addendum

Increase Your Scholarly Impact: Use the SPARC Author Addendum

Your article was recently accepted for publication and you want to make sure your research has the widest reach and impact. One way to make sure this happens is retaining your author rights.

Traditional publishing agreements sign your copyright away to the publisher, lessening your impact as an author. When you don’t hold your copyright, you might not be allowed to give copies to your class or distribute it among colleagues. And depending on what you sign, you aren’t allowed to put your article on your webpage or in an online depository, further limiting your exposure.

So how do you make sure you retain your copyright? Publishing agreements are negotiable. Know your rights and consider using the SPARC author addendum* to modify your agreement. The SPARC author addendum is a free and legal resource that helps you easily modify your publishing agreement.

Need help or have questions? Visit our know your rights guide or contact your subject librarian.

*The Author Addendum is a free resource developed by SPARC in partnership with Creative Commons, established non-profit organizations that offer a range of copyright options for many different creative endeavors.

Make Your Research Open

At Mizzou Libraries, we’re committed to making access to research more sustainable, affordable and open. And we need your help!

In traditional publishing models, scholars surrender their copyright to commercial publishers in order to disseminate their research findings in scholarly journals. Publishers then sell or rent that same content back to the institution through journal subscriptions—at ever increasing prices. This unsustainable practice costs institutions millions of dollars every year and creates barriers to access for many. Open access publishing encourages scholars to retain their rights and make their work freely available online, increasing the availability and impact of research.  

What You Can Do:  

Retain Your Rights: No matter where you publish, the single most important thing you can do to make scholarly publishing more sustainable and equitable is Retain Your Rights. It’s your copyright – don’t just sign it away! Contracts are often negotiable. And read those agreements: you may have more rights to share your research than you realize.  

Know Your Options: Choose the right venue for your research and know your open access options. If you’re an editor or manuscript reviewer, ask about the journal’s OA options. 

Share Your Work: Deposit your research in MOspace, MU’s Digital Institutional Repository. Submitting your work to MOspace is easy. Just log in with your SSO and complete the Creative Commons license.

Learn More: Talk with your Subject Specialist about open access in your area or request a Zoom workshop for your department, team or lab. 

home Gateway Carousel, J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Publish Open Access for Free With Read & Publish Agreements

Publish Open Access for Free With Read & Publish Agreements

Publishing open access is a great way to keep research open and retain your copyright. We do understand that publishing open access comes with a financial commitment that you wouldn’t necessarily have with traditional publishing.

To help offset costs, Mizzou Libraries has agreements with several publishers that offer discounts and support of article processing charges (APCs) for the following journals.

Want to learn more? Talk with your subject librarian about open access in your area.

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services Lean Library Allows You to Access Mizzou Libraries—Anywhere, Anytime

Lean Library Allows You to Access Mizzou Libraries—Anywhere, Anytime

Lean Library is a free browser extension available to all current Mizzou students, faculty and staff. Whether starting your research on Google Scholar, a publisher’s site, or anywhere else online, Lean Library helps you seamlessly connect to library resources when you’re off campus or not on Tiger WiFi.

Here’s how it works:

  • Automatically checks if Mizzou Libraries has access to the article or book you’re viewing.
  • Provides direct links to full-text content when available.
  • Prompts you to log in using MU’s Single Sign-On (SSO)—just like email or Canvas.

4 simple steps to get started

Step 1: Go to Lean Library Extension
Step 2: Install the extension
Step 3: Select the University of Missouri, Columbia
Step 4: Search for articles and journals, and enjoy quick access to all library resources


Need something we don’t have?

Lean Library makes it easy to request articles and books through our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service—at no cost to you.

For more information, visit our Lean Library guide.

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services Book a Librarian for Research Help

Book a Librarian for Research Help

Whether you are starting your first research project or have written a dozen articles, you can benefit from a consultation with a librarian. It’s free and you can book online in advance according to your schedule.

Librarians can meet with you virtually or in-person.

MU Students can use Canvas to schedule an appointment via MU Connect* and meet with the librarian assigned to your class. Students, if you book a research consultation with a librarian, you can earn a point towards your S.T.A.R. recognition.

MU Faculty and Staff can fill out the form to schedule an appointment.

*What is MU Connect, and how do you use it? Watch this short video to find out and make an appointment today.

home Staff news Sage Skills Project

Sage Skills Project

Jill Kline has been working with our Sage Engagement Librarian, Kelleen, to design a creative way for students to interact with the Sage Skills Platform. Since the project was connected to the Check Us Out tabling series, the theme was wellbeing and focused on skills supporting the eight dimensions of the Wellness Wheel. Together, Kelleen and Jill curated a list of skills, and the marketing team at Sage worked with Kelleen to create the trading card-like deck. Check Us Out was a success with over 40 people stopping to explore the cards, and even more after Check Us Out tabling was over (the cards were left in the library colonnade over the weekend). See more information about the collaboration between Kelleen and Jill here.

library presentation set up in Ellis Library

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services How to Find Ebooks at Mizzou Libraries

How to Find Ebooks at Mizzou Libraries

Mizzou Libraries has access to many ebooks and we have an easy way for you to search for them.

Go to library.missouri.edu and type out your topic or the name of the book (put the title in quotation marks for best results) you are looking for in the search box. Click the search button (see the image below for an example).

For books in health sciences, take a look at the Health Sciences Library ebook page.

For books in veterinary medicine, take a look at the Zalk Library ebook page.

For books in journalism and communication, take a look at the Journalism Library ebook page.

If you get stuck or have a question, our 24/6 chat is on the right hand side of the screen. We are here for you. In addition, visit our Finding Ebooks page for more information, including how to download ebooks.

Scroll down through the search results until you see Filter by Format on the left hand side. Choose Ebook and Electronic Resources. If these options do not show up, choose Show More, then click Ebook and Electronic Resources. At the list of results, filter by “Library Location – MU Online Library” to see titles accessible to MU patrons (we can’t use ebooks from the other UM campuses).
list of source types