This blog post discusses some of the reasons why bibliographies, like the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH), are vital for historical study, research, and teaching.
Doing historical research in the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI): some points to consider
In every aspect of our lives, there are discussions happening about generative artificial intelligence, its benefits and its potential drawbacks. Undertaking historical research is no exception. It’s therefore important for historians to consider some of the following points when using search engines that integrate generative AI tools or other websites such as Google Scholar:
Citation hallucination – Generative AI can present inaccurate or false information in a factual manner, including producing fake academic references and citations (Walters and Willder, 2023). This is supported by increasing reports of Google Books (Beaty, 2024) and Google Scholar (Haider, Söderström, Ekström and Rödl, 2024) retrieving AI-generated publications. Therefore, it’s important for historians to question and independently verify the credibility, accuracy and truthfulness of Generative AI outputs.
Source traceability – it is often difficult for historians to trace the sources used in information produced by Generative AI tools because, in addition to citation hallucination, sources are often not listed in the outputs.
Source biases – it is important for historians to be aware that biases exist within the datasets Generative AI tools are trained and draw information from. For historical research, this means that:
- Generative AI outputs are unlikely to contain a wide diversity of voices and perspectives, therefore making it difficult for historians to understand and make nuanced observations about complex topics.
- Some Generative AI tools may be drawing information from outdated information sources or AI generated sources.
- Generative AI tools do not have access to the wealth of academic journals, books and other online resources provided by an academic, national or public library.
Doing historical research with BBIH
In contrast, using bibliographies like BBIH enable historians to:
- Identify relevant publications and reviews for their study, research and teaching.
- Explore links to the full-text and other external resources (such as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the UK’s National Archives catalogue).
- Export citations and references.
- Retrieve bibliometric information.
BBIH is distinctive because it’s a quality, curated and trusted resource created by historians, for historians.
BBIH editors, in conjunction with a team of specialist section editors, identify which new journal article, book, book chapter, exhibition catalogue or PhD thesis to add and meticulously catalogue both the bibliographic and subject information for each publication. The wealth of information added to each BBIH record enables historians to perform powerful and accurate searches to locate information tailored to their areas of study, research or teaching.
New BBIH interface
Launched in 2024, the new BBIH interface has improved accessibility, can be used on a range of devices, and offers historians new ways of searching the 660,000+ publications contained within the Bibliography. Whilst retaining all the features of the previous interface (such as email alerts, citations and exporting references and metrics tools), some of the new features include:
The dynamic search screen enables historians to filter their results straight away by adding or removing search fields, changing the category of an existing search field or combining search fields with Boolean operators.
The search anywhere option consolidates the wealth of BBIH into one single, comprehensive field. In addition to free-text searching, this brand new search field enables historians to search BBIH by:
- Bibliographical details (such as by author, publisher, book series or journal).
- BBIH’s unique subject tree, which contains over 8000 subject terms.
- BBIH’s places tree, which enables historians to conduct very granular place-based searches.
- Historical figures using the person as subject filter.
Additional search options enable historians to search by period covered, a unique feature of BBIH, and thematic search. The latter option enables historians to conduct broad-level across Subjects, Places and Centuries.
Improvements have also been made to the BBIH results page, or hitlist. The hitlist offers comprehensive filter options on the lefthand side of the screen, enabling historians to refine their searches based on their research interests or teaching. For example, results can now be filtered by:
- New publications that have been added to BBIH during the latest update.
- Publications that contain a link to the full text.
- A wide range of filters by subject and/or bibliographic information.
You can learn more about what the new interface has to offer by watching the video Getting started with the Bibliography of British and Irish History.
About the Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) is the largest and most comprehensive guide available to what’s been written about British and Irish history, from the early 1900s to the present day.
It’s an essential resource for research and teaching, providing up-to-date information (and links) on over 660,000 history books, articles, chapters, edited collections and theses. New records are added in three annual updates. These records are searchable by a wide range of facets including: title, author, chronology, date and form of publication, historical topic and geographical region.
The Bibliography is a research project of the UK’s Institute of Historical Research (IHR) and our publisher Brepols. BBIH is a subscription service and is available remotely via university and research libraries worldwide.