Is the list of illustrations correct? Are all references correct? Is the citation and formatting consistent? Academic papers must comply with a large number of formalities. Errors lead to deductions from the grade. With "IPPOLIS Write", the Faculty of Computer Science at Fachhochschule Dortmund has developed a tool to support students and prevent errors. Students throughout Germany can use it.
"There are too many mistakes that are unnecessary," says Prof. Dr. Christoph M. Friedrich. He teaches computer science at Fachhochschule Dortmund and has corrected a large number of seminar papers and theses. In doing so, he has repeatedly come across the same formal errors: missing references to graphics and tables, for example, or errors in the bibliography, or inaccuracies between the table of contents and the thesis. Although content is the most important factor, "form and style each contribute ten percent to the grade," he explains. Especially in subjects where writing does not take up much space, students have difficulties. "And some of our international students are also used to different standards," emphasizes the professor. His idea: why not support them with an AI tool?
Together with research assistants Louise Bloch and Johannes Rückert, Professor Friedrich has therefore developed "IPPOLIS Write", funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science in North Rhine-Westphalia. The digital tool has recently gone online and is ready for use. At the same time, intensive work on the platform is continuing in the background.
What can "IPPOLIS Write" do?
Students can have their final theses or seminar papers checked via https://write.ippolis.de(Opens in a new tab) by activating a folder in the Sciebo university cloud(Opens in a new tab) for the AI tool. All students in NRW have free access to Sciebo and can use the virtual storage for their studies. "The AI checks formatting, references, source references and links, as well as spelling and grammar," says Louise Bloch, emphasizing at the same time: "There is no content control. The students themselves are responsible for this." Checking algorithms can be added or removed via the settings. Specific requirements for the bibliography, for example, can also be defined in this way.
After a few minutes, "IPPOLIS Write" provides a corrections document in the student's own Sciebo folder. The potentially erroneous passages are marked and explained there. "However, we don't allow the corrections to be implemented automatically," emphasizes Prof. Friedrich. "After all, it's also about the learning effect, which doesn't occur with auto-correction."
Classification of scientific texts
Another feature of the digital tool is the PreprintResolver. "We've all heard of preprints, i.e. studies or research results that have already been published but have not yet been formally and scientifically reviewed, at least since coronavirus," says Prof. Friedrich. Especially in fast-moving scientific fields such as computer science, there are many preprints. It is hardly possible for students to assess their quality.
"Our PreprintResolver can help," explains Johannes Rückert. Students can have their preprint source analyzed with just a few clicks in "IPPOLIS Write". "The tool finds out whether the study has since been reviewed or discussed at specialist conferences. It also shows how often the preprint has been cited in other scientific texts," says Johannes Rückert. "IPPOLIS Write" is currently available for German and English-language works.
Call: Give feedback, donate data, collaborate
"IPPOLIS Write" is one of four pillars of the "IPPOLIS" project at Fachhochschule Dortmund, which explores the potential of AI in education. The focus is on AI-based support for teaching activities and learning processes. "For 'IPPOLIS Write', we spoke to lecturers at the UAS in advance and analyzed which errors occur particularly frequently and which formalities are paid particular attention to," says Prof. Friedrich. The FH's own writing workshop is also involved in the project with its expertise.
The professor emphasizes: "It's an ongoing project. We are still working on improving the algorithms." That's why user feedback is important. "We are also grateful for data donations," adds Louise Bloch. Anyone who has had their work checked with the tool can make the results available to the researchers anonymously. "And we also welcome anyone who wants to work on the project," says the team in unison. This is possible as part of a Bachelor's or Master's thesis, for example. The list of ideas for "IPPOLIS Write" is still long.