Profilseminar Innovation Economics

Modul number: 5209-301

LLMs – Possibilities and Limitations for Research Papers

Since the launch of ChatGPT and similar products, generative AI tools have increasingly been applied in education, professional contexts and research.
In the field of research in particular, both ethical and methodological questions arise regarding the use of these technologies.
At the same time, these tools offer significant advantages, such as faster proofreading, new opportunities for data collection and analysis, and the creation of digital twins.

At the beginning of the seminar, students will receive an introduction to the topic of Large Language Models. They will then select a topic from the field of innovation economics and, while documenting their approach, create an artifact (e.g., gather data using AI) by using a large language model. In the next step, the students are asked to write a critical reflection on this artifact. 

Please note: 

·       The artifact itself will not be graded; instead, the critical reflection (in form of a seminar paper) of the artifact will be evaluated.

·       In addition, the standard components of a seminar paper will be assessed: introduction, theoretical background, results, discussion, and conclusion.

·       Access to language models will be provided either through the university license or via the instructor. Students are not required to have their own access (e.g., to ChatGPT, Claude, etc.).

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the seminar, students will be able to:

·        understand useful applications of generative AI tools in a scientific context,

·        critically assess their potentials and limitations,

·        purposefully develop AI-supported artifacts,

·        handle the results in a methodologically and ethically reflective way.

Meetings: 

·        21.10. Kick- off 14:00-16:00, Room S 14

·        04.11. How to research I 14:00-16:00, Room S 15

·        11.11. How to research II 14:00-16:00, Room S 14

·        12.11 – 13.01. Possibility to book a feedback-meeting

·        13.01. Final presentations 14:00-16:00, Room S14

Information on registration: 

If you are interested in participating in this seminar, please send an email to Madeleine Buckisch by the 6th of October 2025 with the subject ‘Bachelor Seminar Innovation Economics 2025 – [your name] – [your student number]’ covering the following information:

·        Have you ever attended a lecture/course/seminar at our chair? If so, which one?

·        What are your expectations concerning this seminar?

·        Have you already participated in a seminar course? If so, how was the result?

·        Have you ever used GenAI for research purposes?

 You will receive further information on the meetings after you are registered. During the kick-off on 21.10.2025, you will get information about the procedures and topic allocation. Please note that the completion of our ILIAS E-learning course "Scientific Writing/ Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten (ab WS2022)" is a prerequisite to be able to join our seminars.