About This Guide¶
Editor¶
Leif Isaksen University of Exeter Academic profile · l.isaksen@exeter.ac.uk
The project¶
This guide was developed to help scholars in the humanities and social sciences engage critically and effectively with large language models (LLMs). It can accompany a hands-on workshop but is designed to be entirely usable as a standalone resource.
The content reflects the state of these technologies as of early 2026. LLM capabilities change rapidly; specific model names and features may be outdated by the time you read this. The broader principles --- about verification, ethical awareness, and informed decision-making --- should remain relevant longer than any particular technical detail.
How this guide is made¶
This guide is edited by Leif Isaksen but written and updated with extensive use of large language models, primarily Anthropic's Claude. Drafts, structural outlines, fact-checking, and prose are produced collaboratively between human editorial judgement and AI assistance. Content is reviewed by the editor, but errors will inevitably remain. The guide is open source precisely so that readers can help correct them. If you spot one, please suggest an improvement — the link is at the top of every page.
In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects. First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.
— Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Workshops and consultancy¶
An associated workshop, built around the material in this guide, can be arranged for departments, research groups, or other institutional contexts. Sessions can be tailored to specific disciplines and levels of prior experience. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this.
Adapting the guide¶
The guide is built to be adaptable. Discipline-specific examples and institution-specific information can be configured, making it straightforward to offer a version tailored to a particular department or university. If you are interested in adapting this guide for your own discipline or institution, please contact Leif Isaksen for further information.
Fancy joining the expedition?¶
This guide is actively maintained and contributions are invited. Whether you want to suggest corrections, propose new content, share discipline-specific examples, or help with translation, there are several ways to get involved:
- Feedback form: Let us know what was useful, unclear, or missing. (Please do not include personal, confidential, or sensitive information.)
- Email: l.isaksen@exeter.ac.uk for longer discussions, collaboration proposals, or adaptation enquiries.
- GitHub: If you are comfortable with version control, contributions via pull request are welcome.
Don't Panic
You do not need to be a technologist to contribute. If you have used this guide and found something unclear, missing, or wrong --- or if you have adapted it for your own context and want to share what you learned --- your input is welcome.
Licence¶
Essential
This guide is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. You are free to share and adapt the material for non-commercial purposes, provided you give appropriate credit and distribute any derivative works under the same terms.
Leif Isaksen · March 2026