It is crucial to consult your professors in each of your courses to determine whether the use of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are permitted to use for your coursework or research. There may be cases where you are directed to use AI platforms as part of an assignment or piece of assessment. You need to ensure that you follow the guidelines you are provided with and only use the tools as instructed. Failure to reference AI tools used, with a description of how they were used can result in Academic misconduct.
If the use of AI tools is permitted, then you must properly acknowledge and provide a citation for any AI used in your work. The Library recommends you provide:
For information, images, data to be considered as a resource to use in your coursework or research, we must know where the information originated. AI tools are not a source of information.
This is particularly the case for AI text generators, such as ChatGPT, because it is not designed for any particular task of domain. Information and responses generated by AI tools are generated based on statistical patterns rather than true understanding or knowledge of the world. Although ChatGPT and other tools may provide citations, these citations are not always correct, thus the information they provide us with is not something we can verify. In order for information to be considered a source you may use in your coursework or research, it must be something that can be located so you may evaluate how current, reliable, or accurate the information is, as well as the authority (or credentials) of the author, publisher, or creator and the purpose of or potential bias present in the information.
When incorporating the usage of ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, it is important to outline and explain how you’ve used them in the Method section or a similar section of your paper. For essays, such as literature reviews, you can provide a description of how you used the tool in your introduction. Within the main body of your text, it is recommended to include the prompt or question you presented to the AI tool, followed by the text or other output you received in response.
Before using AI tools for your coursework or research, you will want to check with your professor to ensure that this is permitted. Additionally, depending on the citation style you use and the assignment or research project you are working on, there may be other requirements to consider including in your work. The most important thing to do when using an AI tool for your work, is to be transparent (or clear) in how you've used the tool, and when you are unsure - ask for help.
If you use generative AI in the development of ideas and concepts for your assignment, you should acknowledge in your bibliography how you used the tool, even if you don’t include any AI generated content in your work. Provide a description of the AI tool used, how the information was generated, including the prompts you used, and the date accessed. You could add this acknowledgement as a footnote or at the end of your reference list but you should check with the course coordinator to clarify.
Format:
I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) with link] to [how the AI was used]. The prompts used include [list of prompts].
Example:
I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT [https://chat.openai.com/] to generate ideas and material for background research and project planning in the drafting of this assignment. The following prompts were entered into ChatGPT on 30th March 2023:
Generative AI content differs from other academic sources in that it has no specific author and, depending on the tool used, you may not be able reproduce or recover the exact text or image generated using the same prompt. We have prepared guidelines for citing AI tools in the referencing styles supported by the Library. Select the reference style you are using from the menu on the left to view the guidelines.