Harnessing AI for Academic Success: Navigating the Fine Line Between Assistance and Plagiarism

Decorative image of a feminine presenting person shaking hands with a robot.

Written By: Ciara Carl

February 7, 2024

In today’s digital age, the buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) is impossible to ignore. With rapid advancements in technology and data availability, AI has become more powerful and accessible to the public than ever before. Essentially, AI involves instructing machines to perform tasks which replicate human thinking processes such as problem solving, voice recognition, and gaming. AI has led to innovations like self-driving cars and advanced generative tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, which are increasingly becoming integrated into daily life and gaining attraction. A large number of people - including myself - came to learn more about it relatively recently through ChatGPT, when the initial version, GPT-3, was released in June 2020.

AI has sparked huge discussions in higher education surrounding the topic of its use and cheating. My stance is that if used correctly, AI can be an asset to enhance your academic journey. From outlining papers to refining study techniques, AI offers a variety of tools and resources to aid students in knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking. With that being said, I think it is important for students to understand the distinction between using AI as a resource and crossing ethical boundaries of plagiarism. I am a second year graduate student who instructs an upper division psychology course while also serving as the Editor-in-Chief of an undergraduate psychology research journal (Modern Psychological Studies). I teach my students on day one about the importance of academic integrity (i.e., upholding ethical principles in academic work). Students need to understand this concept prior to using AI tools. I would also like to point out the importance of knowing both your institution and individual course policies regarding AI, not only to ensure responsible and ethical use, but also to make sure you don't suffer unexpected repercussions for using tools that have not been permitted by your professors.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism involves using someone else's work, ideas, or words without proper attribution, and presenting them as your own. There are two forms of plagiarism. Intentional plagiarism is when you knowingly copy or paraphrase someone else's work without citation, while unintentional plagiarism happens due to a lack of understanding of properly using citations or incorrectly citing sources. For example, intentional plagiarism might look like copying and pasting passages from an online source into a research paper without a citation. Unintentional plagiarism could occur if you forget to include a citation for information obtained from a textbook in their assignment. As an instructor it can be hard to differentiate intentional vs unintentional plagiarism, which is why it is important to discuss this prior to diving into AI use for academic help. Importantly though, having AI write and complete work that your professor expects you to complete yourself would be considered plagiarism. Specifically, it would be considered a form of intentional plagiarism. It's important to understand that although ChatGPT can provide valuable assistance and generate ideas, the content it produces should be treated similarly to information obtained from any other source. Proper citation and attribution are necessary whenever utilizing material generated by ChatGPT to avoid plagiarism and uphold academic integrity.

How can you ethically use AI for academic purposes?

Professional Development: Students in our research lab have been using AI for a variety of professional development purposes. For example, AI can be used to review and edit your resume or CV, draft a cover letter, prepare for an interview, or write professional emails to professors! As both an instructor and editor, I frequently receive emails from undergraduate students that would be perceived as unprofessional in workplace context (as well as an academic one). This is a skill you want to work on developing as a student. To improve the level of professionalism in your communication, you can use ChatGPT to draft tailored emails to your professors.

- Example prompt: “Please assist me in drafting a professional and concise email to Dr. Smith, my Introduction to Psychology (PSY 1010; meets Tue & Thu @10:50am) professor, about my absence from last Thursday's class due to an illness. Per the syllabus, I submitted an academic absence form and am reaching out to schedule a meeting to review materials and discuss make-up work from the in-class assignment I missed.”

Research Assistant: In our research lab, we have been experimenting with different ways to harness AI to assist with the research process. For example, once you have identified the research gap you are interested in addressing with your study, ChatGPT can be used to help draft research questions to help narrow your focus. I used this when working on my thesis project. In preparing for my master's thesis, I utilized ChatGPT as a valuable resource to brainstorm research questions. Through interactive prompts and conversations, ChatGPT generated ideas and provided suggestions, culminating in the refinement of my research questions for my master's thesis, which focuses on combatting hiring discrimination. Here is actually the first prompt I gave to ChatGPT, "Create 10 research questions that would be interesting avenues of study of discrimination in workplace hiring based upon an employee's gender, age, and profession. You want to be able to compare employer biases between white-collar and blue-collar professions, men and women, and young and old using a correspondence study design." Additionally, AI can be used to help with research design, data analysis, and interpretation. It can also serve as a peer reviewer to give you feedback on your design to identify limitations.

Be cautious about entering participant data into the free version of ChatGPT, as it is not guaranteed to be secure. AI records all the information you feed it! Please be cautious and responsible when asking for assistance.

Using AI to assist with professional development and research is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are additional ways you can use AI to work as your personal assist throughout your undergraduate career:

Understanding Complex Concepts: AI can provide explanations and examples to help you understand complex concepts (e.g., methodology, psychological concepts). For example, you could prompt it to say, “Can you please explain time lag research designs to me in easy to understand terms, using examples?”

Time management: Outsource some of your organizational work by asking AI to help develop timelines and set milestones for projects (both individual and group work).

Creating Study Guides: Input your class notes into AI to create a study guide or prepare review questions for an upcoming test.

Idea Exploration: If working on a research project (e.g., research methods course), AI could help you brainstorm research topics. By sharing the topics and concepts you are most interested in, AI can help you narrow your focus area, potentially suggest theories that can inform your research, as well as note variables or measures you should consider in your research design. For example, students in our research lab have used it recently to help brainstorm variables that are relevant to their topic to make sure they didn't miss important measures in their study. Additionally, it could help develop practical implications for putting research into practice.

Drafting Outlines: AI can help organize your thoughts and structure papers effectively by providing an outline.

Improving Clarity: AI can suggest ways to enhance clarity and conciseness in your writing.

Feedback and Editing: AI can provide feedback on assignments and assist with editing. However, use caution when using AI to assist with grammar. I recommend using the Word or Google Doc grammar checker, because if you use AI to edit your paper it will change your tone and style of writing to the point where, not only could it be flagged by AI checkers that may be used within your university, but you miss out on an opportunity to learn how to improve. Instead, you could ask it to create a list of ways you can revise your assignment to improve the quality without having it do it for you. This will ensure consistency in voice and help you understand areas where you need to develop your writing skills. If your university has a writing center, you can also recruit their assistance for proofreading.

Rubric Review: You can feed your assignment and the grading rubric into AI to have it tell you things you need to work on. Again, I recommend using the feedback to make revisions yourself rather than having AI fix it to meet the requirements to avoid plagiarism.

How can you avoid plagiarism with AI?

Paraphrasing tools can be helpful if you are struggling on how to paraphrase a sentence or definition into your own words. This is not something you want to use liberally to write or rewrite papers, but something that can be used sparingly to help when you are struggling to rephrase an operational definition or statistic, for example.
- Here is a free tool: https://quillbot.com/
You can also use plagiarism checkers to scan your document for unintentional similarities with existing sources.
- Easy Bib Plagiarism Checker
Citing sources (both in-text citations and references). Be sure to know formatting guidelines for the citation style you are using (e.g., APA, MLA).
Do not just copy and paste an output because that is a form of cheating!!! Always reread and edit to make it your own work!

As a student, you want to be aware of effective ways that AI can aid in learning and reduce time constraints. AI technologies can help alleviate some of the stress associated with college by streamlining tasks such as brainstorming and reducing the time it takes to complete assignments. It's important to view AI as a supportive tool, not a shortcut! I think most students are too scared to use it because they do not know how and they are afraid of getting in trouble for cheating. A good idea for students on the first day of class is to ask their professor how they feel about potentially using AI in these ways to better understand course expectations. To that end, AI can be used to enhance creativity, innovation, and critical thinking skills by giving you a starting point if you feel stuck and don’t know where to begin on an assignment. Let's embrace AI's potential to enrich learning experiences and navigate the intersection of technology and education in an ethical way.

References and Further Reading

About the Author

Hello there! My name is Ciara Carl, and I am in my last semester of graduate school at UTC where I have been working towards my masters degree in Psychological Science. Throughout my academic career, I have worked as a research assistant, at both the graduate and undergraduate level. I have worked on a variety of projects where I have gained experience in both qualitative and quantitative methods. On top of managing a full course load with a 4.0 GPA, I am a Graduate Teaching Assistant where I instruct an upper division psychology course, Modern Psychological Studies, and serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the Modern Psychological Studies Journal. I have been able to refine my skill sets (e.g., peer review, content creation, data analyzation, effective verbal and written communication, professional development to name a few) throughout these experiences and have learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of.

My ultimate goal? To have a career centered around research, where I can use my knowledge, skills, and experiences to address a wide range of questions and make a positive impact on individuals and society through education. I am passionate about conducting research because it allows me to explore issues within the real-world, find answers to pressing questions, and propose solutions. I firmly believe that one of the greatest responsibilities of a researcher is to ensure that scientific findings are accessible to all, regardless of background or expertise. That's where this blog comes in – it's a platform for me to share my experiences and insights in a way that resonates with a broad audience.

My research interests span a variety of topics, including intersectionality, social cognition, prejudice thinking, societal influences, intergroup relations, and implicit biases. Currently, my master's thesis focuses on how language used in job ads may be attracting or deterring applicants searching the job market. Specifically, age and gendered language across different industries (white- collar, blue- collar, female, and male dominated occupations). My goal is to reveal hidden biases that reinforce stereotypes and contribute to discrimination. This effort is aimed at empowering employers and organizations with the means to recognize and address potentially biased language within their job listings, with the hopes to recruit a more diverse applicant pool and ensure equity in the employment process. I believe that by making progressive changes to organizational policies and societal attitudes, we can create a more equitable and inclusive future for all.

Thank you for joining me on this journey! I hope you find value in reading my weekly posts and that you can benefit from the content provided on this platform. Together, let's strive to make a difference, one blog at a time :)

Warm regards,

Ciara Carl

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse