Generative AI tools can support the early stages of your research process, where you get to decide what you want to learn about your topic and who you want to learn from. The input-output model of GenAI tools can not replace the creative thinking involved in this early stage of research, so be sure to follow and trust your own exploratory process.
Generative AI tools are useful for:
Generative AI tools are not useful for:
Before using generative AI tools for course assignments, consult your instructor’s AI policy. If you are permitted to use a GenAI tool in your work and choose to do so, be sure to cite how you used the tool in your assignment.
Check out these tips for documenting your GenAI use to avoid plagiarism, as explained by Dr. Daniel Anderson, Director of the Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
APA has not released official guidelines for citing GenAI, but offers the following suggestions in this blog post:
If your paper includes a Methods section, describe how you used the GenAI tool there. Otherwise, explain its use in the paper's introduction.
When citing GenAI content, include both the prompt you used and the relevant generated text.
ChatGPT produces algorithm-generated content, not human-authored text. Therefore, cite the algorithm's author in both in-text citations and reference lists. Private companies create GenAI tools and author their algorithms. For example, cite OpenAI as the author of ChatGPT’s algorithm.
In-text Citation
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).
Reference
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
The MLA style guide uses a template of core citation elements that are flexible enough to accommodate citing AI-generated text or images. While MLA recommends that you do not treat an AI tool as an author, it suggests you should:
Cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.
Acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location.
Take care to vet the secondary sources it cites.
In-text Citation
The Romantic period in English literature, typically spanning from the late 18th to mid-19th centuries, is marked by a focus on emotion, individualism, and nature (“Describe the defining features”).
Works Cited
“Describe the defining features of the Romantic Period” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Mar. 2023 version, OpenAI, 22 Nov. 2024, chat.openai.com/chat.
Content adapted from University of California Irvine Libraries’ Generative AI and Information Literacy LibGuide written by Stacy Brinkman and April Urban.
McAdoo, T. (2024, February 23). How to cite ChatGPT. https://apastyle.apa.org. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt
MLA Style Center. (2023, April 12). How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/