Using AI as a Research Partner

Your course includes an AI-enhanced activity to help prepare you for real-world work environments where AI tools are increasingly used. You may use an AI assistant (like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini) to aid specific parts of the project.

Ethical Use of AI: What You Need to Know

AI can save time and spark better ideas, but it’s not always accurate. It can:

  • Invent fake article titles or authors (hallucinate)
  • Misrepresent findings or methods
  • Overstate how well an article supports your hypothesis

To use AI responsibly, follow these steps:

  1. Start with your own ideas. Before using AI, jot down your thoughts, search terms, or summary attempt.
  2. Feed AI the right context. Tell it your topic, your own ideas, the assignment instructions, and what help you want.
  3. Ask AI for help, not to create from scratch. Ask AI to suggest options, refine your idea, or give clearer language.
    • Examples:
      • “Here are the keywords I thought up. Can you suggest better keywords to help me find an article that fits this idea?” 
      • “Here’s my summary. Can you make it more concise and academic?”
  4. Pick and choose what you like from AI’s response. Don’t just use what AI gives you. Choose what works from AI’s feedback and then change it up on your own. Or tell AI what you like, what you don’t, and see if you can get closer to your vision. Always make sure what you hand in aligns with your vision and your voice.
  5. Verify & Revise. Always double-check everything AI gives you. If it suggests an article, find the article yourself and verify that it is real, peer-reviewed, and no older than 10 years. Read through the articles so you can be informed enough to tweak the AI summaries and connections to ensure accuracy and your voice. Don’t just copy what AI says. Use your critical thinking skills. AI is a tool, but you are the researcher.
  6. Disclose AI use. See this guide for how to cite AI use. If you use AI, include a 1–2 sentence AI Use Note. Example: “I drafted my hypothesis, then asked ChatGPT to help refine it. I chose the best version, verified the article it recommended, and rewrote the summary after reading the abstract.” Include AI in your reference list.