Shaping responsible GenAI use in research through AI literacy-oriented guidelines: insights from postgraduate students.
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| Title: | Shaping responsible GenAI use in research through AI literacy-oriented guidelines: insights from postgraduate students. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Dai, Wei1 (AUTHOR) daiw@hku.hk, Chan, Cecilia Ka Yuk1 (AUTHOR) ckchan09@hku.hk |
| Source: | International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 6/24/2026, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1-27. 27p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Generative artificial intelligence, *Graduate students, *Higher education, *Education ethics, Moral norms, Artificial intelligence & ethics, Research ethics |
| Abstract: | The widespread adoption of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) among researchers has intensified the need for guidelines that safeguard academic integrity and ethical scholarly practice. However, existing GenAI policies tend to focus on teaching, learning and assessment rather than on research, where ethical concerns are considerably more complex. Given this complexity, such guidelines should move beyond rule enforcement to scaffold the AI literacy researchers need when deciding how, when, and whether to use GenAI across the full research process. To address this gap, this study conducted seven focus groups with 28 postgraduate research (PGR) students, who are among the most active adopters of GenAI tools in academic work. It examined how they used GenAI in research, how they interpreted ethically acceptable practice, what concerns they hold, and what institutional support they expected. Drawing on a four-dimensional AI literacy framework, the study analysed PGR students' practices and perceptions through thematic analysis to examine how each dimension of AI literacy was reflected within the research setting. The findings showed that students' awareness of GenAI's capabilities, limitations, and risks corresponded to the "Know & Understand AI" dimension, while their diverse, discipline-specific applications of GenAI across the research workflow reflected the "Use & Apply AI" dimension. Their nuanced boundaries between ethical and unethical use demonstrated the "Evaluate & Create AI" dimension, and concerns about output accuracy, originality, data privacy, and skill degradation highlighted the "AI Ethics" dimension. Building on PGR students' research practices and support expectations, the study proposed researcher-oriented GenAI guidelines that foreground each AI literacy dimension across diverse research tasks, with the aim of informing more applicable policy and sustaining researchers' AI literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 195315787 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Shaping responsible GenAI use in research through AI literacy-oriented guidelines: insights from postgraduate students. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dai%2C+Wei%22">Dai, Wei</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> daiw@hku.hk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chan%2C+Cecilia+Ka+Yuk%22">Chan, Cecilia Ka Yuk</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ckchan09@hku.hk</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Educational+Technology+in+Higher+Education%22">International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education</searchLink>. 6/24/2026, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1-27. 27p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Generative+artificial+intelligence%22">Generative artificial intelligence</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graduate+students%22">Graduate students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+ethics%22">Education ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+norms%22">Moral norms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Artificial+intelligence+%26+ethics%22">Artificial intelligence & ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+ethics%22">Research ethics</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The widespread adoption of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) among researchers has intensified the need for guidelines that safeguard academic integrity and ethical scholarly practice. However, existing GenAI policies tend to focus on teaching, learning and assessment rather than on research, where ethical concerns are considerably more complex. Given this complexity, such guidelines should move beyond rule enforcement to scaffold the AI literacy researchers need when deciding how, when, and whether to use GenAI across the full research process. To address this gap, this study conducted seven focus groups with 28 postgraduate research (PGR) students, who are among the most active adopters of GenAI tools in academic work. It examined how they used GenAI in research, how they interpreted ethically acceptable practice, what concerns they hold, and what institutional support they expected. Drawing on a four-dimensional AI literacy framework, the study analysed PGR students' practices and perceptions through thematic analysis to examine how each dimension of AI literacy was reflected within the research setting. The findings showed that students' awareness of GenAI's capabilities, limitations, and risks corresponded to the "Know & Understand AI" dimension, while their diverse, discipline-specific applications of GenAI across the research workflow reflected the "Use & Apply AI" dimension. Their nuanced boundaries between ethical and unethical use demonstrated the "Evaluate & Create AI" dimension, and concerns about output accuracy, originality, data privacy, and skill degradation highlighted the "AI Ethics" dimension. Building on PGR students' research practices and support expectations, the study proposed researcher-oriented GenAI guidelines that foreground each AI literacy dimension across diverse research tasks, with the aim of informing more applicable policy and sustaining researchers' AI literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1186/s41239-026-00609-6 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 27 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Generative artificial intelligence Type: general – SubjectFull: Graduate students Type: general – SubjectFull: Higher education Type: general – SubjectFull: Education ethics Type: general – SubjectFull: Moral norms Type: general – SubjectFull: Artificial intelligence & ethics Type: general – SubjectFull: Research ethics Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Shaping responsible GenAI use in research through AI literacy-oriented guidelines: insights from postgraduate students. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Dai, Wei – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chan, Cecilia Ka Yuk IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 24 M: 06 Text: 6/24/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 23659440 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 23 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Type: main |
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