Digital Assistance Tools

Digital assistance tools (DATs) such as generative AIs, machine translation tools, and editorial assistants are developing rapidly. In the context of research, DATs can be used to create descriptions, plans, responses to questions, summaries of literature, and many other similar kinds of material. ChatGPT is a widely used tool of this kind but there are many others.

The use of DATs at the University of Melbourne by graduate researchers is not prohibited. However, use of these tools does carry risks and for this reason they should only be used within the following guidelines.

• Where text from a generative AI or other digital assistance tool is included in a paper, proposal, review, or thesis, or forms part of a communication between graduate researcher and supervisor, it must be identified as a quotation, the tool must be identified, and if a prompt was used it must be provided.
• Use of a generative AI for first drafts must similarly be acknowledged.
• In a thesis, editorial use of digital assistance tools must be acknowledged and be limited to the level of assistance permitted by other parties in the Graduate Research Training Policy.
• Confidential information or unprotected intellectual property must not be entered into an online digital assistance tool.
• Use of generative AI or other digital assistance tools in theses and publications must be consistent with research integrity guidelines.

UoM have developed these guidelines due to a range of concerns, including not just research integrity but unreliability of the tools, that their use can be inconsistent with honesty and transparency in communication with supervisors, that dependency on them can impede development of writing skills, and the risks to confidentiality.

The concerns are explained further on the Graduate Research Hub.

These rapidly developing tools have the potential to transform how we work and study. However, there are many tasks for which they are too limited and unreliable to be genuinely of value and their existence has not changed our view of the skills required to be successful researcher. Please only use these tools in research in consultation with your supervisors and that you follow the guidelines above.