Skip to Main Content
PolyU Library

Harnessing GenAI in Your Academic Journey

As GenAI tools become increasingly integrated into academic work, understanding their ethical use is crucial. By following these suggestions, you could responsibly leverage GenAI in your academic endeavors.

Maintaining Academic Integrity when using GenAI

Step 1: Confirmation

Review the policies and guidelines from your faculty, department, or subject. If anything is unclear, consult your course instructor to confirm whether the use of GenAI is permitted in your specific context.

Step 2: Declaration

If you have used GenAI in your work, please provide a clear declaration specifying the GenAI model used and how it was applied. You can use the following format as a guide:

I/We declare that Generative AI tools have been used to prepare the submitted work. The Generative AI tools used and the manner in which they were used are as follows: 
[Name of the GenAI tools and how it was applied]


Other templates for declaration:

Step 3: Citation

If you are using any content that is AI generated, cite it properly to avoid plagiarism. Please refer to Citing AI-generated Content for more details.

Step 4: Ensure Originality

At PolyU, according to Guidelines for Students on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, "All the work you submit for assessment should be YOUR OWN ORIGINAL work. Asking GenAI to do the assignment for you and submitting the work generated by GenAI, in part or in whole, as your own (even in paraphrased form) constitute an act of academic dishonesty; it is no different from asking another person to write your assignment or claiming others’ ideas as your own."

Ensure that any contributions from GenAI are integrated thoughtfully and that your own critical thinking and analysis are evident in the final submission. Always strive to produce work that reflects your understanding and perspective.

Can I use GenAI in Assignments?

PolyU's Stance of Using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

According to the Guidelines for Students on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, it mentioned below:

PolyU's Stance

"PolyU takes an open and forward-looking stance on the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools (such as ChatGPT) as a positive and creative force in education, and the incorporation of such use in innovative learning, teaching, and assessment practices. While embracing the use of new technology in education, PolyU upholds the principle that students must adhere to high standards of academic integrity in all forms of assessments. The Student Code of Conduct and the policy on academic integrity apply to the use of GenAI in student work."

Guidelines for using GenAI

As a PolyU student, it's important to use generative AI tools critically, ethically and wisely. These tools are still evolving, and they can sometimes produce inaccurate or misleading information.

Here are some key points to keep in mind:

DO's DON'Ts
✔ Use GenAI for brainstorming and generating ideas. ❌ Do NOT rely solely on AI-generated content as the source of information. Always verify and cross-reference.
✔ Check for factual accuracy of AI-generated content before using it. ❌ Do NOT ask GenAI software to write your essays or academic assignments.
✔ Use AI-generated content in conjunction with other sources to ensure your work is reliable and well-informed. ❌ Do NOT input any personal details or confidential information when using GenAI tools to maintain data security and privacy.
✔ Include any assistance from GenAI tools in your reference list.  

 

Reference:

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (2023, June 27). Guidelines for Students on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ar/students-in-taught-programmes/use-of-genai/

Can I use GenAI in Academic Works?

As Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies are evolving over time, it is important for authors to understand how the technologies should be used in preparing their work for publishing. ​

Do GenAI Tools qualify as Authors?​

Major publishers have addressed the use of GenAI in their publication. According to their policies (below), GenAI tools, Large Language Models (LLMs), and chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT) do not meet authorship criteria because they are not accountable for providing accuracy, originality, and integrity of the work. As a result, they should not be listed or cited as authors in manuscripts or published articles.  ​

Can you use GenAI Tools in publishing?​

The major publishers do not permit AI-generated text or images in manuscripts or published articles. As a general suggestion, the use of GenAI tools should only be used in these two circumstances: ​

  • To enhance readability and improve language of your work (see Using AI Tools in Publishing), or ​
  • If they are a part of the research design or research method

It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that the full content generated by AI is accurate. ​If GenAI tools are employed, authors must explicitly declare which Generative AI tool was used, for what purpose, and how it was used in Materials / Methods / Acknowledgements section (or similar section) of their publication, along with proper citations. ​

However, the final decision about whether use of GenAI tools is permissible in submission is subject to the publication’s editorial policy.​

Author should regularly review publishers’ policies and also check specific requirements of individual journals in using GenAI tools.​

In response to the rise of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies, many scholarly publishers have included information about if and how AI can be used and appropriately acknowledged. 

Below are some typical stances found in publishers' policies regarding the application of generative AI tools in academic publishing:

  1. Acknowledgement
    Authors should disclose the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript, including which model and for what purpose.
  2. Accuracy
    Authors are wholly responsible for the originality, validity and integrity of the content of their submitted works
  3. Authorship
    AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author.
  4. Originality
    Always check and cite the original sources to make sure you are not plagiarizing. 

​The following is a list of publishers’ policies on the use of GenAI:

When it comes to understanding the ownership and authorship of AI works, it's crucial to recognize that the answers can vary depending on the jurisdiction and whether the work is "AI-generated" or "AI-assisted".

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Secretariat's Revised Statement on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence (WIPO/IP/AI/2/GE/20/1 Rev.), certain definitions are provided in paragraph 12 to clarify these terms:

"12. “AI-generated” and “generated autonomously by AI” are terms that are used interchangeably and refer to the generation of an output by AI without human intervention. In this scenario, AI can change its behavior during operation to respond to unanticipated information or events. This is to be distinguished from “AI-assisted” outputs that are generated with material human intervention and/or direction."


In research, the distinction between these categories raise questions about authorship and ownership. As the field of AI evolves, so too will the legal frameworks governing these technologies, making it essential for researchers to stay informed about developments in intellectual property law and the ethical implications of using AI in their work.

Please keep in mind that these definitions may not be universally accepted and may be subject to interpretation and further legal developments.

Citing AI-generated Content

How to cite Generative AI (GenAI) content? 

Most referencing styles have no specific guidelines for citing ChatGPT or other GenAI tools. Unless specific instructions are provided, you should refer to the guidelines provided by official sites of different citation styles and the Referencing Guides developed by ELC for citation.

Follow the referencing style used in your course for how to cite GenAI content. The full transcript of a response can be included in an appendix or other supplementary materials.

Here is an example of citing the GenAI content based on the APA 7th Referencing guide. You may also refer to How to cite ChatGPT in APA Style for more information.

In-text citation: Author of generative AI model, Year of version used
E.g. (OpenAI, 2023) / OpenAI (2023)

Reference: 
Author of AI model used. (Year of AI model used). Name of AI model used (Version of AI model used) [Type or description of AI model used]. Web address of AI model used
E.g. OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat 

 

Currently, no citation style includes a specific reference type for GenAI content. Some citation styles may use reference templates for software, while others cite the content as personal communication or correspondence.

For information on citing GenAI content in various citation styles, please refer to the following pages.

Detecting AI-generated Content

Plagiarism Checking Tools at PolyU

PolyU has subscribed to text similarity-checking tools to detect potential plagiarism. One of these tools, Turnitin, has recently added a function to detect writing generated by AI in student submissions.

Important Reminder

Turnitin does not make judgments about whether a student has engaged in academic dishonesty. It simply serves as a reference for teachers to make informed decisions. If you are utilizing GenAI tools in your assignments, please take these steps to uphold academic integrity!

Key Features

  • Generates a Similarity Report upon submission.
  • Includes an AI writing indicator and highlights potentially AI-generated text.
  • Accessible to teachers only; students do not have access.

For other details, please visit Turnitin's AI writing detection capabilities FAQs.

Other AI writing detection tools