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Referencing AI in assessments

If you are using Artificial Intelligence in your work, it is important to adhere to the correct referencing styles to avoid academic misconduct
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Highlights from the AI in Marketing workshop

Check your assessment requirements before using AI

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your assessments may or may not be allowed. Speak to your lecturer or course coordinator to determine whether AI tools are permitted, and to what degree they may be used.

Referencing and acknowledging the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools

If you are using AI outputs in your work as part of your assignments, please adhere to the following:

  1. If you are directly from an AI tool, cite this information as you would any other source. This includes an in-text citation or footnote (depending on your referencing system). 

  2. If you have been given permission to use AI tools to edit or translate your work, acknowledge this by providing a brief acknowledgment statement at the end of your document. 

  3. If you are unsure whether you need to reference an AI tool you have used, you should consult your relevant course convenor/tutor or supervisor. You may also with the Academic Skills team to discuss.

We suggest citing AI tools as a 'software' whereby the company is considered the author and the software is the product's name.

Generative AI tools are not high-quality sources. Relying on information provided by an AI tool could reflect poorly on the quality of your academic work. For this reason, we suggest avoiding using a generative AI tool like ChatGPT as a primary source for factual information.  

Examples of AI referencing

How you reference AI will depend on the referencing style. At ¼, we primarily use the Harvard and APA referencing styles. 

Format Example
Company. Year, Product Name in italics, [Type of AI model], Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL. OpenAI. 2024, ChatGPT [Large language model], Retrieved October 19, 2024, from .
Format Example
Name of Company/creator of generative AI Tool. (Year). Name of generative AI tool (Month Date version) [Large language model]. URL. OpenAI. 2023, ChatGPT (June 16 version) [Large language model]. .
Format Example
Number. Originator of the communication, medium, Day Month, Year. 1. OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, response to question from author, 7 February, 2023.
Citation style Format Example
MLA

“Title of source” prompt. Name of AI Tool, version, Company, Date content was generated, URL.

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, .
IEEE [Citation number] Author (Program Name), response to author query. Publisher [Online]. URL, (Accessed date). [1] ChatGPT, response to author query. OpenAI [Online].  (accessed February 15, 2023).
Vancouver Company Name, personal communication, Day Month Year. (OpenAI, personal communication, 20 September 2023).
AGLC [Citation number] Author (Program Name), response to author query. Publisher [Online]. URL, (Accessed date).

Citation:

[1] ChatGPT, response to author query. OpenAI [Online].  (accessed February 15, 2023).

In-Text Citation:

Powerful research tools lead to better results (OpenAI's ChatGPT, private communication, 10 October 2023).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Referencing is a way to acknowledge sources you have used in your writing. This may include books, journal articles, websites, newspaper articles, personal communication, and more recently, the use of AI tools and technologies. Failure to reference correctly can result in plagiarism.

    According to the ¼ : copying material from other sources without acknowledgment, as well as incorrectly paraphrasing (changing a few words around while retaining the original structure and/or progression of ideas) are both grounds for plagiarism. This means that if you use outputs generated by AI in your assessment, you must cite and attribute this information accordingly.

  • Yes. At university, it is important to let others know where you get your information and who authored the work. This is so others can ensure the work is yours and can locate and verify the sources you are using. If AI outputs (text or images generated by AI) are featured in your work, you need to flag this material with proper referencing acknowledging that AI tools have been used. 

  • It is important to cite and acknowledge the use of AI tools if you have used them as part of an assessment. This helps to ensure the academic integrity of your work.

    If parts of your work have been detected as ‘AI generated’, referencing this material appropriately does not necessarily guarantee you won’t have breached academic integrity guidelines. If you have used an AI tool’s output in your work and are unsure whether to cite it, it is always better to reference this material rather than leave it unacknowledged.

  • When using AI tools in academic work, it's crucial to acknowledge their impact on your research and ideas for the sake of academic integrity. This includes any significant assistance from AI, such as clarifying concepts, identifying literature, or influencing the research direction, regardless of whether AI-generated content is directly quoted.

    Acknowledging AI contributions maintains transparency and integrity, whether they've provided content, influenced themes and arguments, or supported research and analysis.

  • Before using AI to edit your work, make sure you have been given permission to do so. If an AI tool has changed or altered your work in any way, or you have included its suggestions as part of your final submission, you should acknowledge the use of AI with a brief acknowledgement statement.

    Ultimately, you are responsible for the work you submit, and the suggestions made by AI tools may not always be accurate or reflect the quality of your ideas. When it is allowable to do so and you have used AI tools to edit, alter, or translate your work, you should also acknowledge this with a brief statement under your reference list or at the bottom of the document.

    Example of an acknowledgment

    Acknowledgement:
    I would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by [Name of AI tool] which offered editorial suggestions. Some examples of prompts I used include [list prompts here]. 

  • Thinking about generative AI tools as a source like any other can be problematic. Large language models like ChatGPT use a multitude of data to inform its outputs, and in some cases, the information these tools provide may not be up-to-date or accurate.

    AI tools may also, unknowingly, plagiarise other sources, meaning it may not have correctly cited or attributed original author(s). In addition, these tools might suggest sources that look and sound legitimate, but are in fact fake. These are known as "hallucinations".

Have a question?

If you have any questions about ¼ AI policy or referencing AI in university, we’re here to help.