Acknowledging and Citing Generative AI in Academic Work
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This is an adaptation by Anna Mills of an article by Liza Long, originally part of the Writing and Artificial Intelligence section of the textbook Write What Matters.
Overview: A Checklist for Acknowledging and Citing Generative A.I. Tools
You’ve probably heard about the importance of citing your sources in academic work. But in cases where you are asked or allowed to use an AI chatbot such as ChatGPT for some purpose in the writing process, how do you acknowledge and cite it? These six steps can be helpful if you are considering whether or not to use and cite generative artificial intelligence in your academic work:
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Check with your instructor to make sure you have permission to use these tools and to find out what the limits are on these uses.
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Reflect on how and why you want to use generative artificial intelligence in your work. What skills are you supposed to practice through this assignment? Will using generative artificial intelligence in the way you are planning help you build those skills, or will it get in way of practice that you need?
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Check the accuracy of any information provided by a generative artificial intelligence tool against a trusted source. Can you verify it? Is anything made up? Would it suit your purpose to cite the trusted source instead of the AI system?
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Check if the AI output is based on a source that should be cited. Chatbots sometimes give answers that reflect a particular source’s text or ideas without citing that source. So humans need to do searches on the topic to see not just whether the output is accurate but whether it should be attributed. See AI doesn’t (reliably) cite its sources for more on this.
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If you decide to use generative artificial intelligence, acknowledge your use, either in an end note, an appendix, or a cover letter (see below for examples).
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Cite any ideas or word sequences that come from generative artificial intelligence both by mentioning the source in the body of the essay and by citing it on a References/Works Cited page according to the style format your teacher specifies, such as MLA or APA.
Whew. Let’s just admit that’s a long list of steps to take before incorporating generative AI in your essay. It’s worth pausing to ask if it’s worth it. As teachers and students alike are discovering, generative AI is not always a time saver especially if we’re trying to use it in an intelligent, strategic, and ethical way.
It’s not always easy to check the accuracy of outputs, and it can be even harder to figure out whether the text or ideas that a chatbot spits out really come from a specific source that needs to be cited.
If these steps seem too difficult, don’t be shy about turning away from generative AI if another kind of source will suit your purpose. If you do need to use AI, consider asking your teacher, a tutor, or a librarian for help checking, acknowledging, and citing.
Acknowledging Use of AI Chatbots
An acknowledgment statement is meant to give detail about how AI was used so that readers can understand how it may have influenced the text and the author's thinking.
Monash University provides helpful recommendations for how to acknowledge when and how you’ve used generated material as part of an assignment or project. They suggest that acknowledgment statements include the following:
- Specify which technology was used.
- Include explicit descriptions of how the information was generated.
- Identify the prompts used.
- Explain how the output was used in your work.
The format Monash University provides is also helpful. Students may include this information either in a cover letter or in an appendix to the submitted work. Academic style guides such as APA already include guidelines for including appendices after essays and reports. Review the Purdue OWL’s entry on Footnotes and Appendices for help.
I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) and link] to [specific use of generative artificial intelligence]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].
Using chat session transcripts to document AI use
It's a great help to have a full transcript of our interaction with a chatbot when we're trying to acknowledge what we did. ChatGPT and Gemini allow users to share links to specific chats (see the directions for sharing ChatGPT chats and directions for sharing Gemini chats). Here’s an example of a shared chat link in ChatGPT. When you click on the link, you’ll be able to see both the author’s prompts and the chatbot’s responses. This give you automatic documentation and details to include in your acknowledgment.
Claude does not currently have this built-in functionality, though AIArchives.org offers a browser extension that will create links to chat transcripts of sessions with Claude. For other tools like the Google Docs Writing Assistant, links are not yet available. One option in that case is to take screenshots of the chat session and share those in an appendix.
Citing AI Chatbots
Academic essays require us to tell readers where we got ideas and quotes, both in the body of the essay and in a list at the end. That way readers understand where the ideas and words came from and can look up the sources and judge for themselves.
Now let's be clear: the chatbot output is not a "source" in the usual sense. Sources for academic essays are generally expected to have some person or group of people who wrote them and who stand behind them. Chatbots can't stand behind their output. If you put the same prompt into the chatbot a second time, you will most likely get a different result. So one could argue that we can't really "cite" a chatbot in the usual sense of academic citation, which assumes that the words were put together with intention and understanding.
Yet even if chatbots aren't traditional sources, it's still important to cite them if we reference text or ideas from them. Readers still need information about where the text and ideas are coming from. The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA), two of the most frequently used style guides for college writing, have both provided guidelines for how to do this.
Even though APA and MLA do not require it, many consider it a best practice to include links to chat session transcripts in your citation as described above.
APA Style
According to the American Psychological Association (APA) as of February 23, 2024, AI chatbots should be cited like this:
In the body of the essay:
When prompted for a list of "public-service jobs for men," ChatGPT listed two stereotypically masculine jobs first: "Firefighter" and "Police Officer." (OpenAI, 2024).
In the reference list:
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
The APA blog post by Timothy McAdoo acknowledges that this format may evolve, and indeed the comments on the post include many suggestions and requests. Readers note that the version history date is no longer listed at the bottom of ChatGPT sessions as of Spring 2024. Some are concerned that mentioning the company in the parenthetical citation suggests that the company is the source of the idea or text when in fact the chatbot's output is shaped by all the text from the Internet that it was trained on. Others have suggested that the link to the chat session transcript should be included instead of the general link to the chatbot. You may want to check with your teacher for more guidance.
Here is one possible alternative format that follows APA style with adjustments to provide more information.
OpenAI. (Prompted July 3, 2024). ChatGPT 4o [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/share/78c36969-aba3-4803-8bdb-0085332182e8
MLA Style
The Modern Language Association (MLA) provides the following guidelines:
- Cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.
- Acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location.
- Take care to vet the secondary sources it cites. (MLA)
Below are some examples of how to use and cite generative AI with MLA style. For more details, see How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?, MLA In-Text Citations, and MLA Works Cited Pages.
The MLA invites comments about its guidance and even says "the MLA template of core elements is meant to provide flexibility in citation. So if you find a rationale to modify these recommendations in your own citations, we encourage you to do so." I have modified the Works Cited entry by listing the link to the chat session transcript rather than the general link to the tool and by adding a reference to the specific model used within ChatGPT (in this case, GPT-4o) to provide more detail.
In-text citation of quoted text where the prompt is described in the sentence:
When prompted to list public-service jobs for men, ChatGPT listed two stereotypically masculine jobs first: "Firefighter" and "Police Officer." (2024).
In-text citation of paraphrased text where the prompt is referenced in parentheses:
ChatGPT has been known to output stereotypical answers when asked to list jobs for a certain gender. ("Public-service jobs for men" 2024).
In the Works Cited list:
"Give me a list of ten public-service jobs for men" prompt. ChatGPT 4o, version unknown, OpenAI, 3 Jul. 2024, https://chatgpt.com/share/78c36969-a...b-0085332182e8.
Further Resources
References
McAdoo, T. (2023, April 7). How to cite ChatGPT. APA Style Blog. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt
Modern Language Association. (2023, March 17). How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/
Monash University. (n.d.). Acknowledging the use of generative artificial intelligence.https://www.monash.edu/learnhq/build-digital-capabilities/create-online/acknowledging-the-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence
Attribution
This article is an adaptation by Anna Mills of an article by Liza Long, originally part of the Writing and Artificial Intelligence section of the textbook Write What Matters, licensed CC BY NC 4.0.