Academic integrity
Academic integrity refers to the values that underpin everything you do in your university studies. It includes concepts like honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. To succeed at university by studying with academic integrity, you need to understand, develop and practise academic skills, including:
correct referencing / avoiding plagiarism / critical thinking and the ability to find and evaluate source
AI should be viewed as a tool that can aid learning and should be used in an ethical way. Do not copy word-for-word or claim any AI-generated content as your own work. This is plagiarism.
Are students allowed to use ChatGPT and other AI tools?
Consult and follow Stellenbosch University's interim AI guidelines for allowable AI use and academic integrity.
Consult Stellenbosch University’s Position Statement :Ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in Research and Teaching-Learning-Assessment (See attachment below)
See also Stellenbosch AI-Mediated Multimedia Guide (While the primary focus is on AI text-to-image generation, it also includes recommendations for websites offering audio and video generation)
Accountability (including the ideas of acknowledgement and attribution)
You are responsible for what you create and how it impacts others and society. AI tools don't have accountability. It is thus your responsibility to ensure that work submitted under your name is factually correct.
Authenticity
You may use AI tools to assist where relevant, but not to complete the assignment on your behalf.
Fairness
Your use of AI tools/ systems should be ethical and responsible and should comply with academic integrity standards
Transparency
You should clearly and honestly declare the use of AI tools and their outputs as well as the extent of the use.
See page 8-10 Student use of generative AI tools
Stellenbosch University recommends that AI use be declared, and it includes a student declaration form, that requires an indication of the AI tools used, as well as where and what it were used for, and a justification for claims that the work is the student’s own.
Why is referencing important?
Where can I get referencing help or training?
Consult the library guide - Find, access and use information effectively: a step-by-step guide: Use responsibly: Why cite and reference?
"Plagiarism is the theft and use of the ideas, material and other intellectual property of others that are passed off as one’s own." SU Senate. 1 Dec 2016. Stellenbosch University policy on academic integrity: the prevention and handling of plagiarism [Internet]. Stellenbosch University. Available: Policy document. [2017, 1 February].
Where can I get help or training?
Consult the library guide - Find, access and use information effectively: a step-by-step guide: Plagiarism
It is important to critically evaluate your sources. Even more so when using any AI-generated output. Any work contributed by an AI should be fact checked, plagiarism checked and proofread.
AI tools can generate false sources or use out-of-date sources.
Use library databases instead of AI if you need reliable sources.
Where can I get help or training?
Consult the library guide - Find, access and use information effectively: a step-by-step guide: Evaluate Sources
Using a good framework like the CLEAR one from Lo (2023):
|
Concise |
Logical |
Explicit |
Adaptive |
Reflective |
|
Focus on the key words of the AI tools to analyse |
Present your query in a logical or natural order
AI tools look for relationships between words, so you need to make sure that your prompt accurately represents the relationship you are looking for |
Be clear in WHAT you want the output of the AI tool to be
Eg. Do you want a summary, what style or tone do you want, what level of information do you need? |
Adapt your prompt with keywords or topics suggested from the AI in its first answer
Investigate different settings of the AI tools, use follow up prompts |
Always reflect on the answer – does it make sense? Is it current or does it seem outdated?
Do you think there is any misinformation in the answer? |
Research Assistant launched on Library Search
The Primo Research Assistant has launched on SU Library Search! This generative AI tool, enables users to research a topic in natural language, using library and expanded academic electronic resources. In the process of retrieving results, it summarises the most pertinent information from the five top-ranked articles or other e-resources that can best address your question. Access this tool by logging in on Library Search function.
Go to blog post
Flowchart by Aleksandr Tiulkanov, January 2023.
