DEALING WITH ACADEMIC INTEGRITY VIOLATION WHILE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN RESEARCH

Abstract

The paper focused on dealing with academic integrity violation while using artificial intelligence in research. Three research questions and corresponding hypotheses guided the study which adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 7, 791 (5, 117 postgraduate students and 2, 674) lecturers from the three public Universities in Rivers State (University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State University and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education). The sample of the study was 380 (250 students and 130 lecturers) which was determined using the Taro Yamane formula for sample size determination while the respondents were sampled using stratified sampling technique. The instrument used for data gathering was a 15-item questionnaire tagged “Dealing with Academic Integrity while Using Artificial Intelligence in Research Questionnaire” (DAIAIRQ). The questionnaire was responded to on a four point modified Likert scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree with weighted scores of 4, 3, 2 and 1. A criterion mean of 2.50 was used for decision making. The questionnaire was validated by three experts in Measurement and Evaluation at the University of Port Harcourt while the reliability was estimated as 0.84 using Cronbach alpha. Out of the 380 copies of questionnaire administered, 369 copies from 237 students and 132 lecturers were retrieved indicating a 97.1% retrieval rate. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using z-test at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study indicated that factors promoting the use of AI in research included analysis of large data, identification of knowledge gaps in research, among others. It was equally shown that work overload and anxiety for performance were drivers of academic integrity violation. The study indicated adequate sensitization on academic integrity and training on use of AI are part of the strategies for correcting these violations. It was recommended that training should be organized on how staff and students can use AI responsibly in their research activities.