(adopted 5/18/2023)
Learning to communicate effectively is an important component of your training as a scientist. When preparing documents for program milestones—research gateway proposal, research statements for awards, thesis, etc.—please keep the following policies in mind:
Though the student must always write the first draft of these documents, the appropriate use of ChatGPT and other AI-based writing tools is permissible. Examples of appropriate uses of these tools include assistance with spelling, grammar, and usage as an “editing service”. On the other hand, using AI to generate substantial content such as paragraphs of text and figures, or to fill in references, is not permitted.
The use of AI should be disclosed to advisors and in your documents. Such a disclosure may appear in the Methods or Acknowledgement sections of the document and should include an explanation of how and when the tool(s) was used. Al-generated text and images should be cited appropriately.
Authors are responsible for the documents they submit. Please save the first draft of your work before you use AI tools. For most documents, such as the Gateway exam proposal and PhD thesis, you will be asked to submit that initial draft together with the final AI-corrected draft.
Authors are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the strengths and limitations of AI-based writing tools ( https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsnano.3c01544) to ensure that anything prepared with the assistance of an AI tool is accurate, permissible for re-use, and original (not plagiarized). Plagiarism is the presentation of ideas/writing from sources other than yourself without full acknowledgment.
ChatGPT and other AI-based writing tools do not meet the criteria of authorship. According to Author Guidelines provided by ACS Publications (https://publish.acs.org/publish/author_guidelines?coden=jacsat#authorship), authorship is defined by significant scientific contribution as well as accountability and responsibility for the results, which AI tools cannot provide.
These policies are modified from ACS Publications and extend to graduate-level coursework unless additional guidelines are provided by your course instructor.
