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Content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) reflects someone else's ideas, even if that "someone" is a computer program. Any time an individual uses someone else's ideas in their writing, the writer needs to give credit to the appropriate source. That means, students should cite work that is generated by a generative AI program. Failure to cite an AI source could result in academic integrity violations and subsequent consequences.
At this time, the various publication styles (i.e., APA, MLA, or AMA) are beginning to address citing generative AI sources. This page will be updated as needed to reflect current guidance. Here are some examples of how to cite text obtained from a generative AI tool in various publication formats:
Chicago Style - cite as a numbered footnote or endnote
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, March 7, 2023, OpenAI, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Author: name of the AI tool
Date: date of generation
Publisher: name of the company that made the tool
Location: general URL to access the AI tool
MLA - attribution belongs on the Works Cited page - adapt as needed
“Describe the symbolism of the mockingjay in the book The Hunger Games by Susan Collins” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 17 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
Author: there will be no author
Source Title: description of what was generated or the prompt that was used
Container Title: name of the AI tool
Version: include any specific version information available for the tool
Publisher: the name of the company that made the tool
Date: date of generation
Location: general URL to access the AI tool
APA - cited in text and included in the reference list
Reference List: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Author: name of the company that created the tool
Date: year of the version used
Title: name of the AI tool used to generate the response (version used) [brief description of the type of model]
Source: general URL to access the AI tool
In-Text Citation: OpenAI (2023) or (OpenAI, 2023)
Please note that generative AI programs are not scholarly sources. In addition to providing potentially inaccurate information, the responses are not peer-reviewed, nor do they undergo any review process. Therefore, students should conduct their own research, using scholarly sources, to verify any information obtained from AI-generated text.
The purpose of academic integrity is to guarantee the knowledge pools of each academic field are not contaminated by incorrect or unsubstantiated information. In other words, all written work must be accurate, original work. National University (NU) students and faculty must carefully ensure their writing is distinct from the writing of others. Every day—every discussion post, every assignment, every dissertation document must be thoroughly supported from scholars who have gone before, or who are currently active in the field, along with meaningful original work, all the while assuring accuracy with the selection of and application of referenced and original information. In sum, NU is committed to supporting students and faculty in understanding and applying standards of academic integrity by:
NU is committed to maintaining a community with exceptional ethical standards of professional and academic conduct. Community members of the University are expected to conduct themselves professionally and refrain from acts of misconduct including, but not limited to, dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism. Substantiated violations of plagiarism may result in disciplinary sanctions, up to and including expulsion from the University.
The University considers it a serious violation of academic integrity to – intentionally or unintentionally – present the thoughts or ideas of another as your own. The key to academic integrity originates in the writer’s choices on how to divide their voice from the voices of others. The combination of an individual’s style, perspective, and tone of writing is partly what makes your voice stand apart from others. The other important part is ensuring all supporting material within your writing is accurate and correctly substantiated. The American Association of University Professors defines plagiarism as, “Taking over the ideas, methods, or written words of another, without acknowledgment and with the intention that they be taken as the work of the deceiver.”
Often the words “copying” and “borrowing” of someone else’s original ideas are associated with plagiarism; unfortunately, terms such as these cover up the seriousness of the offense.
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, 2 to plagiarize means:
So, how well do you know plagiarism? Here’s a 10-question quiz to find out: http://en.writecheck.com/plagiarism-quiz
There are two types of plagiarism: Intentional and unintentional. Intentional plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Unintentional plagiarism is the accidental appropriation of the work of others due to a lack of understanding of how to document.
National University considers it a serious violation of academic integrity to plagiarize one’s work, even unintentionally. The key to academic integrity originates in the writer’s choices on how to divide his or her voice from the voices of others. Intentional plagiarism can be defined as appropriating the words or ideas of someone else and passing them off as your own.
Intentional plagiarism can include:
Unintentional plagiarism is the accidental appropriation of the work of others due to a lack of understanding of documentation conventions. However, this misuse of sources is still considered a violation of academic integrity. NU’s response to such violations may range from requiring a student to rewrite a paper to permanently dismissing a student from the University.
Unintentional plagiarism can include:
To monitor for potential plagiarism, the University submits student assignments through the institution’s third-party text matching service (Turnitin).
The academic integrity policy applies to all course assignments submitted by a student to a faculty member.
Based on a worldwide survey of nearly 900 secondary and higher education faculty, Turnitin has identified ten types of plagiarism, referred to as The Plagiarism Spectrum. Each type has been given an easy-to-remember moniker to help students and faculty better identify and discuss the ramifications of plagiarism in student writing. Additionally, each type has been ranked by severity (#1-10) and scored by a frequency of appearance (1=lease, 10=most). See https://www.turnitin.com/static/plagiarism-spectrum/ for more information.
Confirmed violations of the academic integrity policy range from requiring a student to rewrite a paper to permanently dismissing a student from the institution.
As per the NU Catalog, students dismissed due to a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, the University's Academic Integrity policy, or due to any other legal or ethical matters, do not qualify for readmission to the University.
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