Grant Recipients
Nadine Fladd, Writing and Communication Centre
Kari D. Weaver, Library
(Project timeline: November 2024 - October 2025)
Description
This project examines the current perspectives, questions, concerns, and approaches of faculty in graduate supervision when discussing and approving (or not approving) their students’ use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in research and writing projects. We will interview 17-25 University of Waterloo graduate supervisors from across all six Faculties to identify their current practices and the challenges they face when navigating graduate students’ GenAI use. The themes identified through these interviews will help to establish an evidence-based basis for 1) the development of resources for graduate supervisors in navigating this issue with students as well as 2) clear guidelines about GenAI use for University of Waterloo graduate students. Additionally, the project has wide interest beyond the University of Waterloo as the institution, the higher education sector, and research ethics bodies develop and refine policy around the use of generative artificial intelligence in research and writing tasks.
Project Objectives
Interviews with supervisors across all six Faculties will help us to identify the following information:
- The extent to which supervisors allow or encourage graduate students to use generative artificial intelligence tools in research and writing tasks
- What factors or considerations inform their granting or denying permission to use generative artificial intelligence
- How supervisors’ confidence and feelings about specific research and writing tasks inform their own use of generative artificial intelligence tools
- Supervisors’ approach to mentoring students in the use of generative artificial intelligence tools for research and writing tasks