Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence: Research Project Update

June 22, 2023
A red banner with white text.

Our team has been busy since we launched our research in April, 2022. I haven’t done an update in a while, so I wanted to let you know what we’ve been up to. Check out our project website (https://osf.io/4cnvp/) for links to our peer-reviewed publications and other information about our work.

We are still collecting data for our survey and you’re welcome to participate! To take the survey, click here.

Expansion of our research

In April 2022, we received funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) in the form of a Connection Grant to host a public research forum. We included partners from the University of Saskatchewan, Brock University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Deakin University (Australia). We hosted our research symposium on June 7-8, 2023 at the University of Calgary.

In case you missed this SSHRC-funded research symposium on the impact of artificial intelligence on higher education and academic integrity, you can catch up with the slides here:

sshrc-2023-lightning-talksDownload

Eaton, S. E., Dawson, P., McDermott, B., Brennan, R., Wiens, J., Moya, B., Dahal, B., Hamilton, M., Kumar, R., Mindzak, M., Miller, A., & Milne, N. (2023). Understanding the Impact  of Artificial Intelligence on Higher Education. Calgary, Canada. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116624

Also, you can catch Phill Dawson’s keynote from the event which is now archived on YouTube:

Phill Dawson’s keynote: Don’t Fear the Robot, University of Calgary, June 8, 2023

We are excited about next steps for this work and I’m happy to answer any questions you have about academic integrity and artificial intelligence.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the sponsors of this research:

  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
  • University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grant
  • University of Calgary International Research Partnership Workshop Grant
  • Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
  • Brock University
  • Deakin University
  • Toronto Metropolitan Univeristy
  • University of Saskatchewan

Related posts:

Invitation to Participate: Research Study on Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies – https://wp.me/pNAh3-2U3

Exploring the Contemporary Intersections of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2022/05/17/exploring-the-contemporary-intersections-of-artificial-intelligence-and-academic-integrity/

New project: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies – https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2022/04/19/new-project-artificial-intelligence-and-academic-integrity-the-ethics-of-teaching-and-learning-with-algorithmic-writing-technologies/

The Use of AI-Detection Tools in the Assessment of Student Work – https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2023/05/06/the-use-of-ai-detection-tools-in-the-assessment-of-student-work/

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks! Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Invitation to Participate: Research Study on Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: 

April 19, 2023

The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies 

On the right there is a black robotic hand and forearm. On the left there is a human hand and forearm. The forearm is tatooed. One finger from each hand is touching the other.
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Academic misconduct has taken various forms in present-day educational systems. One method that is on the rise is the use of artificially generated software compositions. The capabilities and sophistication of these new technologies are improving steadily. We are conducting a study to gauge the sophistication of the current artificial intelligence (AI) software-generated text. To that end, we are recruiting participants to evaluate the level of writing level of small compositions (260 words in length at most).

Your participation in this study would be to evaluate two small pieces of text presented in a survey and optionally make comments on your observation. We appreciate your consideration in this matter. This research provides an opportunity for the participants to contribute to the state of AI software used for various educational purposes. Participation in this study is voluntary, and you are free to terminate the survey and withdraw at any time and for any reason without censor. There are no known physical, psychological, or social risks associated with participation in the study.

All demographic data collected will be kept strictly confidential. Only the researchers listed in this letter will have access to the raw data. The data (in electronic format) will be retained indefinitely. Participation in the study will be asked for some basic demographic information and then presented with a 260- word length composition. After reading, the participants will be asked to evaluate the level, assign a mark to the composition, and note any pertinent observations. The second piece of composition, also of the same length, will be followed by the same set of questions. The total anticipated time for completing the survey is about 9-12 minutes, but it can vary based on reading speed and consideration afforded to the assigned grade.

If you have any questions or concerns about your participation in this study, you can contact the Principal Investigator, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, seaton (at) ucalgary.ca

This study is funded by a University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grant. This study has been approved by the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board at the University of Calgary: REB22-0137.

To take the survey, click here.

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Share this post: Invitation to Participate: Research Study on Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies – https://wp.me/pNAh3-2U3

This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks! Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

 

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Exploring the Contemporary Intersections of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity

May 17, 2022
Title slide from CSSHE 2022 panel discussion: AI & AI: Exploring the contemporary intersections of artificial intelligence and academic integrity (Kumar, Mindzak, Eaton & Morrison)

For more than a year there have been small teams of us across Canada studying the impact of artificial intelligence on academic integrity. Today I am pleased to be part of a panel discussion on this topic at the annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE), which is part of Congress 2022.

Our panel is led by Rahul Kumar (Brock University, Canada), together with Michael Mindzak (Brock University, Canada) and Ryan Morrison (George Brown College, Canada)

Here is the information about our panel:

Session G3: Panel: AI & AI: Exploring the Contemporary Intersections of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity (Live, remote) 

Panel Chair: Rahul Kumar 

  • Rahul Kumar (Brock University): Ethical application with practical examples
  • Michael Mindzak (Brock University): Implications on labour 
  • Ryan Morrison (George Brown College): Large language models: An overview for educators 
  • Sarah Elaine Eaton (University of Calgary): Academic integrity and assessment 

We have developed a combined slide deck for our panel discussion today. You can download the entire slide deck from the link noted in the citation below:

Kumar, R., Mindzak, M., Morrison, R., & Eaton, S. E. (2022, May 17). AI & AI: Exploring the contemporary intersections of artificial intelligence and academic integrity [online]. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE). http://hdl.handle.net/1880/114647

Related posts:

New project: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies – https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2022/04/19/new-project-artificial-intelligence-and-academic-integrity-the-ethics-of-teaching-and-learning-with-algorithmic-writing-technologies/

Keywords: artificial intelligence, large language models, GPT-3, academic integrity, academic misconduct, plagiarism, higher education, teaching, learning, assessment

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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New project: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies

April 19, 2022

Today the University of Calgary announced the recipients of the 2022 Teaching and Learning Grants. I’m pleased to share that our project was among those awarded funding. Here are the details of our project:

Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies

Research Team (all from the University of Calgary)

  • Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Werklund School of Education, Principal Investigator
  • Robert Brennan, PhD, Schulich School of Engineering, Co-Investigator
  • Jason Wiens, PhD, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Co-Investigator
  • Brenda McDermott, PhD, Student Accessibility Services, Co-Investigator
  • Helen Pethrick, MA, Project Manager
  • Beatriz Moya, PhD student, Werklund School of Education, Research Assistant
  • Jonathan Lesage, MSc student, Schulich School of Engineering, Research Assistant

Focus area (as aligned with University of Calgary research priority areas): Innovation and entrepreneurial thinking 

Grant type: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grants

Project scope: This project will be conducted at the University of Calgary. Data will be collected from faculty and students, upon successful ethics approval of the project.

Funding amount: $40,000 CAD

Project duration: 2022-2025

Project status

This project just received funding and have submitted documentation to have the project set up in the university systems. We are waiting for that step to be approved. In the meantime, we are preparing our application to the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB) at the University of Calgary.

Please note: This is an internal University of Calgary grant. We are not able to include any external collaborators in this particular project.

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Share or Tweet this: New project: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies – https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2022/04/19/new-project-artificial-intelligence-and-academic-integrity-the-ethics-of-teaching-and-learning-with-algorithmic-writing-technologies/

This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

An Introduction to Integrity Sciences

January 24, 2022

close up view of plasma

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I recently came across the term “integrity sciences”, which as it applies to the field of academic integrity, appears to have been coined by Dr. Michelle Bergadaà, Professor Emerita of the Université de Genève and founder and President of the Institute for Research and Action on Fraud and Plagiarism in Academia / Institut de Recherche et d’Action sur la Fraude et le Plagiat Académiques (IRAFPA).

Dr. Bergadaà hosted a conference in 2020 on the topic of integrity sciences and in 2021, published an edited volume, together with Dr. Paulo Peixoto, titled “L’urgence de l’intégrité académique” (“The urgency of academic integrity”) . Written in French, this book includes 32 by authors from across Europe.

The notion of “integrity sciences” stuck with me. Those of you who know me will no doubt remember a story I share often in my presentations. In 2017, after applying for an internal research grant at my university, I was informed that the application was rejected on the basis that academic integrity is an administrative matter not a research topic. This was just one grant application and I am, of course, grateful to the University of Calgary, for the tremendous support they have provided for my work, including research funding that, since 2016, now exceeds $100,000 CAD across various projects. But that one grant application rejection has stuck with me because of the reasons provided for why the project did not receive funding. Since then, I have dedicated part of my work to showing that not only is academic integrity a topic, it is a field of research, policy, and professional practice.

When I first read the term “integrity sciences” it piqued my interest. I began contemplating the various areas of the field of integrity sciences: systematic and scientific inquiry investigating academic integrity; research integrity; research ethics; publication ethics; plagiarism; fraud and corruption in education and science; and so on. Similar to the way in which learning sciences studies the “an interdisciplinary field that studies teaching and learning” (Sawyer, p. 1), integrity sciences studies is a multi-, inter-, and transdiciplinary field that studies ethics and integrity.

I pointed out during my keynote speech at the 2021 European Conference on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism (ECAIP), hosted by the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI), that academic integrity research is transdisciplinary and multi-faceted. The idea of approaching the investigations we conduct under the umbrella of integrity sciences fits in with this notion. The term “integrity sciences” provides us with language to describe the transdisciplinary nature of academic integrity research.

I am still very much learning what Dr. Bergadaà’s conceptualization of integrity sciences might include, and I think this notion is worth discussing with colleagues not only in Europe, but also beyond, to include scholars and scientists across the world.

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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