The APA Style team is developing official guidelines on how to cite, quote, and use ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Details can be found on the APA Style Blog (How to cite ChatGPT, 7 April 2023).
When using ChatGPT in your research, do describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in other sections of your research. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.
Include an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry.
If the generated content can be shared via a link, include the URL in the reference list entry. If the generated content is not shareable, include the prompt and the generated text in an appendix or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated.
Example 1 (ChatGPT):
When prompted with “What research has been undertaken to study the effectiveness of the pomodoro technique?” the ChatGPT-generated text briefly described four studies and indicated that “these studies suggest positive outcomes associated with using the Pomodoro Technique” (OpenAI, 2023).
Reference list entry example (with a shareable link generated by the AI tool)
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Aug 3 version) [Large language model].
https://chat.openai.com/share/46ce4720-19bd-4c21-84f0-7a69ec4af03d
Example 2 (Bard):
When prompted with “Regarding the pomodoro technique as a time management tool, are there studies that did not report positive results?" the Bard-generated text indicated that while some studies did not find positive correlation or significant benefits, it added that "there are many other studies that have reported positive results for the Pomodoro Technique. However, it is clear that the Pomodoro Technique is not a universally effective time management tool” (Google, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).
Reference list entry example (AI-generated content without a shareable link)
Google. (2023). Bard (2023.07.13 version) [Large language model]. https://bard.google.com
For other details, please refer to APA Style Blog.
Note: Check assignment instructions and clarify if and to what extent are AI tools permitted. Any permitted use of AI for assessment / assignment must be acknowledged appropriately.
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