Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Role of Academic Librarians
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65861/glj.v31i1.6Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, academic integrity, information use, academic librarians’ role, university students, information ethicsAbstract
The increasing dependence on Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tools among advanced learners has sparked concerns about academic dishonesty, prompting stakeholders to develop ways to maintain academic integrity. The study explored the role of academic librarians in maintaining academic integrity with the prevalence of AI writing tools among students. The study was conducted through qualitative methods with a phenomenological design. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data from twelve academic librarians in six universities in Ghana. The data was analysed thematically with word clouds. The findings of the study revealed that the roles of academic librarians are more tailored towards maintaining research integrity, an aspect of academic integrity. Also, the study observed that academic librarians play relevant roles in empowering students on the ethical use of information in the current dispensation of AI application tools in learning. Based on the study’s findings, it is recommended a skill upgrade of library staff in evolving AI technology in response to issues of academic misconduct among students. Furthermore, the study suggests that academic institutions should revise academic integrity policies to address the increasing use of AI writing tools among students.
Downloads
References
Aithal, S., & Aithal, P. S. (2023). Effects of AI-based ChatGPT on higher education libraries. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences, 8(2), 95–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4453581 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47992/IJMTS.2581.6012.0272
Anderson, N., Belavy, D. L., Perle, S. M., Hendricks, S., Hespanhol, L., Verhagen, E., & Memon, A. R. (2023). AI did not write this manuscript, or did it? Can we trick the AI text detector into generating texts? The potential future of ChatGPT and AI in sports and exercise medicine manuscript generation. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 9, e001568. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001568 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001568
Bin-Nashwan, S. A., Sadallah, M., & Bouteraa, M. (2023). Use of ChatGPT in academia: Academic integrity hangs in the balance. Technology in Society, 75, 102370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102370 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102370
Bonsu, E. M., & Baffour-Koduah, D. (2023). From the consumers’ side: Determining students’ perception and intention to use ChatGPT in Ghanaian higher education. Journal of Education, Society and Multiculturalism. https://doi.org/10.2478/jesm-2023-0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2686760/v1
Centre for Academic Practice, Trinity College Dublin. (2023). Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Chan, C. K. Y. A. (2023). Comprehensive AI policy education framework for university teaching and learning. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20, 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00408-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00408-3
Dinneen, C. (2021). Students’ use of digital translation and paraphrasing tools in written assignments on direct entry English programs. English Australia Journal, 37(1), 40–51. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1341751.pdf
Huang, Y., Andrew, M., Cox, A., & Cox, J. (2023). Artificial intelligence in academic library strategy in the United Kingdom and Mainland China. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49, 102772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102772 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102772
Hussain, A. (2023). Use of artificial intelligence in library services: Prospects and challenges. Library Hi Tech News, 40(2), 15–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-11-2022-0125
James, A., & Filgo, E. H. (2023). Where does ChatGPT fit into the Framework for Information Literacy? The possibilities and problems of AI in library instruction. College & Research Libraries News, 84(9), 334. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.84.9.334 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.84.9.334
Livberber, T., & Ayvaz, S. (2023). The impact of artificial intelligence in academia: Views of Turkish academics on ChatGPT. Heliyon, 9, e19688. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19688
Mansoor, F., Ameen, K., & Arshad, A. (2022). An exploratory study of university librarians’ perceptions on causes and deterrents of plagiarism: A Pakistani perspective. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-04-2022-0074 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-04-2022-0074
Mathews, D., Franzen-Castle, L., Colby, S., Kattelmann, K., Olfert, M., & White, A. (2015). Use of word clouds as a novel approach for analysis and presentation of qualitative data for program evaluation. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 47(4), S26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2015.04.071 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2015.04.071
Morse, J. M. (2015). Data were saturated. Qualitative Health Research, 25(5), 587–588. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315576699
Ocholla, D. N., & Ocholla, L. (2020). Readiness of academic libraries in South Africa to research, teaching, and learning support in the fourth industrial revolution. Library Management, 41(6–7), 355–368. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-04-2020-0067 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-04-2020-0067
Oladokun, B. D., Owolabi, A. K., Aboyade, M. A., Wiche, H. I., & Aboyade, W. A. (2023). Emergence of robotic technologies: Implications for Nigerian academic libraries. Library Hi Tech News, 40(6), 15–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-02-2023-0031 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-02-2023-0031
Oyetola, S. O., Oladokun, B. O., Maxwell, C. E., & Akor, S. O. (2023). Artificial intelligence in the library: Gauging the potential application and implications for contemporary library services in Nigeria. Data and Metadata, 2(1), 5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/dm202336
Perkins, M. (2023). Academic integrity considerations of AI large language models in the post-pandemic era: ChatGPT and beyond. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.02.07 DOI: https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.02.07
Poenaru, A. G. (2022). Students’ attitude toward the unethical use of information technology. In Ethical use of information technology in higher education (pp. 83–97). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1951-9_6
Popenici, S. A. D., & Kerr, S. (2017). Exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching and learning in higher education. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 12, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-017-0062-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-017-0062-8
Saana, S. B. B. M., Ablordeppey, E., Mensah, N. J., & Karikari, T. K. (2016). Academic dishonesty in higher education: Students’ perceptions and involvement in an African institution. BMC Research Notes, 9, 234. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-016-2044-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-016-2044-0
Stabingisaitė, L., Šarlauskienė, L., & Čepaitienė, N. (2013). Measures for plagiarism prevention in students’ written works: A case study of ASU experience. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.913 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.913
Stokel-Walker, C. (2023). ChatGPT listed as author on research papers: Many scientists disapprove. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00107-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00107-z
UNESCO. (2019). Artificial intelligence for sustainable development: Synthesis report, Mobile Learning Week. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370308
UNESCO. (2023). Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence. https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/recommendation-ethics
Van Manen, M. (2016). Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315422657
Wood, P. (2023). Oxford and Cambridge ban ChatGPT over plagiarism fears but other universities choose to embrace AI bot. iNews. https://inews.co.uk/news/oxford-cambridge-ban-chatgpt-plagiarism-universities-2178391
Xie, Y., Wu, S., & Chakravarty, S. (2023). AI meets AI: Artificial intelligence and academic integrity: A survey on mitigating AI-assisted cheating in computing education. In Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Information Technology Education (SIGITE ’23) (5 pp.). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3585059.3611449 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3585059.3611449
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Christopher Filson Kwame, Diana Atuase (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
