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Cite Research v.2

AI & Your course assignments

  • Always confirm with your professor whether AI tools like ChatGPT are allowed for each assignment

  • Always verify information and sources generated by AI tools

    • AI has been known to generate false information and to cite non-existent sources

    • AI-generated text mines people's intellectual property without crediting them, which raises ethical concerns

  • Content from AI tools like ChatGPT is usually nonrecoverable, so it cannot be retrieved or linked in your citation and in some cases be cited as personal communication.

  • Some of this guidance may be updated as recommendations evolve

APA Citation

Currently, APA recommends that text generated from AI is more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

In-text citation: Author of generative AI model, Year of version used

Example:

(OpenAI, 2023)

OpenAI (2023)

Reference Page:

Author of AI model used. (Year of AI model used). Name of AI model used (Version of AI model used) [Type or description of AI model used]. Web address of AI model used

Example:

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Sept 25 version) [Large language model]. chat.openai.com/

The full transcript of a response can be included in an appendix or other supplementary materials.

MLA Citation

The Modern Language Association provides detailed guidance on citing generative AI according to their template.

In-text citation: (Short form Title of source)  (“Describe the symbolism”) 
Work cited entry: 
“Title of source” prompt. Name of AI Tool, version, Company, Date content was generated, General web address of tool. 
“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 12 Mar. version, OpenAI, 1 Apr. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat. 

General Guidelines:
Author - We do not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. This recommendation follows the policies developed by various publishers, including the MLA’s journal PMLA. 
Title of Source - Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may involve including information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if you have not done so in the text. 
Title of Container- Use the Title of Container element to name the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT).
Version - Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. For example, the examples in this post were developed using ChatGPT 3.5, which assigns a specific date to the version, so the Version element shows this version date.
Publisher - Name the company that made the tool.
Date - Give the date the content was generated.
Location - Give the general URL for the tool.