The rapid rise of GenAI is transforming how PGRs approach key stages of the PGR lifecycle, from research proposals, literature review and data analysis to writing and publishing research. While these technologies offer significant opportunities to enhance productivity and creativity, they also raise complex questions around research integrity, ethics, plagiarism, authorship, and transparency. There is a growing need for clear, accessible, and practical guidance to support PGRs in making informed decisions about when and how GenAI can be used responsibly within their research. Existing guidance is often fragmented, text-heavy, or lacks relevance to the day-to-day realities of the PGR lifecycle. This need is reinforced by recent SGSSS-led participatory research, which found that GenAI use among PhD students is widespread but largely self-taught, with many students experiencing uncertainty and calling for clearer, more coordinated guidance.
PGRs at Glasgow, as part of our support for research integrity and good research practice, are able to participate in webinars on a variety of topics. In both the 2025 and 2026 series, one of these sessions was about the use of Generative AI. Both sessions were popular with 119 (2025) and 129 (2026) PGRs attending. It was clear that students use these tools in a wide variety of different ways to support research and writing and have a range of views as to the ethics of their use, but also hat they would benefit from more detailed guidance about good academic practice that is specific to their needs. The questions from PGRs and results from polls provided valuable data about the common uses of GenAI by PGRs and what areas they would like to have more guidance on. As a starting point, the teams have developed a checklist for PGRs and wish to expand that guidance.
This project responds to that need by developing a visual, interactive and intuitive toolkit that supports responsible GenAI use across the PGR lifecycle, enabling researchers to navigate decisions confidently and in line with institutional and sector expectations.
This project will design and develop an interactive AI decision-making tool for PGRs, integrating:
• A visual decision tree guiding ethical and appropriate AI use
• The PGR lifecycle (e.g., literature review, data collection, analysis, writing)
• A curated resource bank (policies, tools, examples, guidance)
• A transferable template for use by other universities
The project builds on the existing AI checklist and aims to transform it into a dynamic, accessible, and scalable digital resource.
