‘A rather stupid but always available brainstorming partner’: Use and understanding of generative AI by UK postgraduate researchers
Open accessAbstract
Research into the increased use of Generative AI in Higher Education has largely focused on undergraduate study. While many institutions are grappling with the implications for doctoral level, there has been little published work investigating how postgraduate researchers use the technology or their attitudes towards it. This paper is based on a survey of 75 doctoral candidates across 19 UK Higher Education Institutions. The results show that most respondents had used Generative AI for their doctoral research, with the most common uses being framed as time-saver, editor or colleague. There was an awareness of limitations and ethical issues connected to the use of AI but no agreement as to where those boundaries lie. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need for sector agreement and communication on acceptable use and best practice.
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Generative AI blurs authorship boundaries and challenges traditional notions of originality, complicating plagiarism prevention.
“Plagiarism prevention further complicates these concerns, as generative AI blurs authorship boundaries and challenges traditional notions of originality (Acosta-Enriquez et al., 2024b; English et al., 2025; Sekli et al., 2024).”
From Six Institutional Intervention Areas to Support Ethical and Effective Student Use of Generative AI in Higher Education: A Narrative Review (2026) · cites this paper as English et al., 2025
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- Authors
- English, R., Nash, R., & Mackenzie, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Southampton (GB)
- Corresponding author
- English, Ross
- Venue
- Innovations in Education and Teaching International
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2025-01-02
- Volume
- 63
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 193-207
- ISSN
- 1470-3297 (ISSN-L)
- 1470-3300
- OpenAlex
- W4406015567
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 8
- FWCI
- 17.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Innovations in Education and Teaching International (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Artificial Intelligence in Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Academic integrity and plagiarism
- Keywords
- generative AI, postgraduate research students, doctoral students, attitudes toward AI, AI ethics, AI limitations, best practices, higher education, UK higher education
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