Using large language models to write theses and dissertations

Abstract

There has been substantial discussion aimed at investigating the extent to which academic researchers can or should “use” large language models, such as ChatGPT and Bard, in their research papers. However, there seems to have been limited attention given to the extent to which students can use these tools for the development of theses, proposals and dissertations. This paper pushes the arguments from focusing on academic researchers, journal papers, and technical meetings to considering those theses and dissertations, raising several questions and concerns. Ultimately, university policies need to address these issues, but if publisher and editor responses and alternative business uses are a signal of that direction, consensus may be difficult to achieve.