SciSpace Academy
Tutorial

How to Disclose AI Use Across Your Research Workflow

Prof. Benita OlivierEnglishResponsible AI

TL;DR

1-min read

In this practical tutorial, Professor Benita Olivier follows a real research workflow in SciSpace, from early literature scoping through reading, writing and analysis, and shows how each use of AI was declared. It is aimed at students and researchers who have used AI in their work and now need to disclose it in a thesis or journal submission.

Key takeaways

  • Routine assistance should be distinguished from AI use that shapes your argument, because the second kind calls for a more careful declaration.
  • A strong AI declaration has four components, and covering all of them makes the statement clear and complete.
  • Acknowledging AI use, usually in a declaration or acknowledgements section, is different from citing an AI tool as a source of specific content.
  • Example disclosure statements can be adapted to your own work, and seeing a weak declaration helps you recognise what to avoid.
  • A simple AI-use log lets your disclosure build up while you work, rather than being reconstructed from memory at the end.
  • Clear records prepare you to explain and defend your AI choices confidently in a viva or during peer review.
Apply it

To apply this, start an AI-use log alongside your SciSpace work today, note each tool, task and stage as you go, and check your institution's or journal's policy before drafting the final declaration.

How to do it

  1. Classify how you used AI

    Separate routine AI assistance, such as polishing wording, from AI use that shapes your argument. This tells you which uses need a fuller disclosure.

  2. Keep a simple AI-use log

    Record each time you use AI in SciSpace for literature scoping, reading, writing or analysis. Your log lets the declaration build up as you work.

  3. Draft a four-component AI declaration

    Write your declaration so it covers the four components of a strong AI disclosure. A complete statement is clearer for examiners and journals.

  4. Acknowledge AI rather than cite it

    Check whether your context calls for acknowledging AI use or citing an AI tool, as they differ. Using the right form keeps your disclosure accurate.

  5. Compare with examples and weak declarations

    Adapt example disclosure statements and check yours against a weak declaration to avoid. This is a practical way to disclose AI use in research clearly.

  6. Prepare to explain your AI choices

    Use your log and declaration to rehearse how you would justify your AI choices. This helps you answer confidently in a viva or peer review.

Watch the tutorial39 min

How to Disclose AI Use in Your Thesis or Research PaperPlay video: How to Disclose AI Use in Your Thesis or Research Paper

Chapters

  1. Welcome: when do you need to declare AI use?
  2. Why plan your AI use from the start of a study?
  3. How do you keep an AI-use log for your thesis?
  4. Can you explain every research decision you made?
  5. What do journals and publishers require? COPE, Elsevier, Springer Nature
  6. Disclose, acknowledge or cite: how do you cite ChatGPT?
  7. What are the three levels of AI use?
  8. When should you cite AI output instead of original papers?
  9. How do you disclose SciSpace use for finding search terms?
  10. How do you disclose using Chat with PDF?
  11. What are the four elements of an AI disclosure statement?
  12. How do you declare AI-assisted data extraction?
  13. Should AI use be reported in your Methods section?
  14. How do you check and declare AI help with writing?
  15. Incomplete vs complete AI declarations: examples
  16. Where to find these features in SciSpace
  17. Takeaways: you stay in charge of your research

Try this on SciSpace

Frequently asked questions

How do I disclose AI use in my thesis or paper?

Check your institution's or journal's policy first, then state which tool you used, what you used it for, at which stage of the work, and how you checked its output. Place the statement where the guidelines ask, often the methods, acknowledgements or a dedicated declaration section. Keeping a log as you work makes this far easier to write accurately.

What is the difference between acknowledging and citing AI?

Acknowledging AI means stating openly how a tool supported your process, typically in a declaration or acknowledgements section. Citing AI means referencing specific generated content as a source, which some style guides allow and others discourage. Most journals expect an acknowledgement-style disclosure, and none accept an AI tool as an author.

Do I need to disclose using AI for grammar or language editing?

Policies differ. Some publishers exempt basic spelling and grammar checks, while others ask for any generative AI use to be declared. When the AI substantially influenced wording, summarised sources or helped shape the argument, disclosure is expected. If you are unsure, a brief disclosure is safer than leaving examiners or reviewers to guess.

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