How to declare the use of Generative AI
- with examples
Guidelines on the use of generative AI in project reports and final project assignments.
DTU permits the use of generative AI but please be mindful of the following guidelines if you use generative AI in your project:
- Declare
You must distinctly declare that you have used AI in your report and how you have used it. - Responsibility
Your report is your responsibility alone - getting help from tools like generative AI does not change that fact. All decisions in relation to content must be yours. AI cannot and must not be a co-author of your report.
It is important that you reflect upon the way you have used generative AI as this is part of the creation process. - Documentation
If you use genAI, you must cite your use. Unfortunately, genAI chats are not the easiest to document.
What you can do is to describe the process as part of your introduction, the methods section or as a brief summary at the end of your report. Here, you must describe how you have used generative AI e.g. that you have used genAI for language optimization and proof reading, for literature search, for finding answers or for generating feedback on the content of your report.
Examples of how to declare your use of Generative AI
| How can you declare that you have used Generative AI for inspiration and brainstorming keywords for a literature search? You can declare this in the methods section or add it as an appendix. For more specific guidance, consult your lecturer. |
’As part of my assignment, I was asked to conduct a literature review and for this purpose, I used Microsoft Copilot as a sparring partner for finding relevant search terms for my project. (Microsoft Copilot, 2024; Appendix 1: full documentation of my process including prompts and output).’ Documentation: Add the full input and output prompt process from start to finish including which tool was used etc. as an appendix. Example of how this can be listed in a bibliography according to the APA citation style: |
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’As part of my assignment, I was asked to find literature and to this end, I have used ChatGPT to help generate relevant search terms and synonyms. I have selected some of them and used them to search for literature in both DTU Findit and Scopus. The selected search terms are included in my search string.’ Documentation: in the form of a footnote reference including the prompt used, the tool used, the date etc. Example of what this footnote would look like in the MLA citation style: |
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As for direct quotations or use of illustrations found via prompts from Generative AI output – these should typically be listed in the project’s bibliography |
‘For my project, I had to decide which method would be the most relevant for me to use – the qualitative or the quantitative study method. In order to be able to examine this topic, I asked ChatGPT about the differences between various study methods, and the table below gave me an overview as well as ideas on how to explore the theory about the method I ended up using in my project.’
Example according to the MLA citation style: |
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If you use Generative AI to create figures, pictures or illustrations, these must be properly cited too. |
If you want to use a picture of a cat in a hat for one of your slides or a report, you could use e.g. DALL-E via Microsoft Co-pilot (approved by DTU) and use the prompt: ’present me with an illustration or picture of a 'scientist cat in a hat’.
Citation for the picture below in APA citation style:
Ekstrøm, J. (2024). An AI generated image of a “scientist cat in a hat.” Dall E 3 via Microsoft Copilot. Retrieved from https://copilot.microsoft.com/ |
Prompts/process
Your teacher/supervisor may demand that prompts and/or generated AI output is included as an appendix to your report. This must be communicated or agreed upon in writing when the project begins.
From a legal point of view, it is important that you save your prompts in order to be able to document that you have created the text/picture and that you have not plagiarized other people’s work.
References
If you use text that has been generated by AI, remember to cite the AI – just as you would when using other sources.
Read more here about the use of AI and correct referencing.