Version: 1.0

1) Introduction

The rapid integration of AI tools into research and scholarly works presents both opportunities and risks that require careful consideration. This document provides institutional guidance for the responsible and ethical use of AI in research, scholarship, and creative activity conducted by GVSU faculty, staff, and students under their GVSU affiliation. The guidance presented in this document applies to all categories of AI tools, including generative, analytical, and assistive systems, and all stages of the research lifecycle. 

This guidance is not intended to govern the use of AI solely for instructional or pedagogical purposes, except where such use intersects with research activities. This document is advisory in nature and does not establish new enforcement mechanisms. Compliance is governed through existing institutional policies and frameworks, including but not limited to academic integrity policies, research misconduct policies, and applicable regulatory requirements. 

This document does not:

• Approve, certify, or prohibit the use of specific AI tools or platforms
• Supersede sponsor, publisher, legal, or regulatory requirements
• Replace discipline-specific standards or professional codes of conduct
• Establish new categories of research misconduct or academic violation

Researchers are responsible for ensuring that their use of AI complies with all applicable institutional policies, sponsor and publisher requirements, and legal obligations. Given the rapid evolution of AI technologies, researchers are responsible for remaining informed about emerging capabilities, limitations, and risks. This guidance will be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in the technological, regulatory, and scholarly landscape. 

2) Guiding Principles

Research Integrity
AI must not be used as a replacement for original thought, analysis, and critical thinking, and must not compromise the integrity of the research process or its outcomes. Researchers are expected to ensure that AI-assisted contributions uphold standards of accuracy, validity, and reproducibility consistent with their discipline. All outputs generated with AI should be critically evaluated and verified by the researcher prior to dissemination.

Transparency and Disclosure
Researchers should be transparent about the use of AI in their work, particularly where such use substantively influences the content, analysis, interpretation, or presentation of a research output. Disclosure practices should align with disciplinary norms, publisher requirements, and sponsor expectations, and should enable others to understand the role of AI in the research process.

Accountability
Researchers retain full responsibility for all aspects of their scholarly work, including content generated or supported by AI tools. AI systems cannot be credited with authorship or responsibility for research design, analysis, interpretation, or conclusions. The use of AI does not avoid the researcher’s obligation to ensure the originality, accuracy, and ethical integrity of their work. 

Data Ethics, Privacy, and Security
The use of AI must be consistent with applicable standards for data protection and confidentiality. Researchers should exercise caution when using external AI tools and must not input sensitive, proprietary, or restricted data unless such use is explicitly permitted by governing agreements, protocols, or institutional policies. Compliance with applicable legal and regulatory frameworks is expected. 

Equity and Access
The adoption of AI in research should be mindful of potential disparities in access to tools, resources, and technical expertise. Researchers and units are encouraged to consider how AI use may affect equity in research participation, authorship, and opportunity. GVSU researchers should promote inclusive practices where feasible. Researchers should also carefully consider the AI tools they use and develop, taking into careful consideration the potential biases that might be incorporated into the models. 

3) Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses of AI in Research

The use of AI in research, scholarship, and creative activity spans a continuum from routine assistive functions to substantive intellectual contributions. The appropriateness of AI use depends on the nature of the task, the type of data involved, and applicable disciplinary, sponsor, publisher and regulatory expectations. 

Acceptable Uses:
AI tools may be used to support research activities where such use does not compromise research integrity and where outputs are appropriately reviewed and verified by the researcher. 

Examples that typically don’t require disclosure:

• Minor editing for grammar, clarity, and readability
• Formatting text, citations, or references

Examples that typically require disclosure:

Substantive changes to sentence structure

• Summarizing or organizing non-sensitive information or literature
• Brainstorming research questions, keywords, etc.
• Generating or debugging code or scripts that are subsequently reviewed, tested, and validated by the researcher
• Assisting with data organization or preliminary exploration of non-sensitive datasets
• Graphical abstracts, workflow diagrams, or conceptual illustrations that do not generate, alter, or enhance experimental data

Restricted Uses:
Certain uses of AI may be appropriate but require careful consideration, validation, and, where applicable, supervisory or institutional oversight. Such uses should be clearly disclosed, methodologically justified, reproducible and verifiable to the extent possible, and consistent with university, sponsor, publisher, and disciplinary expectations. If unsure, please contact the appropriate sponsor/publisher or GVSU’s Office of Research Compliance and Integrity ([email protected]).

Prohibited Uses:

The following uses of AI are not permitted in research conducted under the university’s auspices:

• Inputting sensitive, proprietary, export-controlled, or otherwise restricted data into AI tools that are not explicitly approved for such use
• Presenting AI-generated content as original work without appropriate attribution or disclosure
• Generating substantial portions of research outputs without critical review, revision, and intellectual contribution by the researcher
• Fabricating, falsifying, or manipulating data, images, citations, or results using AI
• Using AI in ways that violate confidentiality obligations, including peer review or unpublished work
• Circumventing sponsor, publisher, or institutional policies governing research conduct 

4) Disclosure Requirements

Researchers are expected to disclose the use of AI in research and scholarly outputs when such use influences the content, analysis, interpretation, or presentation of a research output. Disclosure should be sufficient to ensure transparency, support reproducibility where applicable, and align with disciplinary, sponsor, and publisher expectations, in addition to GVSU department- and college-specific guidelines. 

At a minimum, disclosure should describe:

• The AI tool(s) used and when they were accessed
• The nature and purpose of the use
• The extent to which AI contributed to the final output

Failure to appropriately disclose AI use may constitute a violation of academic integrity or research misconduct policies. 

Manuscripts, Theses, Dissertations
Use of AI must be disclosed in manuscripts and academic submissions where it has made a substantial contribution to the work. Disclosure should:

• Be included in an appropriate section of the document or presentation (e.g., acknowledgments, methods, or a dedicated disclosure statement)
• Clearly describe how AI was used in the development of the work
• Reflect any additional requirements set by publishers or the institution

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted content, regardless of AI involvement. All researchers and authors are fully responsible for verifying and adhering to publisher-specific disclosure requirements when using AI tools.  Authors have an obligation to inform all co-authors when, and the extent to which, AI has been used in manuscript preparation. 

Grant Proposals
AI use in grant proposal preparation must comply with sponsor-specific requirements and restrictions. Given evolving sponsor policies, researchers are responsible for verifying requirements at the time of submission. 

Student Work
GVSU students must comply with existing university policies regarding AI use, including but not limited to AI policies found within the GVSU Graduate School, the GVSU Student Code of Conduct, and the GVSU Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement. Additional policies and guidelines regarding AI use can be found at www.gvsu.edu/ai. 

5) AI and Human Subjects Research

The use of AI tools in research involving human subjects is often permissible after review and approval by the GVSU Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB typically requires researchers to disclose the use of any AI tools for data processing or analysis to research participants during the informed consent process. Questions regarding the use of AI in human subjects research may be directed to the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity ([email protected]). 

6) Data Management and Security

A list of current approved tools and resources can be found at www.gvsu.edu/ai. It is recommended that GVSU personnel planning to utilize AI tools in their research, scholarly, or creative activities contact GVSU Academic Research Computing (ARC) prior to use, to validate the specific AI tool and ensure it satisfies university data security standards. The ARC team can be reached at [email protected]. https://services.gvsu.edu/TDClient/60/Portal/26560/Home-1

7) Authorship and Intellectual Property

Authorship of scholarly work is reserved for individuals who make substantial intellectual contributions and who can take responsibility for the content of the work. AI systems do not meet these criteria and therefore:

• Cannot be listed as authors or co-authors on manuscripts, proposals, or other scholarly outputs
• Cannot serve as principal investigators or co-investigators on research projects
• Cannot assume responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, or originality of research

All individuals listed as authors of a scholarly work are expected to:

• Review and verify any AI-assisted contributions
• Ensure that all content meets disciplinary and ethical standards
• Accept full accountability for the final work

For additional guidance on assigning authorship and appropriately recognizing an individual’s contribution to a collaborative scholarly work, please refer to the GVSU Authorship Guidelines for Collaborative Scholarly Products provided by the Responsible Conduct of Research Advisory Committee.

Researchers are responsible for ensuring that their use of AI complies with applicable intellectual property (IP) laws, licensing agreements, and institutional policies. 

8) Expectations for Research Advisors, Supervisors, and Mentors

Research advisors, supervisors, and mentors play a critical role in guiding the responsible and ethical use of AI within research, scholarly, and creative activities. They are expected to model best practices, establish clear expectations, and support students in navigating the appropriate use of AI tools.

Advisors, supervisors, and mentors should:

• Establish Clear Expectations: Communicate expectations regarding AI use within research groups, including acceptable practices, disclosure requirements, and any discipline-specific norms or restrictions.
• Promote Responsible and Ethical Use: Encourage the use of AI in ways that align with research integrity, transparency, and accountability, and that are consistent with this guidance and applicable professional standards.
• Ensure Understanding of Disclosure and Attribution: Guide students and research personnel in appropriately disclosing AI use.
• Provide Oversight of Research Outputs: Review manuscripts, theses, dissertations, and other scholarly outputs to ensure that AI-assisted content has been critically evaluated, appropriately integrated, and properly disclosed.
• Support Compliance with Data and Regulatory Requirements: Ensure that the use of AI in research involving sensitive data, proprietary information, or human subjects complies with applicable policies, agreements, and oversight requirements (e.g., IRB protocols).
• Promote Open Dialogue and Training: Create an environment where questions about AI use can be discussed openly, and direct students/personnel to relevant institutional resources, training opportunities, and approved tools where available.
• Monitor Evolving Practices: Stay informed about developments in AI technologies, as well as changes in sponsor, publisher, and disciplinary expectations, and adjust guidance to research teams accordingly.

9) Additional Resources

Artificial Intelligence at GVSU; www.gvsu.edu/ai 

Acceptable Use Policy for Public AI Solutions; https://www.gvsu.edu/policies/policy.htm?policyId=3EDA3028-A1EF-7514-962877B732FDA124#scope

Elsevier Generative AI Policy for Journals;

https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/generative-ai-policies-for-journals

GVSU Authorship Guidelines for Collaborative Scholarly Products; https://www.gvsu.edu/cms4/asset/8C55EB48-9218-2FDF-51923DF040BB131E/gvsu_authorship_guidelines_for_collaborative_scholarly_products_2026-08-03.pdf

GVSU CoC AI Literacy for Life and Work Course; https://www.gvsu.edu/computing/ai-community-coursecertificate-258

GVSU Graduate Education Policies and Procedures Manual; https://www.gvsu.edu/gs/graduate-education-policies-and-procedures-manual-33

GVSU Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Generative AI Policy (housed within the Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement); https://www.gvsu.edu/ours/ai-policy-911.htm

GVSU Student Code: The Anchor of Student Rights and Responsibilities; https://www.gvsu.edu/policies/category.htm?categoryId=2D0C8EF7-9959-9B01-959C403E725313F3

Springer Nature AI Guidance;

https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/ai/ai-guidance-for-our-researchers-and-communities