Assessing Attitudes Of Artificial Intelligence Tools In Academic Research: A Cross-sectional Survey Among Efl Doctorate Students

Abstract

There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various domains including education and research. Yet, attitudes towards the use of AI are controversial. This study aims to investigate the perception of artificial intelligence tools in research among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) doctorate students of the department of English, University of Tlemcen in order to provide valuable information for understanding and addressing the extra challenges students face in doing research nowadays. In so doing, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 15 doctorate students using Google forms questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three sections to examine (a) the respondents‟ barriers to research, (b) their positive perception towards research and (c) their negative perception towards research all in the light of the current hands-on of AI tools. The results indicated that almost all informants heard and read about AI while only 20.25% stated that they have good or excellent knowledge about it. Speaking about their general perception, approximately half of the respondents 54% rated the use of AI tools in research as positive and the other half (46%) as negative. It is worth noting as a conclusion that although showing only a mediocre perception and knowledge about artificial intelligence, the majority of students rated AI in research as positive. Following this finding, the study calls for an urgent need to implement institutional rules and measures that would strengthen the development and the growth of scientific production in the university context among novice researchers, doctorate students included.