LLMs and Academic Writing in Practice: Exploring Participants’ Utilization of GPT during an AI-Assisted Course on Writing Research Papers

This study investigates the integration of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models in scholarly writing instruction, aiming to understand their perceived positive and negative impacts on academic writing. The research employs a phenomenographic design to study the practical implications of such models in real classrooms. The course design involves five sessions, each focusing on specific sections of a research paper, with activities using GPT integrated into classes and home projects. The methodology comprehensively investigates the impact of GPT-4 on scholarly writing, with a phenomenographic perspective towards participant selection, data collection, and research design. The study reveals the multifaceted ways in which GPT models contribute to the productivity and efficiency of writing research papers, highlighting both the advantages and challenges associated with their use. The findings underscore the transformative potential of AI in education, emphasizing the need for educators and researchers to understand and maximize the benefits of GPT models.