Assessment categories for research degrees
There are three categories for using Generative AI (Gen AI) during a research degree candidature: red, amber and green.
General principles
As a general principle, you can use Gen AI to help your research process but cannot use AI to generate, write or falsify work. You may use Gen AI in ways that support your research process, enhance your ability to achieve your programme learning outcomes and to prepare you to succeed in your future careers.
You must not use Gen AI to write your thesis, transfer report or other work, falsify work or breach guidelines for the research assessment and examination processes. This use of Gen AI damages your learning and may lead to disqualification. This is explained further in the PGR Academic Misconduct procedure.
The examples given for the categories below differ from the taught student assessment categories.
RED category
For research degree programmes there are some activities (examples below) where the use of Gen AI tools is not appropriate and is not permitted and doing so would be considered an academic integrity offence and would be investigated under the PGR academic misconduct procedures.
Any work contributing to the practice element in a practice-based PhD would come under the red category examples below, unless the specific nature of the research project required used of Gen AI tools (such as an exhibition looking at difference between human-generated and AI-generated content).
Where the specific nature of the research project requires you to use Gen AI tools you should discuss with your supervisor if you should follow the guidance in the green category examples.
Reasonable adjustments
The process for identifying and agreeing support and reasonable adjustments for PGR assessments can be found in the guidance on support and reasonable adjustments for PGR assessments. We are currently working on what it means to provide reasonable adjustments outside of this guidance. Contact your Graduate School and Disability Services to discuss this further.
Red category examples
Examples of assessments where Gen AI is not allowed include:
- generating new text for any work you are submitting
- taking text you have written yourself and using Gen AI to re-write this. This would include any substantive changes to your original text, for example adding, condensing or re-writing any your sentences or sections of work.
- paraphrasing work from other authors that you want to refer to as part of your work
- translating work you have written in another language into English, which you then submit as your own writing
- help you to answer questions during your transfer or thesis viva
- alter the substance of any ideas and arguments put forward within the work.
AMBER category
In the amber category, the use of Gen AI is not in itself an outcome for the research, but there may be parts of the research process where using Gen AI is appropriate.
You may use Gen AI tools to enhance and support the development of specific skills in specific ways, as agreed in discussion with your supervisors. For instance, you might use Gen AI for tasks such as data analysis, pattern recognition or generating insights.
If you use Gen AI tools in these ways you must:
- conform to the University of Leeds guidance
- take a critical approach to using outputs, analysing and verifying any information the tools provide
- engage with the ethics review processes and obtaining authorisation from a faculty research ethics committee where appropriate and necessary
- acknowledge any use of Gen AI tools in your thesis
- read and follow the guidance on Data restrictions and security and never enter sensitive or personal data in any prompt or content that you provide to any Gen AI tool. To minimise data protection and privacy risks, all staff and students should use Microsoft Copilot. Please see the guidance on GenAI tools to find more information about using Copilot.
Amber category examples
Examples of where you may use Gen AI in an assistive category include:
- to help you identify and correct issues with spelling, grammar and punctuation, formatting and presentation before you submit work for assessment, in accordance with the PGR Proof-reading policy and guidance
- to help you prepare for your transfer or final viva by generating mock questions that you might be asked
- data analysis, pattern recognition or generating insights
- supporting a particular process such as translating or testing and debugging code
- organising your references
- project planning
- to support your literature review process, for example: supporting the development of database search strategies, constructing a search strategy and search terms, literature mapping and finding papers relevant to your topic
- summarising papers to help you check your understanding – but you must not use any summary in your thesis
- analysing content
- creating artwork or any work contributing to the practice element in a practice-based PhD (images, audio and videos)
- developing code
- researching and seeking answers.
GREEN category
There are some specific areas of research where the development or use of Gen AI tools will be integral to answering the research question. In these cases, the use of Gen AI is fundamental to both the research process and the assessment and the green category applies. Your supervisors can support and guide you in the use of Gen AI.
For the green category, your research question will require you to demonstrate your ability to use Gen AI tools effectively and critically to tackle complex problems, make informed judgments and generate creative solutions.
The use of Gen AI and your critical appraisal of its output will explicitly form part of the research. Your thesis submission and oral examination will provide an opportunity to demonstrate effective and responsible use of Gen AI.
If you use Gen AI tools in these ways you must:
- conform to the University of Leeds guidance
- take a critical approach to using outputs, analysing and verifying any information the tools provide
- engage with the ethics review processes and obtaining authorisation from a faculty research ethics committee where appropriate and necessary
- acknowledge any use of Gen AI tools in your thesis
- read and follow the guidance on Data restrictions and security and never enter sensitive or personal data in any prompt or content that you provide to any Gen AI tool. To minimise data protection and privacy risks, all staff and students should use Microsoft Copilot. Please see the guidance on GenAI tools to find more information about using Copilot.
Green category examples
If your research is in the green category, you may use Gen AI in the following ways (in consultation with your supervisors):
- during your viva if you need to demonstrate to your examiners the tool you have developed or worked with during your research process
- comparing content (AI generated and human generated)
- creating content in particular styles
- researching and seeking answers
- analysing content
- creating artwork (eg images, audio and videos)
- translating content.
Ethics and integrity
If you use Gen AI tools in the ways listed above you must:
- conform to the University of Leeds guidance
- engage with the ethics review processes and obtaining authorisation from a faculty research ethics committee where appropriate and necessary
- acknowledge any use of Gen AI tools in your thesis.
Save your inputs and outputs
Wherever possible, you should save copies of your original input and the outputs that the Gen AI tool has produced for you. You may be asked to provide this information as part of your assessment or in any academic misconduct process.
In some cases it may not be practical to keep a record of every iteration of your inputs/outputs eg where the tool is being used to assist with coding and where the prompt may need refining multiple times. In these cases discuss with your supervisors how best to document your interactions.
There is more detailed advice on how to approach this in the Use of Generative AI in PGR assessments section, or in the downloadable PGR guidance.
Consult your supervisors
Always talk with your supervisor for support and guidance in the appropriate use of Gen AI for your particular research area. Make sure that this is documented in your Supervision meeting records in GRAD.
It is important to understand that your supervisors are also learning how the use of Gen AI can support and enhance your research development. We encourage you to have an open discussion on this topic at an early stage to carefully consider the use of Gen AI tools in your situation and the risks associated with copyright and ownership of material.
Guidance for supervisors and case studies are being created to support your supervisors in line with the development of Gen AI.