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3rd International Research Conference of National Library of Sri Lanka 2024
Usage of Articial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Academic
Activities by Undergraduate Students: Quantitative Study
at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information
Technology (SLIIT) Library
W. A. S. C. Weerasinghe1, H. M. P. P. K. Abeysinghe2
ABSTRACT
AI is revolutionizing various elds in Sri Lanka, including academic
libraries. Understanding how undergraduates use AI tools for academic
activities is crucial for enhancing library services. This study intended
to explore, usage of AI tools for academic activities among nal-year
undergraduates. The study population was four hundred and sixty-seven
(467) students from the computing faculty at the Sri Lanka Institute of
Information Technology (SLIIT) who had library membership. Out of the
population, 100 students were selected as the sample using the convenience
sampling method. The quantitative research design was employed in
the study. The survey method was used to collect data from the selected
sample. A structured questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument.
Frequency counts and simple percentages were used to analyze the
collected data. According to the study, 99% of undergraduate students
used AI tools for academic activities. The most frequently used AI tool
is ChatGPT (94%), followed by Quill bot and Grammarly. Students use
AI tools to check grammatical errors (73%), enhance subject knowledge
(68%), and summarize content (67%). Fifty-two percent (52%) of students
think using AI diminishes critical thinking, but most disagree that using AI
is cheating. Ninety percent (90%) of students claim to know how to use AI
ethically. It is recommended that access to proper language editing tools
should be oered, as students rely on ChatGPT for grammar correction.
1 Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Malabe, Sri Lanka
2 Open University of Sri Lanka
Email: sandun.w@sliit.lk
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ICNATLIB 2024
Emphasizing the importance of using reputed publications when enhancing
students’ subject knowledge, raising awareness about library e-resources,
and creating AI usage policies collaboratively with faculties would also
be an appropriate intervention. Finally, providing training on AI tools for
research and initiating workshops to educate students on ethical AI use and
proper citation is appropriate.
Keywords : AI tool, ChatGPT, Undergraduate students, SLIIT Library
Introduction
Articial Intelligence (AI) was rst introduced in 1956 as a branch of
computer science. Copeland (2023) denes AI as the capability of computers
or robots to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI is an
old concept that has recently gained widespread attention due to generative
AI, resulting in numerous applications commonly called AI tools.
These AI tools have become signicantly popular, particularly those designed
for educational purposes. AI tools can assist, enhance, and streamline
teaching and learning processes. While AI tools oer various benets,
ethical issues have also been raised. These tools are readily available on
the internet in free and paid versions. Golen (2022) mentions several AI
tools suitable for academic purposes, such as Semantic Scholar, Penelope.
ai, Elicit for literature reviews, Writefull, Coschedule Headline Analyzer,
Quilbot, Wordtune, ChatGPT for writing, Cohere for combined literature
review and writing, and DALL-E 2 for creating gures.
It is evident that the eld of AI has already invaded the eld of higher
education. Therefore, it has a natural impact on academic libraries and their
services as well. International library-related associations and organizations
have already begun to acknowledge the role of AI in the future of
librarianship. Recent studies show AI’s impacts on librarianship and library
services. Therefore, the researcher believes that it is timely and necessary
to understand the actual usage of these tools before nding their impact on
libraries.
This study addresses the research gap in AI tool usage in Sri Lanka,
particularly in higher education. Despite extensive international research,
the usage and impact of AI tools among Sri Lankan students remain under-
explored. By focusing on 4th-year undergraduate students in the Faculty
of Computing at SLIIT, the study explores the patterns, frequency, and
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3rd International Research Conference of National Library of Sri Lanka 2024
attitudes toward AI tools among students. This research aims to provide
valuable, insightful information and the groundwork for future studies and
AI policy development in Sri Lanka.
Objectives
1. To identify the frequency of AI tools usage for academic activities.
2. To identify the types of AI tools commonly used for academic activities.
3. To nd out the purposes of using AI tools for academic activities.
4. To identify the use of AI tools for research purposes.
5. To nd out the students’ attitudes about using AI tools for academic
activities.
Methodology
The study utilized a quantitative research design and collected data through
a survey with closed-ended questions. The population comprised of 467
nal-year undergraduate library members from the Faculty of Computing.
Using convenience sampling, 100 students were randomly selected for the
survey. The primary data was gathered via a self-administered structured
questionnaire. Data were collected through a Google form and analyzed
using MS Excel, with ndings presented in tables and bar charts using
frequency counts and percentages.
Results
Frequency of using AI tools for academic activities
Table 01: Frequency of AI tools usage
Frequency Percentage (%)
Never 1%
Rarely 6%
Sometimes 38%
Often 37%
Always 19%
Total 100%
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The results revealed that 99% of respondents had used AI tools in some or
other academic activity, and just over half of the respondents often used AI
tools.
Types of AI tools commonly used for academic activities
The top three most used AI tools among respondents are ChatGPT (94%
response rate), QuillBot (88%), and Grammarly (79%).
89% of respondents use the free version of AI tools, while 11% have
purchased the paid version.
Figure 1 : Types of AI Tools
Purpose of using AI tools for academic activities
The survey found that 73% used AI for grammar checking, 68% for
enhancing subject knowledge, 67% for summarizing content, 64% for exam
preparation, 63% for assignment writing, 57% for presentations and study
notes, and 54% for paraphrasing. Almost half used AI for programming,
42% for references, and nearly 1/3 for receiving feedback on their work.
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3rd International Research Conference of National Library of Sri Lanka 2024
Figure 2 : Purpose of using AI Tools
Use of AI tools for research purposes
Three-fourths (3/4) of respondents used AI for research activities. From
it, 51% used AI tools for nding a suitable research topic, 46% used AI
for summarizing research papers, 37% used AI tools to write literature
reviews, and 23% and 19% used for citation and formulating reference lists,
respectively.
The majority of students used Chat GPT as a research support AI tool. More
than half of the responses indicated it. Many respondents learned about this
tool or its usefulness in research through social media and friends. Very
few respondents (10%) had gained formal knowledge about the above-
mentioned AI tools by attending formal online forums.
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ICNATLIB 2024
Figure 03: Usage of AI tools for the research project
Student’s attitudes about using AI tools for academic activities
Table 2. Percentage of responses to Likert scale question
Statement Strongly
Agree. Agree Neutral Dis-
agree
Strongly
Disagree
I believe that using AI tools
for my academic activi-
ties diminishes my critical
thinking
20% 32% 29% 18% 1%
I believe that using AI tools
for my academic activities
is cheating.
12% 12% 29% 31% 16%
I know when and how to
use AI tools ethically for
my academic activities
37% 53% 10% 0 0
Majority of students tend to agree with the rst statement, disagree with the
second statement, and agree with the third statement.
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3rd International Research Conference of National Library of Sri Lanka 2024
Discussion
This is the rst study to examine systematically, AI tool usage among SLIIT
students for academic purposes, revealing that 99% of these students use
AI for their academic activities. Data analysis indicates that ChatGPT is
the most popular AI tool among SLIIT students, with many using the free
version. This nding supports Albayati’s (2024) prediction that ChatGPT
would become widely used, especially among undergraduate students.
The analysis shows that most students use AI tools to check grammatical errors
and highlight issues with their English grammar knowledge. Additionally,
a signicant number of students use AI to enhance subject knowledge,
and more than half use AI, particularly generative tools like ChatGPT, to
generate study notes. This trend indicates that students prefer using AI tools
over traditional course materials to gain knowledge. Moreover, students use
AI tools for developing computer codes, which aligns with Haensch et al.
(2023) ndings on students using AI for programming.
Nearly three-fourths of students use AI tools for research purposes.
Almost half of them use AI to nd suitable research topics, set objectives,
and summarize research papers and literature. Over half of the students
specically use ChatGPT for research, with the use of other tools being
signicantly lower. This outcome aligns with Megawati et al. (2023), who
found that researchers often use ChatGPT to nalize research topics and
plan research questions or hypotheses.
When examining the students’ attitudes towards AI usage, many students
believe that the use of AI in academics may reduce critical thinking skills.
When asked if using AI tools constitutes cheating, a signicant number of
students expressed neutrality or disagreement, aligning with Bego (2023),
who reported that most students do not consider using AI for engineering
assignments as cheating. Lastly, this study shows that 90% of respondents
are aware of how to use AI ethically in academic endeavors.
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ICNATLIB 2024
Recommendations
1. Although many students use ChatGPT to correct grammatical errors, it
was not initially designed for this purpose. Therefore, it is recommended
that access to proper language editing tools like Quill Bot or Grammarly
for students’ language editing tasks be provided as a library service.
2. As students use AI tools as reference sources for general academic
purposes and literature searches for research purposes, the usage of the
SLIIT library’s resources would be aected. Therefore, it is suggested
that,
a. Emphasizing the importance of referring to reputed publications
when taking study notes. This can be discussed during the library
orientation program.
b. formulate AI usage policies in collaboration with faculties.
3. Since a signicant number of students use AI for research purposes,
the SLIIT library should oer additional resources and support. This
may include training programs for using AI tools in literature reviews,
research planning, and data analysis.
4. Since students do not consider using AI for academic activities as
cheating, the library can initiate awareness programs and workshops to
educate the user community and inculcate positive and ethical attitudinal
impressions among students about AI usage in academic work.
References
Albayati, H. (2024). Investigating undergraduate students’ perceptions
and awareness of using ChatGPT as a regular assistance tool: A
user acceptance perspective study. Computers and Education.
Articial Intelligence, Vol 6, 100203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
caeai.2024.100203
Bego, C. R. (2023, October). Using ChatGPT for homework: Does it
feel like cheating? (WIP). In 2023 IEEE Frontiers in Education
Conference (FIE) (pp. 1-4). DOI: 10.1109
FIE58773.2023.10343397
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3rd International Research Conference of National Library of Sri Lanka 2024
Copland, B. (2023, November 29). Articial intelligence (AI) | Denition,
Examples, Types, Applications, Companies, & Facts. Encyclopedia
Britannica.https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-
intelligence
Golan, R., Reddy, R., Muthigi, A., & Ramasamy, R. (2023). Articial
intelligence in academic writing: a paradigm-shifting technological
advance. Nature Reviews. Urology, Vol 20(6), 327–328. https://doi.
org/10.1038/s41585-023-00746-x
Haensch, A. C., Ball, S., Herklotz, M., & Kreuter, F. (2023, October).
Seeing ChatGPT through students’ eyes: An analysis of TikTok data.
In 2023, Big Data Meets Survey Science (BigSurv) (pp. 1-8). IEEE.
DOI: 10.1109/BigSurv59479.2023.10486710
Megawati, R., Listiani, H., Pranoto, N. W., Akobiarek, M., & S, R. R. P. M. (2023).
Role of GPT Chat in Writing Scientic Articles: A Systematic Literature
Review. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, Vo l 9(11), 1078–1084. https://
doi.org/10.29303/jppipa.v9i11.5559
Pannu, M. (2015). Articial intelligence and its application in dierent areas.
International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology (IJEIT),
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