Attitudes and Perceptions of University Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in Biomedicine Towards the Use of Artificial Intelligence Chatbots in the Educational Process

Welcome. Please review the implied consent form below before beginning the survey.

Implied Consent Form

Study Title: Attitudes and Perceptions of University Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in Biomedicine Towards the Use of Artificial Intelligence Chatbots in the Educational Process: A Large-Scale International Cross-Sectional Survey

Principal Investigator: Dr. David Moher, PhD, dmoher@ohri.ca
Co-Investigator: Dr. Jeremy Y. Ng, PhD, jerng@ohri.ca

OHSN-REB Number: 20230307-01H

INTRODUCTION
AI chatbots are programs designed to simulate conversations with human users through text or speech. Some well-known examples include Bing Chat, ChatGPT, YouChat, and Google Bard, although this list is by no means exhaustive. In response to prompts and questions, these AI chatbots can generate relevant responses and material (e.g., text, images, figures, etc.) on a variety of topics. As you may already know, AI chatbots have recently taken the world by storm, and have been used for many purposes, including customer service, mental health support, and healthcare. In recent months, there has been growing interest in the use of AI chatbots in the educational process, and perhaps you have used them to assist you with your own academic learning.

This study will be the first to provide a current, large-scale and international perspective on university students’ and postdoctoral fellows’ attitudes and perceptions towards the use of AI chatbots in the scientific process. Your participation will provide valuable insights into how the student community perceives and accepts the use of AI chatbots in academic settings. You are invited to participate in this study for one of two reasons: 1) we have identified one of your professors/instructors from a random sample of corresponding authors who recently published articles in active peer-reviewed biomedical journals indexed in the MEDLINE database and they have shared this survey with you as their student; or 2) we have contacted program administrators at your academic institution and they have shared this survey with you. This consent form provides you with information to help you make an informed choice. Please read this document carefully and ask any questions you may have. All your questions should be answered to your satisfaction before you decide whether to participate in this research study.

ARE THERE ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST?
There are no conflicts of interest to declare related to this study.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THIS STUDY?
Your participation in this study will require the completion of an anonymous survey. The survey asks questions about participant demographics and the use of AI chatbots in the scientific process. This should take approximately 15 minutes of your time.

The information you provide is for research purposes only. Some of the questions are personal. You can choose not to answer questions if you wish.

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL:
Taking part in this study is voluntary; you do not have to be in this study if you do not want to be. You can choose to end your participation in this research (called withdrawal) at any time without having to provide a reason.

The survey is anonymous. This means that you can withdraw from participating at any time while completing the survey simply by closing your browser; however, once the completed survey has been returned to the study team, it will not be possible to withdraw your information. If you decide to withdraw from the study after beginning the survey, but before submitting your responses, simply close the browser window and your response

RISKS AND/OR BENEFITS
Participation involves minimal risk to you. Some of the questions may however make you feel uncomfortable.

You will not receive direct benefit from participating in this study. The results of our survey may help inform the development and implementation of educational initiatives surrounding the use of AI chatbots in medical research and address potential concerns or barriers that researchers may have regarding their use.

PRIVACY/CONFIDENTIALITY:
The survey is anonymous which means that your answers will not be linked to you in any way.

Authorized representatives of the following organizations may look at your original records at the site where these records are held, to check that the information collected for the study is correct and follows proper laws and guidelines.

The Ottawa Health Science Network Research Ethics Board who oversees the ethical conduct of this study.

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, to oversee the conduct of research at this location.

Information that is collected about you for the study (called study data) may also be sent to the organizations listed above. Your name, address, email, or other information that may directly identify you will not be used. The records received by these organizations may contain your sex/gender, academic rank and institution information, and career stage.

Communication via e-mail is not absolutely secure. We do not recommend that you communicate sensitive personal information via e-mail.

If the results of this study are published, your identity will remain anonymous. It is expected that the information collected during this study will be used in analyses and will be published/presented to the scientific community at meetings and in journals.

We will share your anonymous data from this study on the Open Science Framework. This means your data may be used for other research purposes. Information that links your study data directly to you will not be shared.

If information from this study is published, shared, or presented at scientific meetings, your identity will remain anonymous.

Even though the likelihood that someone may identify you from the study data is very small, it can never be completely eliminated.

Data collected using the SurveyMonkey software resides on a Montreal, Quebec server.

COST AND/OR PAYMENT:
There will be no cost to you to take part in this study.

RIGHTS OF PARTICIPANTS:
You have the right to be informed of the results of this study once the entire study is complete. If you would like to be informed of the results of this study, please contact the research team.

Your rights to privacy are legally protected by federal and provincial laws that require safeguards to ensure that your privacy is respected.

QUESTIONS:
If you have any questions about taking part in this study, you may contact Dr. David Moher, PhD at dhmoher@ohri.ca or Dr. Jeremy Y. Ng, PhD at jerng@ohri.ca.

If you have questions about your rights as a participant or about ethical issues related to this study, you can talk to someone who is not involved in the study at all. Please contact The Ottawa Health Science Network Research Ethics Board, Chairperson at 613-798-5555 extension 16719.

CONSENT
By completing the survey your consent to participate is implied.