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Chatgpt in Academic Writing Maximizing Its.6
Chatgpt in Academic Writing Maximizing Its.6
This review article explores the use of ChatGPT in academic writing and provides insights on how to utilize Access this article online
it judiciously. With the increasing popularity of AI‑powered language models, ChatGPT has emerged Website:
as a potential tool for assisting writers in the research and writing process. We have provided a list of https://journals.lww.com/ijo
potential uses of ChatGPT by a novice researcher for getting help during research proposal preparation and
YQp/IlQrHD3i3D0OdRyi7TvSFl4Cf3VC1y0abggQZXdtwnfKZBYtws= on 03/24/2024
DOI:
manuscript writing. However, there are concerns regarding its reliability and potential risks associated with 10.4103/IJO.IJO_718_23
its use. The review highlights the importance of maintaining human judgment in the writing process and PMID:
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using ChatGPT as a complementary tool rather than a replacement for human effort. The article concludes
with recommendations for researchers and writers to ensure responsible and effective use of ChatGPT in Quick Response Code:
academic writing.
Key words: Academic writing, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, language model, writing assistance, writing
tools
Academic writing is an essential skill that plays a crucial role requirements of the intended audience or publisher. However,
in academic and professional success. However, writing a here are some common steps involved in the research writing
research paper is often a daunting task, even for experienced process. The steps are shown in a flowchart in Fig. 1.[6]
writers. It requires a substantial amount of time, effort, and
The first step of a research project is to find a unique research
skill to conduct research, organize ideas, and present findings
question or problem that has not been explored before. This
effectively.[1,2] As a result, many authors face difficulties during
question should be clear, concise, and relevant to the field
the research and writing process. Non‑native speakers face
of study.[7] The thought process of novice authors may be so
more challenges in writing in English.[3]
involved with minute details about the research that they may
With the recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), find difficulty in framing a clear research question.
ChatGPT has emerged as a potential tool for assisting writers in
The next step is to conduct a literature review. In this
the research and writing process.[4] ChatGPT is an AI‑powered
phase, researchers perform a comprehensive review of existing
generative language model that can generate human‑like
literature related to the research question or problem. This
text based on the input provided by the user. Its ability to
helps to identify if the question that came to mind is already
understand natural language and generate coherent and
answered or if there are gaps in the literature.[8] The research
relevant responses has made it an attractive option for writers
question can be modified accordingly. This step also helps in
looking to streamline their writing process.[5]
choosing the research methodology.
However, there are concerns regarding the reliability of
After finding the research gap, researchers find a suitable
ChatGPT and the potential risks associated with its use. This
methodology for the study. This includes selecting a sample
review paper aims to explore some features of ChatGPT that a
population, calculating the minimum requirement of sample
novice author can use for academic writing. We also discuss the
size, data collection methods, methods to reduce bias, and data
judicious use of the model to get maximum help for generating
analysis techniques. This is one of the most important tasks as the
scientific content.
whole study depends on choosing the appropriate methodology.[9]
Research Map In the next phase of research, the researchers collect data
The steps involved in research writing can vary depending from the sample. Here, the researchers need to write an
on the nature of the research project, the discipline, and the
This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 4.0 License,
Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non‑commercially,
as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under
Deoghar, Jharkhand, 1Department of Physiology, Raiganj Government
the identical terms.
Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India
Correspondence to: Dr. Himel Mondal, Department of Physiology, All For reprints contact: WKHLRPMedknow_reprints@wolterskluwer.com
India Institute of Medical Sciences, Deoghar, Jharkhand ‑ 814 152, India.
E‑mail: himelmkcg@gmail.com Cite this article as: Mondal H, Mondal S. ChatGPT in academic writing:
Received: 14‑Mar‑2023 Revision: 11‑Aug‑2023 Maximizing its benefits and minimizing the risks. Indian J Ophthalmol
2023;71:3600-6.
Accepted: 21‑Aug‑2023 Published: 20-Nov-2023
Literature search Write a literature review for the study highlighting the importance of research writing, the difficulty faced
by Indian doctors in writing a research article, the application of AI in research writing, and why assessing
knowledge, attitude, and practice between residents and faculties is important.
References Write a paragraph of text about the “Influence of gut microbiota on eye diseases” with four references to
journal articles.
YQp/IlQrHD3i3D0OdRyi7TvSFl4Cf3VC1y0abggQZXdtwnfKZBYtws= on 03/24/2024
Select methodology I would like to conduct research to test the effect of drug X on treating diabetic retinopathy. What study
method would be appropriate for the study?
Sample size In a nationwide survey for assessing the perception of medical students about the use of AI in ophthalmology,
how many research participants to recruit if the total number of students in India is 105000, the confidence
level is 95%, and the margin of error is 5%?
Data collection Write an informed consent form in English for recruiting participants for research on screening of refraction
errors. The language should be understandable by 6th‑grade students.
Data analysis What statistical tests would be appropriate to compare a continuous variable between males and females
when the data is not normally distributed?
Result interpretation Interpret the result presented in the table and write a paragraph with major findings. [Table copied from MS
Word file and pasted]
Writing Title Write three titles of a research paper where researchers would like to assess the accuracy of three AI‑based
drafting screening devices to detect diabetic retinopathy in comparison with the gold standard in a rural hospital
situated in the eastern part of India.
Abstract Write an unstructured abstract of 250 words for the study titled “A narrative review on applicability of AI rural
healthcare in India” with an emphasis on disease screening, early diagnosis, and referral.
Introduction Write an introduction of a research paper titled “Accuracy of a non‑invasive home glucose monitor for
measurement of blood glucose” describing the importance of home glucose monitoring, the necessity of
a non‑invasive glucose monitor, and why the accuracy of market device needs surveillance accuracy.
Methodology Write materials and methods of a research paper in the following subsections: Study type and setting, sample
size calculation, participants and recruitment process, tools used in the study, data collection, statistical
analysis, and ethics for the study where researchers aimed to assess knowledge, perception, attitude, and
practice of self‑directed learning by YouTube videos for cataract surgery among postgraduate students. The
sample was 40 students from a single institute, a convenience sample. An online survey was conducted
on Google Forms. A questionnaire was developed for this study with 10 questions each for knowledge,
perception, attitude, and practice. It was pilot‑tested.
Result Write in a paragraph the summary of the result in the table below: [Table data]
Discussion Despite having a positive attitude toward AI in ophthalmology, the practice is very low. Write potential reasons
for the finding.
References Covert the following reference in APA style “[reference]”
Grammar Correct grammar and punctuation of the text: [Text]
Paraphrase Paraphrase the text: [Text]
Simple language Write a plain language summary so that a child in 6th standard can understand the text: [Text]
summary
Keywords Find 10 keywords from the abstract below. [Abstract text]
Cover letter Write a cover letter to the editor for submission of a research paper titled “ABC” explaining the importance and
implication of the study in improving healthcare delivery.
Revision Text revision Rewrite the text to make it easier to understand.
Rebuttal letter Write a rebuttal letter to the editor for submission of a revised manuscript to [Journal name] for the article
titled “[article title]” where we have addressed all the comments by the reviewers except the one that asked
for an example of a case report. Start with thanking the editor and reviewers for their effort in editing and
reviewing.
Copy editing Correct only the grammar and punctuation of the provided text: [Text]
Research promotion Write a catchy social media post for promotion of the article titled “ChatGPT in academic writing: Maximizing
its benefits and minimizing the risks”
Research concept ChatGPT can suggest some relevant topics based on your area
The most difficult task perhaps in a research cycle is the of interest. It is important to remember that this language model
selection of a research topic that is novel and feasible to conduct. may not always provide novel ideas but can help generate
December 2023 Mondal and Mondal: ChatGPT in academic writing 3603
of the study; otherwise, it may provide the wrong hypothesis. Data analysis
After data collection, researchers generally use a spreadsheet
Literature review
to store the data and conduct descriptive statistical tests to
Perhaps the domain where ChatGPT can help authors at a find the central tendency of the data.[23] In this phase, ChatGPT
large scale is the literature review. With its vast knowledge can help generate Excel formulas that can be copied and used.
base and ability to comprehend natural language, ChatGPT can Those who are not aware of the basic inferential statistics that
quickly access numerous academic papers, books, and articles can be computed in Excel can get the idea to run tests such as
to identify relevant sources to write text for a topic. However, t‑tests, and Pearson correlation. Hence, ChatGPT can help in
specific keywords or research topics should be provided for data analysis in Excel. In addition, those who are using SPSS
efficient output. In addition, ChatGPT can suggest new angles or other statistical software packages and want guidance for
or lesser‑known studies to enrich the literature review. For a any statistical test method can ask ChatGPT. As a trained
better response, authors may divide the topic of the literature language model, ChatGPT is a good option for analyzing the
review into several segments and get the text generated for text for sentiment or finding themes from the text in qualitative
each segment at a time and then combine those. In many cases, data analysis.
ChatGPT starts providing text with bullets or numbering. In
those cases, ask ChatGPT to “write the text in a paragraph.” It is Interpretation
important to remember that the literature may not be updated Result interpretation, although not a daunting task, many
as the training data of the AI may be old.[21] novice authors find difficulty in writing to convey the findings
effectively. After researchers have conducted their data
Generating references
analysis, ChatGPT can assist in making sense of the findings
The literature review is never complete without citing the by providing detailed explanations and insights. In addition,
source of the text. However, the generation of references ChatGPT can answer specific questions about the research
from a language model is risky as it often provides fictitious findings, assist in summarizing key points, and even suggest
references.[22] Furthermore, ChatGPT’s responses are based possible avenues for further investigation.
on its training data, and it does not have real‑time access to
current databases or sources to verify references. Therefore, it Manuscript drafting
is essential to manually verify and cross‑check any references Title: The title of a research paper should be catchy to attract
provided by ChatGPT before using them in academic or readers by providing the whole research expressed in a line.
research work to ensure their accuracy. For the example in ChatGPT has the capability of generating a title if the study
Table 1, two references were correct and the other two were details are provided. In addition, authors can get alternative
incorrect. title suggestions and choose the most appropriate one from
the alternatives.
Selecting methodology
Based on the research objectives, ChatGPT can suggest the Abstract: The abstract is the next part of a published paper
most suitable study design that can best address the research where the research is summarized in approximately 250–350
questions and provide the desired outcomes. It can explain words. ChatGPT can help write the outline of the abstract,
various types of research designs, such as experimental, whether structured or unstructured. It can efficiently write the
correlational, cross‑sectional, longitudinal, and qualitative abstract if the exact prompt is provided, especially the sample and
approaches. It can provide insights into the strengths, methodology details and key findings from the analyzed data.
weaknesses, and appropriate contexts for each design. Keywords: ChatGPT can generate the keywords from the
Sample size abstract of a research paper. However, it may not provide
keywords according to Medical Subject Headings, which is a
One of the challenging tasks for the majority of the researchers
criterion of the majority of the journal for better indexing of
is the calculation of the sample size. If the relevant information
their articles.[24]
is provided, it can calculate the sample size along with the
steps of calculation and details of the formula used. However, Introduction: The background of the study constitutes the
we observed that although the formulas were correct, some base of the study. Here, the authors need to provide the answer
calculations were wrong. Hence, the calculations should to the question ‑ “Why was the study conducted?” along with
be checked when finally using it in the synopsis, thesis, or already available literature to provide a solid background.
research paper. ChatGPT can write the introduction as a single prompt.
3604 Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Volume 71 Issue 12
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The program does not take any responsibility for generated Many authors may have a question about whether the use
content. Furthermore, while ChatGPT can suggest phrasing of AI in writing an article is allowed in academia.[33] Before the
and sentence structure, it is important to check the accuracy rise of LLMs, many authors used to take the help of medical
and intended message in the sentence as literary accuracy and writers or companies to write the draft on their behalf; this is
scientific accuracy may differ.[27] well accepted in academia. However, authors need to clearly
mention why and to what extent the help was taken from
ChatGPT‑generated text may also have plagiarized content whom. Such service providers used to charge a hefty fee for
with variations in the percentage, sometimes beyond the the task. Now, LLMs can help authors who cannot afford
tolerance level as it generates text from its training data. If third‑party writing services. The only matter is that the authors
the text is of a common topic of interest and research in this need to take responsibility of the text.
field has been conducted since a long time, the chances of
plagiarism may be high.[28,29] Hence, it is wise to check the Conclusion
plagiarism of the text or idea when it is being used for a
ChatGPT has emerged as a potentially revolutionary tool for
research paper. We suggest the use of a model shown in Fig. 4
academic writing. It can increase efficiency and accuracy and
for judicial use of the ChatGPT‑generated textual content.
can assist writers in producing high‑quality research papers.
In addition, writers should be careful to properly cite all
However, it is important to recognize the potential risks
sources and avoid copying and pasting text directly from
associated with its use and take appropriate precautions to
ChatGPT without proper attribution. Furthermore, writers
mitigate these risks. To ensure this, it is crucial to maintain
should ensure that any sensitive data is kept secure and that
human judgment and critical thinking in the writing process
they are aware of the legal implications of using ChatGPT
and to use ChatGPT as a complementary tool rather than a
for academic writing.
replacement for human effort. By using ChatGPT responsibly,
There is some risk if confidential data is shared during a researchers and writers can take advantage of its benefits while
conversation with ChatGPT or other AI‑powered tools. The avoiding its potential pitfalls and contributing to the ongoing
model is continuously being improved with user interactions evolution of academic writing. However, excessive use of AI
and may compromise intellectual property rights.[30] Hence, in writing would alter the cognitive abilities of humans. As an
data that need full security should not be shared with any example, it was fascinating to write letters to family, friends,
AI‑powered tool. In addition, any research‑related work should and even pen‑friends to express love, care, and affection in
not be done on public computers, which are at risk of being the bygone era. How many young individuals of the present
misused. This is true for ChatGPT too. It is recommended to era can or have written a letter on paper to communicate with
use ChatGPT in a secure environment that is not vulnerable friends or families? The answer points toward the future of
to hacking or data breaches. medical writing!
3606 Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Volume 71 Issue 12