The Ethics of Using Artificial Intelligence in Qualitative Research

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 12:40 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Ethical Reconsiderations in Qualitative Inquiry (Table 15)

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other large language models are rapidly infiltrating the world of education and educational research. While these new technological developments raise questions about use and ethics throughout the world of educational research, this is perhaps particularly the case for qualitative methods given the philosophical and structural foundations of its various associated designs. This paper seeks to interrogate the perceived ethics around the use of AI in qualitative research, from the transcription and analysis of data through the drafting of findings. We surveyed qualitative researchers (n=101) and found that they were more accepting of using AI for transcription than for other tasks. Researchers at R1 universities viewed less favorably than peers at other institutions.

Authors

• David T. Marshall, Auburn University

• David Bryant Naff, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Deja' Lynn Trammell, Auburn University