Citing Sources

Generative AI (gen-AI) are systems of artificial intelligence that generate text, images, or other outputs based off prompts given to them by the user. These outputs are generated from what the gen-AI programs have been trained on, and since gen-AI models are constantly adapting and learning from continued input, even the same gen-AI program will not be guaranteed to produce the same result for the same prompt. It is still a gray area as to how ethical it is to use gen-AI in academic work, so it is best practice to not use gen-AI unless your professor requires it. In that case, if you are using gen-AI in your assignment, it is crucial that you cite it thoroughly to ensure that your professor has full context surrounding the text generated.

The primary requirements for APA citations are author, date, title, and source. For gen-AI, the author is the company that owns the AI program that you are using for example, OpenAI. The date is the year that the version of gen-AI being used was first made public; for example, if GPT-4o was used, the date would be 2024 even if the text was generated in later years. The title is the name of the gen-AI model being used; for example, ChatGPT, followed by the version number would be included in parentheses after the title (be sure to follow the version naming conventions that the official program/company uses). The source is the publisher and/or URL of the gen-AI model; if the publisher and author are the same, then avoid redundancy and only include the URL. Other things to include: brackets specifying what type of technology this is (in the case AI generated text, this is a "Large language model"), date this text was generated/accessed (this may not always be required for your professor, but similar to how citing websites sometimes requires date accessed to add context for what was available on that website on the given day, the date the text was generated will add context to what kind of information the gen-AI had access to).

REFERENCE LIST TEMPLATE:
Author/Company. (Version year). Program title (program version) [Generative AI type]. Publisher Name. Generated Month Date, Year, from URL

EXAMPLE:
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (May 13 version) [Large language model]. Generated October 4, 2024, from https://chatgpt.com/

IN-TEXT CITATION EXAMPLE:
(OpenAI, 2024)

If necessary, you may also need to include the entirety of the text generated that you are referencing in an Appendix. In that case, be sure to refer readers to the appropriate Appendix in text. For more information, see the APA website's article on citing ChatGPT.

The primary requirements for citing MLA style are author, source title, container title, version, publisher, date, and location. The author of gen-AI content is not recommended in MLA style, so that will be ignored. The source title is a description of what was generated. In most cases, this will be the prompt given to the gen-AI tool. The container title is the name of the gen-AI software; for example, ChatGPT. The version is whichever version of the gen-AI program that was used (be sure to follow the same version naming protocols that the companies use). The publisher is the name of the company that made the gen-AI program; for example, OpenAI. The date is the date the content was generated. The location is the URL for the gen-AI tool.

REFERENCE LIST TEMPLATE:
Source title. Container Title, version, publisher, date, location.

EXAMPLE:
"Explain the processes of insulin injections on diabetic patients" prompt. ChatGPT, 13 May 2024 version, OpenAI, 4 Oct. 2024, https://chatgpt.com.

IN-TEXT CITATION EXAMPLE:
("Explain the processes")

For more information, see the MLA website's guide on citing generative AI.

The primary requirements for Chicago style are author, title, source, publisher, date, access date, and URL. For gen-AI, the author is the AI program that you are using; for example, ChatGPT. The title is the prompt given to the gen-AI to receive the text. The source is the website the AI program is hosted on. The publisher is the company that published the program; for example, OpenAI (if the publisher and source are the same, omit source). The date is the date that the version of the program you are using was first made public; for example, if GPT-4o was used, the date would be May 13, 2024. The access date is the date the text was generated.

FOOTNOTE TEMPLATES:
1. Author, response to "title," Source, Publisher, Date, generated on Access Date, URL.

EXAMPLE:
1. ChatGPT, response to "Explain the processes of insulin injections on diabetic patients," OpenAI, May 13, 2024, generated on October 4, 2024, https://chatgpt.com.

REFERENCE LIST TEMPLATE:
Author. Response to "title." Source. Publisher, Date. Generated on Access Date. URL.
 

If not using footnotes, ensure that all information that would have been listed in the footnote is referenced in the text, either directly or in a parenthetical. For more information, see the Chicago Style website's article on citing ChatGPT.