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APA Referencing: Generative AI

This Guide will help you to correctly reference your assignments using the APA style.

 

Generative AI tools produce content that is not accessible to anyone but the person who generated it. They are an example of a non-recoverable source. More information on using Generative AI ethically and responsibly can be found in our Library Guide.

Always check with your lecturer before using items generated by an AI tool in your assessment as some may be prohibited.

The following examples are guidelines for students on how GAI content can be referenced using the APA style. This information continues to be updated, so check back regularly.

Your lecturer may also require you to include transcripts of GAI content as appendices to your assessments.

Generative AI Examples

Students must reference any GAI tools they have used, just as they would with any other source. All items generated using any AI tool  and used in assessments require appropriate attribution that they have been created by an AI tool, the program used, what prompts were used and the date it was produced.

 

ChatGPT is a Large Language Model (LLM) type of artificial intelligence tool designed to understand and generate human-like text.

 

In-Text

(Author of the AI tool, Year of version)

(OpenAI, 2023) OR OpenAI (2023)

Note:

Use quotation marks to distinguish between your own words and the words generated by the tool.

 

Reference List

Author of the AI model. (Year of version used). Name of the AI model (version number or date) [Type or description of AI model]. Publisher if different to the author. URL of tool landing page

 

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

 

OpenAI. (2024). DALL-E (Version 3) [Multimodal large visual model]. https://openai.com/index/dall-e-3/

Note:

  • It is recommended that you check the terms and conditions of any AI tool or platform you generate material from before using.
  • More common descriptions are [Multimodal large language model], [Large language model], [Multimodal large visual model], [Chatbot] etc. If the type of model is unknown, use the description [AI tool].
  • You should declare you have used AI Tools to generate content and include the name of the tools and the prompts or transcript you used. This can be added after your reference list e.g.
    • I acknowledge the use of (insert AI tool name and URL) in the preparation and/or writing of my assessment. I have used (insert AI tool name/s) to assist with (explanatory list). The following prompts were used (list).
Students must reference any GAI tools they have used, just as they would with any other source. All items generated using any AI tool  and used in assessments require appropriate attribution that they have been created by an AI tool, the program used, what prompts were used and the date it was produced.

 

Microsoft Copilot is a Large Language Model (LLM) type of artificial intelligence tool designed to understand and generate human-like text. It is freely available to students whilst enrolled at the college. When you sign in to your TAFE account your data, prompts and results are protected.

 

In-Text

(Author of the AI tool, Year of version)

(Microsoft, 2024) OR Microsoft (2024)

Note:

Use quotation marks to distinguish between your own words and the words generated by the tool.

 

Reference List

Author of the AI model. (Year of version used). Name of the AI model (version number or date) [Type or description of AI model]. Publisher if different to the author. URL

 

Microsoft. (2024). Copilot (Oct 9 version) [Large language model]. https://www.bing.com/chat?form=NTPCHB

 

Note:

  • It is recommended that you check the terms and conditions of any AI tool or platform you generate material from before using.
  • You should declare you have used AI Tools to generate content and include the name of the tools and the prompts or transcript you used. This can be added after your reference list e.g.
    • I acknowledge the use of (insert AI tool name and URL) in the preparation and/or writing of my assessment. I have used (insert AI tool name/s) to assist with (explanatory list). The following prompts were used (list).
Students must reference any GAI tools they have used, just as they would with any other source. All items generated using any AI tool  and used in assessments require appropriate attribution that they have been created by an AI tool, the program used, what prompts were used and the date it was produced.

 

Image and video generators are not large language models. They use different specialised types of models. 

If using an AI tool to generate an image to be used in your assessment, then a caption and attribution is required and placed as close to the image as possible. See format below.

 

In-Text - AI Generated Image - Caption and Attribution Required

Caption above image

AI generated image of (brief description)

Note under image

Note. Image generated using Name of AI Tool (version) from the prompt "[insert prompt details]".

 

EXAMPLE

AI generated image of roller skating cat

Note. Image generated using Stable Diffusion (2023) from the prompt "modernist painting style of a cat on skates".

 

Reference List

  • As AI generated images are not retrievable, they do not need to be included in the reference list.

Note:

  • It is recommended that you check the terms and conditions of any AI tool or platform you generate material from before using.
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