The Use of ChatGPT as a Writing Assistant in Accomplishing Students' Thesis Proposal Writing

Abstract

This research is driven by the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly ChatGPT in higher education. This widespread use of ChatGPT targets many aspects of learning, including academic writing and leading to its use as an assistant to assist with writing thesis proposals. Although ChatGPT is an advanced AI-based tool, its indiscriminate use can also present challenges, making it difficult for students to complete their thesis proposals. This research aims to identify and analyze in depth the benefits experienced by students when using ChatGPT as an assistant to assist student in accomplshing their thesis proposals. Furthermore, this study also aims to identify potential challenges that may arise when using ChatGPT as an assistant to assist student in accomplshing their thesis proposals. The research method used is descriptive qualitative design. The research is data-driven, ensuring that the results are fully oriented towards the participants' experiences. Participant selection was determined by a participant screening questionnaire, ensuring that selected participants met the research objectives. Then, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed in depth using Thematic Analysis. Before the analysis results were reported, data validity was checked through member checking to ensure there was no bias. The results of the study indicates that students experienced both benefits and challenges in using ChatGPT as a writing assistant in accomplishing students’ thesis proposal writing. The benefits students perceived can be categorized into three types of assistance: cognitive, technical, and affective. Furthermore, challenges also be encountered, such as those related to accuracy issuses, relevance issues, contextual inconsistencies, and accusations of plagiarism. In conclusion, although ChatGPT is an advanced Artificial Intelligence- based assistant, its use as a thesis proposal writing assistant must be approached wisely. This is to ensure students maximize the benefits and minimize the risk of challenges arising during the thesis proposal completion process.