Use of ChatGPT in Higher Education: A Study with Graduate Students

The use of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) application, in higher education has become one of the most promising tools of recent times. However, it may not always provide accurate and reliable information, as pointed out by several authors from various fields. We conducted a study to understand how Portuguese graduate students use ChatGPT and their perspective on its functionality. In this exploratory study, data was collected through an online questionnaire and included a scale of ChatGPT use that was developed specifically for this research. A sample of 389 graduate students, with 77.1% female participated in the survey. The majority of the participants were master’s students, while 21.6% were enrolled in a PhD program. More than half reported using ChatGPT, primarily in academic context, followed by social and professional context. Most of the students use it to search for information, followed by looking for initial ideas to tackle a topic. Moreover, they pointed out the advantages of using ChatGPT such as easy search, quick response, and summarized information. Students are concerned with the accuracy of information, so they have to check it across other sources. They are reluctant that ChatGPT can replace human interaction, and are aware of ChatGPT’s advantages and limitations.