An Exploratory Analysis of University Students’ Use of Generative AI Tools and their Perception of Citation and Ethical Compliance: Focusing on the Case of K University

This study exploratorily analyzed the current state of university students' use of generative AI tools and their perception of citation and ethical compliance. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on students at K University to understand their use of generative AI tools and their perception of citation and ethics. The collected data were analyzed using methods such as descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and correlation analysis. The analysis revealed three key findings. First, the overall average of university students' perception of citation and ethical compliance for generative AI tools was moderate, and there were no statistically significant differences in the average perception based on demographic characteristics such as gender, academic year, and major field of study. Second, the correlation analysis between the use of generative AI tools and the perception of citation and ethical compliance showed significant correlations among most variables, with the exception of the relationship between the understanding of citing AI tool responses and the understanding of AI usage ethics. Third, the analysis of differences in the perception of citation and ethical compliance based on paid versus free use of generative AI tools indicated that the paid user group showed a higher average perception in both understanding of citation and ethical compliance compared to the free user group, and this difference was statistically significant. The findings of this study highlight the need for policy support and educational approaches to address the educational inequality and digital divide that may arise from the use of generative AI tools. It is suggested that there is a need to improve learners' ethical perception and attitudes by strengthening practical and action-oriented educational programs on the use of AI tools.