Study Quality in the Age of AI: A Disciplinary Framework for Using GenAI in TESOL Research

Abstract Since ChatGPT's release, there has been confusion about how generative AI (GenAI) tools can be responsibly utilized in TESOL research processes. While there are many examples of inappropriate uses of GenAI, there are also growing examples of its potential utility. In addition, GenAI use has become normalized in many TESOL scholars' academic writing and knowledge‐production activities. The rapid adoption of GenAI into researchers' practices has outpaced our understanding of ethical appropriateness and empirical explorations into the tools' efficacies in supporting research tasks. Responding to a lack of standards and guidance in the TESOL field regarding the use of GenAI in our research activities, we propose a disciplinary framework for using GenAI in TESOL research. This framework, built on four elements of quality study proposed by Plonsky (2024): (1) transparency, (2) methodological rigor, (3) ethics, and (4) societal value; with an additional element proposed by us, (5) human accountability, can assist scholars in making more informed decisions about the use of GenAI at different stages of their research process—from conceptualization to dissemination. The article also provides important considerations that scholars must know if they plan to implement GenAI in their research process. The framework is useful for journal editors and reviewers to evaluate the use of GenAI in TESOL research. We end the article with a call for the TESOL community to adapt our framework to meet their needs.