Poudel,MonikaManandhar,Nira2025-11-242025-11-242025-08-22Poudel,Monika(2025).Artificial intelligence in academic research: A study of its use among PHD scholars.[Master's thesis T.U]. https://elibrary.tucdlis.edu.np/Artificial intellegncehttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14573/357This thesis related to artificial intelligence in PHDThe study entitled “Artificial Intelligence in Academic Research: A Study of Its Use Among PhD Scholars” explores the utilization of AI among academic researchers, particularly PhD students from the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Tribhuvan University. Its objectives were to identify the commonly used AI tools, explore the scholars’ perspectives, and assess ethical concerns. A review of more than fifty interdisciplinary studies highlighted AI’s growing role in literature reviews, data analysis, publishing, and academic integrity, which also pointed out the gaps in training and ethical guidelines. A qualitative research design was employed, using purposive sampling to select 14 PhD scholars with relevant experience in AI usage. Data were collected through the in depth, semi-structured interview guided by prepared questions. Data analysis followed the thematic analysis approach, focusing on identifying the key themes that emerged from various data. The most commonly used AI tool found was ChatGPT during the early stage of their PhD journey, i.e., for reviewing the literature. The researchers are positive towards the ethical use of AI, but some have fears of plagiarism detection and the risks of bias. Most of the scholars viewed AI as supportive assistants rather than replacements for intellectual effort. However, scholars were worried about issues like plagiarism, mistakes in context, and possible bias in AI results. Even though they saw AI as helpful for saving time and supporting creativity, they emphasized the need for responsible and ethical use. The major limitations of the study were the small sample size, single institutional focus and the rapidly evolving nature of AI technologies, which may affect the long-term relevance of results. The study also suggests structured AI training programs, development of ethical guidelines and integration of AI literacy into curricula to foster responsible, equitable and effective use of AI in doctoral research. Key words: Artificial intelligence, Research-Technology, AI-Ethical Aspectsen1 Artificial intelligence 22Research-TechnologyThesis