RESEARCH PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

Research title GIÁO DỤC VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN NGHỀ NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI
CHATGPT: TRƯỜNG HỢP CỦA NGÀNH GIÁO DỤC ĐẠI HỌC
(Vietnamese)

Research title EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ERA

OF CHATGPT: THE CASE OF HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR
(English)

Sub-committee Economics - Business Administration

Group name CoCo Kinh Tế

Authors 1. Nguyen Thi Sun Ny
2. Truong Ngoc Ai Vi
3. Phan Anh Thu
4. Vo Gia Mi
5. Ngo Pham Quoc Bao

Supervisors Ho Ngoc Hong Phuong

Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most notable breakthroughs of this millennium. AI ascends
to the throne and is gradually replacing humans in both production and decision-making activities.
Transforming AI applications are created a mile a minute. They are now integreated in many aspects
of our life, from advanced web search engines to self-driving cars, and especially, chatbots. The
launch of ChatGPT – an AI-based chatbot with the ability to give answers and create sophisticated
documents based on available human knowledge across many domains of knowledge. Despite the
indisputable convenience that ChatGPT brings to our life, it also raises a series of moral and ethical
concerns about intellectual property rights. Especially in education, many specialists have considered
the control or prohibition of AI support tools like ChatGPT. This article looks into the use of
ChatGPT in higher education sector, specifically in three aspects: 1) the role of ChatGPT in
enhancing student learning outcomes, 2) ethical considerations regarding the use of ChatGPT and 3)
recommendations for scrupulous and responsible utilization of this chatbot. The mixed method
approach is applied to calls on the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Key words: ChatGPT, Higher education, Perception, Ethical, Integrity.

1. Introduction
1.1. Literature review
 1.1.1 The use of ChatGPT in higher education
ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot, has gained increasing attention in higher education
due to its potential to improve learning experience. ChatGPT can provide personalized and
interactive learning experiences, offer instant feedback, and facilitate communication between
students and instructors. However, how students really think about ChatGPT remains a matter of
debate. In this section, we aim to explore the current state of research on the effectiveness of
ChatGPT in higher education, particularly from a student perspective.

ChatGPT can be an effective tool in enhancing student learning outcomes in higher education. AI
tools like chatbots can improve the learning experience and boost student engagement in online
learning by providing students with personalized and interactive assistance. ChatGPT improved
student engagement and motivation, leading to better learning outcomes (Shidiq, 2023). Its benefits
include improved academic performance, engagement, motivation, language proficiency, and self-
efficacy. By giving students individualized learning experiences, enhancing their language skills,
automating time-consuming activities for teachers, encouraging critical thinking and accessibility,
and providing students with tailored learning experiences, ChatGPT possess great potential to
transform the future of education (Božić, 2023).

(Kalla and Smith, 2023) found that ChatGPT can help students better understand difficult concepts
by providing customized and interactive explanations. "ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize
academics. It can help students better understand concepts they are struggling with by providing
customized, interactive explanations."

Furthermore, a study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning explored the potential
of ChatGPT as an intelligent tutor. The study found that ChatGPT can provide personalized guidance
and feedback to students as they progress with their studies. The authors also suggest that ChatGPT
can be used to develop intelligent learning environments that adapt to the individual needs of each
student (Firat, 2023).

1.1.2 Predicaments of ChatGPT: Privacy, Bias and Fairness

It is no wonder that ChatGPT will continue to revolutionize the use of artificial intelligence as well
as natural language processing applications. ChatGPT is now the most sophisticated chatbot on the
planet. When it comes to integrity in higher education, it has generated a lot of buzz and doomsday
predictions because, unlike other chatbots, it can produce brand-new texts in a matter of seconds.
Concerns arises around the unethical and irresponsible use of this technology. In this part of
literature review, we will investigate 3 most notable concerns: Privacy, Bias, and Fairness.

a. Privacy
(D’Amico et al., 2023a) state that chatbots pose moral conundrums that are difficult to solve:
“Chatbot technology contains an intrinsic risk of compromising patient privacy. Chatbots may be
used to collect and store sensitive health information, which could be vulnerable to breaches or
misuse.”. In higher education, “When using ChatGPT in your research, it's important to ensure that
any data used to train or fine-tune the model is properly secured and protected. This may involve any
data storage and sharing that complies with institutional and regulatory guidelines.” (Atlas, no date)
Moreover, if any individuals use ChatGPT is to be mindful of institutional policies "it's important to
know and comply with any institutional policies related to the use of AI. This may include guidelines
on data privacy, academic integrity, or ethical research conduct." (Atlas)

b. Bias
ChatGPT is the valid concern about bias in higher education because “Recent advancements also
include ChatGPT (Team, 2022), which was trained on a much larger dataset, i.e., texts from a very
large web corpus, and has demonstrated state-of-the-art performance on a wide range of natural-
language tasks ranging from translation to question answering, writing coherent essays, and
computer programs.” (Kasneci et al., 2023) . Moreover, the user cannot authenticate and distinguish
whether the information is correct or not, leading to affecting the quality of the writing. There is still
a significant danger of bias when employing chatbot technology to compile manuscripts and provide
recommendations or treatment programs. As available data are used to train chatbots, biased data
may perpetuate or amplify already-existing inequities in published data (D’Amico et al., 2023b) .Are
students concerned that ChatGPT trained on a large database might be biased or ignore them?
Despite issues with prejudice and security, ChatGPT is open-sourced, accessible to non-technical
users, and it is always being improved. It may be applied to many different sectors and is most
effective when used in conjunction with human skills. (Atlas, 2023)

c. Fairness (The issue of Equitability)

Because of the artificial intelligence and sophisticated capabilities of ChatGPT, this can lead to
unequal and unfair learning experiences. This “rich gets richer and poor gets poorer” phenomenon
was also seen during COVID-19, it was found that more advanced privileged students were able to
benefit more from technology education than students in backward difficult areas(Qadir, 2022a).
According to ChatGPT official website, the cost to pay for using ChatGPT is $ 20 per month, from
which it is easy to see that only those who have enough money can use it to study and also mean that
those people will also have an academic advantage over students who do not have access because of
insufficient funding. In the case that ChatGPT has been integrated into Microsoft's main search Web
site, “Today, we’re launching Bing and Edge powered by AI copilot and chat, to help people get
more from search and the web.” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft. So only those
with new devices will be able to access it, while students who lack the necessary facilities will be
more disadvantaged.

1.1.3 The growing need for ethical and responsible use of ChatGPT
Technologies such as AI-based chatbots are being applied and popularized in many areas. In this
regard, the use of assistive technology as well as artificial intelligence in education is a current topic
of interest and focus. The benefits of this change are undeniable, but it also gives rise to problems
regarding academic integrity and plagiarism. So, how can students and educators can contribute to
the effective and responsible use of ChatGPT?

ChatGPT created a craze for an AI capable of accurately answering information via text (Qadir,
2022b), it accomplishes this through its knowledge base and documentation, which it can explain to
its users (Qadir, 2022b). We can use the resources that ChatGPT provides to broaden our knowledge
and improve the quality of our education. In addition, ChatGPT can function as a home tutor by
answering questions about assignments and providing learning and working options to work
diligently on their intelligence (Sok and Heng, 2023). Aside from the benefits it provides, many
students use ChatGPT for unethical and immoral purposes, such as giving assignments and essays to
ChatGPT to write without any action pertinent information (Mhlanga, 2023). As a result, practical
solutions are provided to assist university students in using ChatGPT as an effective learning aid.
Many educational institutions have begun to implement new technologies, such as artificial
intelligence, in schools to assist students in learning and to ease teachers off their responsibilities.
(Limna et al., 2022). It can also help students develop research skills by providing them with
information and resources on a specific topic, suggesting undiscovered aspects, and introducing them
to new research topics, allowing them to gain a better understanding and evaluation of the topic
(Shiri, 2023). ChatGPT can also provide students with access to a variety of learning materials based
on their specific learning needs and subjects (Limna et al., 2022). According to (Zhai, 2022),
students can refer to and learn how ChatGPT has selected and exploited information because AI can
write, read, and select information more professionally than humans. Thereby, the importance of
students' education and self-responsible thinking in constructing ethical application of ChatGPT.

1.2. The necessity of the research

Even though educators and specialists have been addressing the potential use of ChatGPT in their
research and teaching efforts, there are few studies approaching ChatGPT from the students’ point of
view. Using ChatGPT as a learning support tool will improve students' capacity for independent
study. A total ban of ChatGPT in universities can put the students in a disadvantage and give rise to
the Fear of missing out (FoMO). On the other hand, uncontrolled use of ChatGPT may lead to lack
of integrity in higher education and thus, negatively affect both educators and learners. ChatGPT can
be used go astray from the moral and ethical standards. This research aims to investigate those
concerns and propose some suggestions for better utilization of ChatGPT in education, especially in
higher education sector.

1.3. Feasibility of research

Analyze the feasibility of research

+ Research questions:
1. How effective is ChatGPT in enhancing student learning experience?
2. How do inappropriate uses of ChatGPT impact integrity in education?
3. How does ChatGPT affect privacy, bias, and fairness in education and career development?
4. How can educators/students contribute to the responsible and effective use of ChatGPT?

+ Research design: Descriptive research deign is used to address the research questions.
Descriptive research is an appropriate choice because we want to identify characteristics of the use of
ChatGPT. Variables will be measured without interference from researchers. A mixed method will
be applied to collect data. Quantitative and qualitative approaches should be strategically integrated
in data collection, data analysis and interpretation. Data linkage will be essential to secure the
coherence of final result. Purposeful integration of data allows researchers to gain a more
comprehensive understanding of their research topic by examining it from multiple perspectives and
through diverse research lenses.

+ Sample size and population: Our study attempted to scrutinize the use of ChatGPT in higher
education sector Of Ho Chi Minh City. Because of the time constraint of the research, non-
probability sampling was deemed appropriate. Even though non-probability sampling would make
data collection easier, we must be aware of higher risk of research bias. The mixed method called for
the use surveys to collect data. Two main survey methods, questionnaires and interviews, would be
used.
We predicted the sample size of 250-300. Stratified sampling and Snowballing technique helped
researchers reach more students within the short time limit of ResFes. We collected data by using
Google form (Online). Researchers needed to check whether questionnaire had items measuring all
of the concepts in research model, made sure to include demographic and control variables in the
questionnaire (e.g., gender, age, education, income, etc.)

+ Data sources: Primary data would be gathered though questionnaires and interviews. First, an
online questionaire was posted to gather initial information. Then interviews were conducted to test
the quality of the 1st survey and gather some new insights into our research problem. Academic
sources such as books, journal articles and market research reports by renowned organizations will
be used for benchmark and analysis.

+ Timeframe:
As showed in research plan below

+ Potential challenges and risks:

- Because ChatGPT is new, the reference source is limited, causing difficulties in the research paper
development process
- Research biases may happen and hinder researchers in the effort to ensure quality of data:
 Sampling bias
 Information bias
 Regression to the mean
 Omitted variable bias
 Survivorship bias
 Undercoverage bias

2. Research objectives
ChatGPT (OpenAI) can be a useful tool for learning and career development. “ChatGPT's capability
to generate essays has created challenges for educators, but there are those who seem ready to
embrace the opportunities for innovation in teaching and learning that this disruptive AI application
presents”. “AI is used widely to automate predictions regarding strategic decision making and
problem solving tasks, which, traditionally, only humans could do by relying on their cognitive
capabilities”. Beside benefits, ChatGPT also has disadvantages that calls for resolutions (Choudhury
et al., 2020; Shrestha, Ben-Menahem, & von Krogh, 2019; Krakowski, Luger and Raisch, 2022).
Therefore the goals of our research is to delve into the factual application of ChatGPT by university
students and find a remedy to reduce, to some extent, the negative impacts of this chatbot. On that
basis, we identify the 3 objectives of this study as:
1) The effectiveness of ChatGPT in enhancing student learning outcomes in higher education from
student perspectives.
2) The ethical considerations surrounding the use of ChatGPT
3) Potential efforts to achieve responsible, efficient, and beneficial use of Chat GPT.

3. Research scope:
This research investigates the use of ChatGPT by university students in Ho Chi Minh City to assist
their learning and career development. The time constraint of this study is about 4 months and no
funding is acquired.

4. Approach and Method

This research used a a mixed method approach. Initially, data will be collected through a
questionnaire which includes three parts: screening questions, main questions and demographic
information. Self-administered questionnaires can be distributed to participants online. One of the
benefits of using self-administered questionnaires is that all questions are standardized, ensuring that
every respondent receives the same questions with identical wording. This consistency in
questioning is a crucial aspect of ensuring that the data collected is reliable and valid.

5. Research plan

No. Date Task Output Person in charge

1 1/4-5/4 Brainstorming Group

2 6/4-10/4 Reviewing literature Group

3 10/4-17/4 Formulating research proposal Group

4 18/4 Discussing proposal with supervisor Group

5 19/4-21/4 Reviewing & submitting proposal Group

6 22/4-23/4 Research questions (implement later) Group

7 23/4-25/4 Hypothesis (implement later) Group

8 26/4-29/4 Conceptual framework Group

9 30/4-5/5 Research (implement later) Group

philosophy/approach/strategies/choices
10 6/5-7/5 Design research questionnaire (implement later) Group

11 8/5-11/5 Pilot test (implement later) Group

12 12/5-12/7 Begin to conduct research in the Group

specific area of the subject

13 13/7-18/7 Data collection (implement later) Group

14 19/7-24/7 Data analysis (implement later) Group

15 25/7-28/7 Statistics and survey data assessment (implement later) Group

16 28/7-2/8 Import the database and record the (implement later) Group
results

17 3/8-4/8 Database modification (if necessary) (implement later) Group

18 4/8-14/8 Prepare report Group

19 15/8-16/8 Discuss the completed report with a Group

mentor

20 16/8-18/8 Fix and finish writing report Group

6. Expected results
The result from this research will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the use of
ChatGPT by higher education students. On that basis, educators can modify their policies to ride the
technology wave and achieve better teaching goals. The study will provide students with thorough
awareness of not only the benefits but also the costs and threats posed by ChatGPT to their learning
and career. This knowledge will potentially help them shape their education and career path, and
hence, get a better chance of success. The result of this study can also be used by software
developers to create IT products that fit the psychology of their student customers.
The academic contribution of this study includes adding valuable knowledge of real-life application
of AI-based chatbots in higher education and career development. In addition, it pictures a promising
turning point in modern day education: the integration of AI and traditional methods. This research
can be used to support further research in the fields of AI application, pedagogy and business.
- Expected result 1: Students’ perception of ChatGPT: its benefits and threats to their study and
future career.
- Expected result 2: Appropriate methods to bring ChatGPT, and more generally, AI, to
university environment
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