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LLM and AI Citation Norms

If you use generative AI tools for course assignments, academic work, or other forms of published writing, you must acknowledge and cite the output of those tools in your work. Always check with your instructor before using AI for coursework. 

Since AI tools are evolving rapidly, the norms and conventions for citing AI-generated content are likely to change. Most of the major citation style guides have released preliminary guidelines, with the most commonly used linked below:

APA Citations

APA 7th edition is the preferred format for citations at the Owen Graduate School of Management, however please refer to your course materials to confirm

To cite the AI model itself, treat the model as a software as outlined in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10).

General format, references list:

Author/Developer. (Year). Model name (Version) [Large language model]. URL

References list example:

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (May 24 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat/

  • Author. APA recommends citing the creator (i.e., author/developer) of the model as the author (note: this is not the case for all citation styles, e.g., MLA).
  • (Publication Date). Date of content creation - only need to include year. 2023.
  • Name of the Model. The name of the model serves as the title and is italicized in your reference. ChatGPT.
  • (Version specification). Identify the version you used in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods. (May 24 version).
  • [Additional description to provide context for the reader]. Bracketed text providing additional context is often included in APA citations for less common sources. For text-based generative AI, APA recommends providing the descriptor “Large language model” or "Large multimodal model" in square brackets. Pending further recommendations, use your best discretion based on how the creators/publishers describe the model you're citing. [Large language model].
  • URL. When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the most direct URL available to access the model. https://chat.openai.com/chat/

The APA Style team has likened citing the output from an AI model to sharing an algorithm's output. It must be noted that the output was generated by a Large Language Model (LLM) and the model identified.

Note: ChatGPT does not currently cite any sources unless specifically requested in your prompt. Even if references are requested, it is known to make up, or "hallucinate" sources that do not exist. Other AI models such as Bing AI Chat do cite sources, but it is important to assess the quality and reliability of each one individually.

Many thanks to Denise Wetzel at Penn State Universities for developing the LLM APA citation materials utilized in this box!