Shahin Hossain, Tukhbita Afroz Nawmi (2026) โ arXiv preprint. arXiv:2607.14301.
๐ Full text (arXiv)
As generative AI (GenAI) becomes embedded in undergraduate academic writing, how students rely on these tools โ not merely whether they use them โ has emerged as a core question for academic-integrity, student-experience, and educational equity. This study develops and validates the Generative AI Reliance Types Scale (GenAI-RTS), a 20-item instrument measuring four theoretically derived reliance types: Strategic, Instrumental, Dependent, and Dialogic. Confirmatory factor analysis supports a five-factor structure in which Strategic Reliance splits into Deliberate Use and Critical Evaluation (CFI = .92, RMSEA = .08; DWLS CFI = .98, RMSEA = .07), with subscale reliability (ฯ) ranging .75โ.90.
Validation follows the multi-source framework of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, combining a survey of 382 undergraduates at a U.S. Minority-Serving Institution with interviews with 14 purposively sampled students. The Critical Evaluation facet โ students scrutinizing GenAI output rather than accepting it โ directly operationalizes ai-literacy in writing contexts, while the Dependent type maps onto documented patterns of over-reliance on generative-ai tools. The instrument gives researchers and instructors a validated way to measure reliance modes in writing-education and across higher-ed, moving beyond binary โuse/no-useโ measures toward nuanced, equity-aware assessment of GenAI integration.
Related Pages
- ai-literacy โ GenAI-RTS 'Critical Evaluation' facet operationalizes AI literacy in writing
- academic-integrity โ measures how students rely on GenAI in academic writing
- student-experience โ validated on 382 undergraduates at a U.S. Minority-Serving Institution
- generative-ai โ reliance modes for generative-AI writing tools
- higher-ed โ undergraduate academic-writing context
- over-reliance โ the 'Dependent' reliance type captures over-reliance
- writing-education โ academic-writing pedagogy context