Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

• zahra rafatjoo
• Elham Heidari
• Ghasem Salimi
• Mehdi Mohammadi
• Fahimeh Keshavarzi

Department of Educational Management and Planning, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shiraz University

Abstract

Background and Objectives:  Information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially artificial intelligence (AI), play an important role in improving digital skills, enhancing the quality of learning, and facilitating educational and research processes. These technologies reduce educational gaps and increase the efficiency of scientific research by personalizing education and automating processes. Universities also play a key role in the development of science and increasing scientific competitiveness by providing research infrastructure and promoting a research culture. The present study examines the role of AI assistants in empowering students in research and identifying their antecedents and consequences. This study aims to design a conceptual model for the effective use of these technologies in academic processes in order to help educational and research policies in line with digital transformation.
Methods: This qualitative research was conducted using the theory-generating meta-synthesis approach, following the six-step process proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso. A total of 187 relevant articles were identified through searches in reputable databases such as Magiran, SID, Web of Science, Sage, and Google Scholar. Ultimately, 65 articles were selected for in-depth content analysis.
Findings: The findings of the study show that the use of AI assistants in empowering higher education students in research can be analyzed in three areas of antecedents, processes, and outcomes. The antecedents of this technology include five main themes: technological curiosity, knowledge of using AI, scientific writing skills, English language skills, and access and acceptance of technology. The related processes also include ten main themes: digital resource management, self-directed research, ideation on the research topic, receiving continuous feedback, reviewing and revising the text, purposeful information search, personalizing research experiences, data analysis, improving content quality and editing, and reviewing and publishing research. Finally, the outcomes of these processes can be categorized into eight main themes: reducing stress in writing, receiving immediate feedback, improving research structure, deepening critical thinking, digital distraction, over-reliance on AI, privacy issues and ethical violations, and facilitating and accelerating research.
Conclusion: The transformation of education using information and communication technologies, especially AI, in today's world has improved digital skills and facilitated educational and research processes. These technologies have created new opportunities for optimizing processes, but they also bring challenges, including ethical and cultural issues. This study emphasizes the importance of carefully managing these issues and the need to pay attention to the ethical and social challenges of improper use of technologies. The findings show that AI assistants play an effective role in empowering students in research, especially in the areas of technological curiosity, scientific writing skills, and access to technology. Also, the use of these tools has improved research processes and increased students' scientific productivity. However, excessive dependence on AI may reduce independent thinking and create ethical challenges such as privacy violations. To optimally utilize these technologies, a comprehensive and balanced approach is needed that exploits the benefits and manages the challenges. This research, in particular, by identifying the antecedents, processes, and consequences of the use of AI assistants, creates a new theoretical basis for future studies. It is suggested that policymakers and university administrators should use these tools in designing educational programs to improve the quality of research and educational processes. Also, future research should pay more attention to the geographical, cultural, and social aspects of the use of AI in different countries.

Keywords

• AI
• Research Capability
• Higher Education
• Intelligent Assistants
• Smart Research

Main Subjects

• Artificial Intelligence

COPYRIGHTS 
© 2025 The Author(s).  This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)