Using a Scenario-Based Method to Explore University Students’ Views About Writing Assistance

Abstract Scenarios, or short descriptions of hypothetical situations, can serve as a methodological tool to gather insights and develop an understanding about participants’ perceptions. Studies have made use of scenarios to gauge student beliefs about the acceptability of various writing activities that may be considered help, plagiarism, or something else. These studies often employed scenarios within surveys comprised of single- or multiple-choice queries, leaving little space for participants’ views beyond binary responses and no room for their detailed explanations. Using scenarios as a way to start an in-depth discussion, however, offers opportunities to explore students’ perspectives and reasonings on using writing assistance from third parties. This article describes a unique implementation of a bespoke set of scenarios in a qualitative study that examined undergraduate students’ perceptions about third-party writing assistance. Using these distinctive scenarios represents a contribution to how we collect data on students’ perspectives. This method is particularly applicable for qualitative research studies exploring complex participant perceptions about nuanced phenomena within education.