Artificial intelligence tools for developing research and academic writing skills among graduate students: An action research study

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed higher education by providing tools that support research and academic writing. This action research study examined changes in graduate students' research and academic writing outcomes following a structured six-week instructional intervention integrating Perplexity AI and Jenni AI. Seventeen graduate students participated in workshops on the effective and ethical use of both tools. Data were collected using pre- and post-intervention questionnaires and an analytical rubric evaluating students' research papers. The mean rubric score increased from 62.51 (SD = 9.80) to 86.47 (SD = 6.59) out of 100, t (16) = 8.26, p < .001, 95% CI [17.81, 30.10], Cohen's dz = 2.00. The overall questionnaire mean increased from 3.17 (SD = 0.56) to 4.42 (SD = 0.51) on a five-point Likert scale, t (16) = 7.99, p < .001, 95% CI [0.92, 1.59], Cohen's dz = 1.94. Participation in the structured AI-supported intervention was associated with substantial improvements in research-paper performance and self-reported research, writing, and AI-related outcomes. The findings also underscore the importance of ethical use, critical evaluation, and human oversight. Given the small single-group design, the results should be interpreted as evidence of pre–post change rather than proof of a causal effect attributable to either AI tool.