Artificial Intelligence Tools and Research Work among Students of Selected Federal Polytechnics in North-Eastern Nigeria

This study examined the extent to which Office Technology and Management (OTM) students in selected federal polytechnics in North-Eastern Nigeria use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to refine research questions and hypotheses and to structure research outlines, and whether use differs between Higher National Diploma (HND) and National Diploma (ND) students. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population of 181 OTM students (76 HND and 105 ND) at Federal Polytechnics Mubi, Bauchi and Damaturu was studied by census. Data were collected with a 14-item, four-point questionnaire (reliability coefficient = 0.78) and analysed with the mean, standard deviation and the independent-samples t-test at the 0.05 level. Students used AI tools to a high extent for refining research questions and hypotheses (cluster mean = 3.39, SD = 0.30) and for structuring research outlines (cluster mean = 3.18, SD = 0.28). Use was at a very high extent for aligning hypotheses with research questions (4.00) and for ensuring that no important section is omitted from a project (4.00). HND students recorded marginally higher means than ND students on both constructs. The paper recommends integrating AI literacy into research methods courses, issuing institutional guidelines on disclosure and verification of AI-assisted work, and giving ND students structured orientation on responsible AI use in project writing.