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Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering
5 Grafton Road, Auckland 1010
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 extn. 88156


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Project title

Chatbots in Online Student Forums: Boosting Engagement


Research team

  • Nasser Giacaman (staff)
    • Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering
  • Shuying Qiao (student)
    • Master of Engineering (Software)
    • Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering


What does the study involve?

The purpose of this research is to explore how utilising bots that act like students in online discussion forums can encourage real students to participate more actively and effectively in discussions.

The objectives are as follows:

  1. To assess whether bots acting like students can boost student involvement in online discussion forums.
  2. To analyse any differences in student reactions when engaging with bots versus real students.
  3. To examine the influence of bots on the quality of discussions and students’ learning experience in online forums.

To facilitate this research project, Ed Discussion will be the Q&A forum platform. By signing up to Ed Discussion for SOFTENG 281, you understand that your de-identified responses will be used for this research purpose. It is voluntary for your to participate in this study, and you are free to decline to participate, or to withdraw from the research at any time, without experiencing any disadvantage

As a student in SOFTENG 281, you are invited to participate in this study. All that is required from you is to use the Q&A forum like you would normally. As you ask questions, you might get a response from an AI-powered bot. The length of this study is for the semester.

Only the named researchers will have access to the study’s data. The supervisor (Nasser Giacaman) will de-identify all personally identifiable information via a script file that replaces personal information with artificial identifiers. Only once this de-identification process is completed will the data will be analysed. No other information will be collected or stored.


Benefits and risks

The benefits of this study include:

  1. Enhanced Learning Experience: You may have a more engaging and interactive learning experience due to the presence of bots in your online discussions. The study seeks to determine whether bots can positively impact student engagement, which could enhance the overall quality of your learning.
  2. Improved Communication Skills: You may have the opportunity to develop and refine your communication and critical thinking skills through active participation in online discussions. Engaging in discussions with peers, whether human or bot, can help you articulate your thoughts and ideas more effectively.
  3. Contribution to Educational Technology: You indirectly contribute to the advancement of educational technology by participating in a study that explores innovative ways to use bots in online education. Your involvement helps shape the future of technology-enhanced learning environments.

The risk of participating in the study includes that some answers will be from AI-powered bots. However, the instructors of the course will always screen responses before making them visible to you to ensure the quality of responses and their relevance to this course.


Your rights

Participation is voluntary

Your participation is voluntary, and participation or non-participation will not result in any disadvantage. If you do not want to participate, you can simply delete your Ed Discussion responses.

Withdrawal from participation and withdrawal of data

You have the right to withdraw from participation at any time without any disadvantage. Simply delete your responses from Ed Discussion. Once the data is de-identified and used in the analysis, it is too late to withdraw.

Confidentiality and anonymity

You can remain anonymous in Ed Discussion by responding using the “anonymous” option. Prior to analysing the data, it will be de-identified to remove any identifiable information. All personally-idenfiable information will be replaced with artificial data.

Neither your grades nor academic relationship with the department or members of staff will be affected by either refusal or agreement to participate.


What will happen after the study

The data collected will be retained for 6 years, as required by the University Ethics Committee.

Data will be stored on a University research drive, and deleted at the end of the retention period.

The purpose of the data is to analyse the impact of AI-powered bots for online forums. The summary of these findings are intended to be used for publication.

If you wish to receive the findings of this study, please directly email Nasser Giacaman (n.giacaman@auckland.ac.nz) to be informed of when the research is published. This is expected to be about 6 months after the conclusion of the semester, but might also be longer.


Contact Details

If you require Māori cultural support, talk to your whānau in the first instance. You may also contact the administrator for He Kamaka Waiora (Māori Health Team) by telephoning 09 486 8324 ext 2324, or contact the Auckland and Waitematā District Health Boards Māori Research Committee or Māori Research Advisor by phoning 09 4868920 ext 3204 to discuss any questions or complaints about the study.

For concerns of an ethical nature, you can contact the Chair of the Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee at ahrec@auckland.ac.nz or at 373 7599 x 83711, or at Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142.

Approved by the Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee on 7th December 2023 for three years. Reference number UAHPEC26871.