Participants using GenAI in online studies: an overview and recommendations for researchers and reviewers
Justus Mann, Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim · 2026
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Description
Justus Mann and Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim warn that policing AI use by study participants can backfire. Paid online studies now face answers quietly written by generative tools. Researchers answer with checks and blocks of growing force. The pair map seven levels of participant AI use, from hand-typed prompts to full agent runs.
Each defense sparks its own reaction from the crowd. Heavy measures can drive honest people away while skilled cheats level up. That adverse selection leaves data worse, not better. The authors urge fixing pay and offering a verified opt-in with video proof instead. Fairness and cost both favor the incentive route, they argue.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Justus Mann, Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 42 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |