Commacad & UGC AI Guidelines
What Every PhD Scholar Needs to Know
The UGC now treats undisclosed AI-generated content as plagiarism. This page explains how Commacad tools fit within permitted categories, what you must still do yourself, and how to protect your research with proper disclosure.
UGC Penalty Tiers for AI-Generated Content
Applied when flagged by detection software (Turnitin, DrillBit, ShodhShuddhi)
Important: AI-detection software flags all AI-generated prose, not only content from specific tools. Even a well-written AI output copied verbatim can push a thesis into Level A or higher. The safest strategy is transparent disclosure, substantial human revision, and keeping all core academic reasoning your own. UGC Regulations Page
What UGC Permits
AI is allowed for these specific purposes — with disclosure and citation.
Improving grammar, clarity, and sentence structure of text you have written.
Using AI to organise your own thinking — outlines, frameworks, planning scaffolds.
Generating Boolean strings, statistical references, or formatting support.
How Each Commacad Tool Aligns with UGC Guidelines
For each tool: what it does, its UGC compliance category, and what you must still do yourself.
QuantiPreter™
Statistical Interpretation Support
What the tool does
Converts raw quantitative/SPSS output into a structured starting point for interpretation.
What you must still do
Critically review the interpretation against your research question, revise it in your own voice, and integrate it with your study’s theoretical framework before including any content in your thesis.
Protocolis™
Research Protocol Structuring
What the tool does
Generates a structured draft framework for a Systematic Literature Review protocol based on researcher inputs.
What you must still do
Review, substantially revise, and validate every section of the draft. The research objectives, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and methodology must reflect your original academic reasoning. Treat the draft as a scaffold, not a final document.
StrinGen™
Technical Search String Generation
What the tool does
Generates database-specific Boolean search strings from research questions and SLR protocols.
What you must still do
Validate the generated strings against your specific research scope, test them in target databases, and document any manual adjustments. The choice of databases and the final search strategy must be justified by the researcher.
MMArchitect™
Research Design Advisory
What the tool does
Provides AI-guided research design options and mixed-methods sequencing rationale to support methodology decisions.
What you must still do
Select, critically justify, and own your research design choice. The methodology chapter must reflect your original academic reasoning. Any design recommendation from the tool must be evaluated against your study context and documented as researcher-confirmed.
MMIntegrator™
Mixed-Methods Integration Support
What the tool does
Helps researchers identify convergence, divergence, and integration points between quantitative and qualitative data strands.
What you must still do
Conduct the actual integration analysis independently. The synthesis of findings, interpretation of convergence or divergence, and all conclusions drawn must be the researcher’s original work. Use the tool’s output only as a structural guide, not as findings.
Samplicus™
Sampling Guidance
What the tool does
Provides sample size guidance and justification frameworks aligned to the researcher’s methodology and assumptions.
What you must still do
Verify all assumptions, validate the guidance against your specific methodological context, and write the final sample size justification in your own words. Consult your supervisor or statistician where appropriate.
Methodoria™
Research Planning Workspace
What the tool does
Guides researchers through a structured 7-step workflow from topic to a Research Framework Summary (RFS).
What you must still do
The RFS is a planning scaffold — it must not appear verbatim in any thesis chapter. Researchers must independently develop, write, and justify each section of their actual thesis based on the plan. The framework summary must be treated as a working document, not a submission-ready output.
Thematique™
Qualitative Coding Platform
What the tool does
Provides a structured environment for qualitative coding, codebook building, and thematic analysis with AI-assisted suggestions.
What you must still do
All coding decisions must be made by the researcher. AI suggestions are starting points — each code, theme, and interpretation must be reviewed, accepted, rejected, or modified based on your theoretical framework and immersion in the data.
Ready-to-Use Disclosure & Citation Templates
Copy these directly into your thesis acknowledgements or methodology section. Replace {year} with the year you used the tool. Adapt the disclosure paragraph to match your specific usage.
QuantiPreter™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
Protocolis™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
StrinGen™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
MMArchitect™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
MMIntegrator™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
Samplicus™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
Methodoria™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
Thematique™
Disclosure Statement
APA 7 Citation
Do’s and Don’ts for UGC-Compliant AI Use
Do
- Declare all AI tool use in your thesis acknowledgements or methodology section
- Cite every AI tool you used, in APA 7 or your institution's required format
- Rewrite AI-generated text in your own academic voice before including it
- Use AI for planning, structuring, and technical support — not for writing findings
- Review and critically evaluate every AI suggestion before accepting it
- Check with your supervisor before using AI for any core thesis section
Don’t
- Copy AI-generated text directly into your literature review, results, or discussion
- Use AI to write original sections that must reflect your own reasoning
- Submit AI-generated content without attribution or citation
- Assume your university's detection software won't flag AI-generated text
- Treat AI output as a final document — always treat it as a draft to be substantially revised
- Use AI to generate empirical data, analysis results, or research conclusions
Frequently Asked Questions
Use AI Ethically — and Confidently
Commacad tools are designed to support your research process, not replace your academic judgment. Explore the tools and use them as the structured research support they are meant to be.