"I use it to polish my English": how researchers in Kazakhstan use AI in scholarly writing

Abstract

The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming academic writing practices in higher education and research, creating an urgent need to understand how young researchers in underexplored contexts conceptualise and use these tools in their research. Addressing the limited qualitative research on AI-assisted research writing in Kazakhstan, this study aims to explore the use of generative AI tools in research writing practices among young researchers and how they position these tools within the research writing process. Using a qualitative design, the study analyses 171 responses to an open-ended question as follows: “Please describe how you use generative AI tools in your research writing.” Applying Braun et al.’s six-phase thematic analysis, researchers found that participants used AI for idea generation, literature review, drafting, editing, paraphrasing, translating and clarifying complex concepts, particularly to support participation in English-dominated academic publishing. The survey respondents described AI tools as “an assistant”, “editor” and “co-writer”, while maintaining that final responsibility remains with the human author. The study highlights the importance of critical AI literacy, institutional guidance, and context-sensitive approaches to responsible AI integration in research writing. These findings have implications for the development of AI-informed academic writing support, policy frameworks, and future pedagogical practices in multilingual and non-Western research contexts.