Open Access Materials (Generative AI Dependency Among Chinese Journalism and Communication Students: A Grounded Theory Study)

Abstract

This project contains the supplementary research materials accompanying a grounded theory study examining how Chinese journalism and communication students engage with, and in some cases develop dependency on, generative AI (GAI) tools in academic contexts. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with 20 students, combining self-report accounts with a researcher-observed walk-through task.Materials are organised into two items to balance transparency with participant confidentiality:Open Access Materials: the participant profile table, interview protocol and task instructions, a compact coding display, the cross-case analytic matrix, and the translation protocol.Restricted Access Materials: the full redacted codebook, the code-to-category audit trail, and deidentified interview transcripts (participants identified only by study ID). These materials are not openly downloadable because, although deidentified, they contain participants' original spoken content and therefore carry a higher residual risk of re-identification than the open items. To request access, please contact the corresponding author at huangmo.zenobia.0507@gmail.com, stating the intended use of the materials.All materials have been deidentified in accordance with the study's ethics protocol; interview video recordings were deleted following transcription. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, consistent with participants' consent for research use.