Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence Usage and Awareness Among University Students in Microbiology Education: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study
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Background: Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly used in higher education, but evidence regarding their adoption and perceived understanding among students in microbiology and related disciplines remains limited. Objective: To describe AI-tool usage, self-reported AI knowledge, and academic characteristics among university students participating in a cross-sectional survey. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was completed by 112 university students. A structured 25-item online questionnaire collected demographic, academic, AI-use, knowledge, and perception data. Categorical findings were summarised using frequencies and percentages. Percentages were calculated using the total sample or the valid item-specific denominator, as appropriate. Results: It was reported by 88 participants (78.6%), Gemini by 17 (15.2%), DeepSeek by 5 (4.5%), and other AI tools by 4 (3.6%). The 114 reported tool selections exceeded the sample size, indicating multiple responses or a source-data inconsistency. Among 107 respondents with valid knowledge data, 56 (52.3%) rated their AI knowledge as good, 35 (32.7%) as excellent, 15 (14.0%) as average, and 1 (0.9%) as poor. Five knowledge responses were unavailable. The sample included students from microbiology, computer science, biotechnology, and other departments and was predominantly undergraduate. No inferential analysis establishing an association between AI awareness and usage was available. Conclusion: AI-tool use and favourable self-rated AI knowledge were common among the surveyed students, although a statistical relationship between awareness and usage could not be established from the reported analysis
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