To examine how undergraduate physics students use AI tools in their academic work, we conducted a two-phase sequential mixed methods study. The first phase (quantitative) involved a questionnaire analyzed via cluster analysis to identify user profiles. In the second phase (qualitative), a focus group provided deeper insight into students’ motivations, usage contexts, tasks, and attitudes toward AI. This qualitative follow-up aimed to clarify and enrich the interpretation of the quantitative findings.
This research has been performed as part of a collaboration between two faculties of the the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)., This dataset comprises three main components, collected during the 2024-2025 academic year: (1) Questionnaire Responses: Contains the responses from 172 undergraduate Physics students to a questionnaire designed to explore their use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools; (2) Codebook for the questionnaire responses, providing a meticulous description for each variable within the questionnaire dataset; and (2) Focus Group Transcript: Includes the complete transcript of a focus group conducted with 10 selected students to delve deeper into their perceptions regarding the use of AI. -- The participants are undergraduate Physics students enrolled in various courses (from 1st to 4th year). -- As for the methods, the questionnaire was distributed through the campus virtual of the Physics degree. A convenience sampling method was employed, as participation was voluntary. Afterwards, ten undergraduate students were selected from the questionnaire respondents for a subsequent focus group. The selection aimed to achieve a good representation across different academic years and genders. -- These data have been primarily used to study how undergraduate Physics students utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for academic purposes. This includes understanding their engagement with AI tools, their perceptions, and the specific academic contexts in which these tools are employed., Grant Agency: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Grant Number: Innovation and Teaching Quality Improvement Project REAFIA. -- Grant Agency: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; Grant Number: PID2022-138166NB-C22b, Peer reviewed