Student Perspectives on

Referencing
Colin Neville
Report available
Research objectives

• To identify student perceptions of the

roles of referencing in academic writing
• To identify the main referencing problems
for students
• To consider the implications for staff
development
 Referencing

A key purpose of In relation to the work

referencing in of others, referencing
academic writing is to facilitates the
distinguish one’s own transmission of
work from the work of knowledge previously
others admitted into the
public domain.
 Internet: ‘riding the prairie’
…but with the Internet, ‘knowledge’ can easily
enter the public domain – by-passing the
‘gatekeepers’; there are no, or few, fences
around ‘knowledge’ on the web.

This makes knowledge more accessible, but

raises issues about the origins and
‘ownership’ of ideas…

…which can increase levels of anxiety among

conscientious students about plagiarism -
and can inhibit their writing.
Referencing difficulties of students:

Specific problems Wider, institutional issues

Methodology

12 Drop-in
workshops
at two
universities
during
2008/9 “Have Your
Say”: online:
January to
March 2009
Questionnaire
 Numbers
• A total of 278 students participated in the survey: (75%
undergraduate) from 14 UK/HE institutions
• 199 (72%) were female
• Drawn from across all disciplines
• Workshops: attracted 77 students; ‘Have your say’: 201
comments sent.
Most recurrent presenting issues at the
workshops (from tutor notes):

1. Secondary referencing: how to do it; when to do it

2. When to reference (and when it is not necessary)
3. Formatting references and bibliographies (what to
include, and in what order)
4. Referencing quotations (when to do it; how to do it)
5. Understanding Harvard (how to cite; where to cite in
the text)
 Main referencing difficulties identified from the
questionnaire (main concerns of students
attending workshops):

• When to reference (42%)

• Referencing secondary sources (40%)

• Anxiety about plagiarism (40%).

The most important ranked reasons for
referencing, from a choice of ten
questionnaire items:
1. To acknowledge sources of evidence (60%);
2. To support own opinions, assertions or arguments; and
to avoid accusations of plagiarism (53% respectively);
3. To conform to institutional norms & tutor expectations
(43%).
Agreements with questionnaire statements
(section 2):
a. I understand that referencing is regarded by the
institution as an essential part of assignment writing and
a way of avoiding plagiarism, but, to be honest, I find it
rather a chore or a nuisance = 19%
b. I regard referencing as a significant part of the process of
supporting my own ideas in an assignment = 29%
c. Referencing is an important way for me to acknowledge
in my assignment the data, ideas, models and practices
produced or developed by others = 42%
d. I feel referencing in assignments is an important part of
the process of agreeing with or challenging the ideas of
others = 10%
Tension in student writing

Conformity Own ideas

 ‘Have your say’
• 201 replies received (77%: undergraduates)
from students at 14 UK/HE institutions

• A quarter of all respondents presented

entirely positive views about referencing
(25% of the undergraduates; 33% of the
postgraduates)
• 7% of the respondents (all undergraduates)
expressed very negative views on
referencing
• 69% students expressed critical views on
referencing: “ I can understand why we have
to reference but…”
‘ Have your say’: specific problem
areas
• Time management related issues (19%)

• Concerns about plagiarism; and ‘too many referencing

styles’ (11% respectively)

• Critical of detail needed in a reference; and difficulties

with integrating own ideas into assignments; and
inconsistent tutor advice, marking & feedback (9%
respectively)
‘Have your say’: comparison between
undergraduates/postgraduates:

• Undergraduates & postgraduates (in proportion to their

numbers): reported similar problems in relation to time
management; concerns about plagiarism; and about
integrating their own experiences into assignments.

• Undergraduates were the most critical of the number of

referencing styles encountered

• Postgraduates expressed the most concern about tracing

the origins of ideas
Wider, institutional, issues

• ‘Too many referencing styles’

• Alleged tutor inconsistencies
• Plagiarism – and particularly
in relation to student concerns
about expressing their ‘own
ideas’
Staff Development: Four connected
issues
• Roles of referencing
• Referencing styles
• Tutor inconsistencies
• How students learn to reference
Plagiarism: institutional issues

• Referencing – perceived
by many students
primarily as a form of
‘defence’
• Students afraid to express
views that - someone,
somewhere - may have
already ‘published’ online,
or elsewhere
How can we encourage students to develop
their ‘own voices’ in assignments?

Selecting and
Developing
managing
own style of writing
external
evidence

Own
interpretation
&
argument
 Too many referencing styles?
Author- Name styles Consecutive Recurrent Numbering
Numbering

• British Standard • British Standard • British Standard

Name-date (Harvard) (Running Notes) (Numeric)

• APA • MHRA • Vancouver

• MLA • Chicago -Turabian • IEEE
• MHRA • Oxford: Oscola • Council of Science
• Chicago-Turabian Editors (CSE)
• Council of Science
Editors (CSE)
Time management difficulties

• This issue can be related to

issues of referencing
styles/inconsistent advice
• However, also raises issues
concerning note-making and
(non) use of referencing
management software
 Effective learning / ’study skills’: do we
need a more integrated workshop
approach?

Referencing Note-making
For
example:

Time management
Referencing is important

“ It stops you spouting cow

dung”
(Undergraduate: Contemporary
Arts Practice)
Not just bibliographies…

Should we not
encourage students to
add an
‘acknowledgements’
section to their
assignments?
Research: next stage (2009/10)

Perceptions and experiences of

international students:
• Previous experience of referencing
• Perceptions of referencing on current
courses
• What are the big issues for them?