Student Perceptions of Referencing
Colin Neville
University of Bradford/LearnHigher (CETL)
Two stages of research
• Stage 1: 2008/9: ‘Student Perceptions
of Referencing’
• Stage 2: 2009/10 : ‘International
Students, writing and referencing’
• 600+ students involved across 17 UK/HEIs
Student Perceptions of Referencing:
• 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 – my own view
Referencing facilitates the
development and
communication of ideas in
academic writing.
It is an important component in
the development of authorial
identity in academic writing
(managing arguments is at the
core of this )
A key purpose of referencing in
academic writing is to
distinguish one’s own work
from the work of others .
The students
• 278 students, from 14 UK/HE institutions
contributed their views to the survey
• 75% undergraduate
• Drawn from a wide range of disciplines
• Home students (70%)
Methodology
A total of 12 dropin workshops at
two universities
during 2008/09
Aim: to identify &
attempt to resolve
referencing issues
of concern to
students (77
attended)
“Have Your Say”:
online survey
January to May 2009
Content analysis of
201 replies from
students at 14 UK/HE
institutions
Specific ‘technical’ problems brought to workshops
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Secondary referencing: (how to do it; when to do it.
When to reference (and when it is not necessary)
Formatting references and bibliographies (what to
include and in what order)
Referencing quotations (when to do it; how to do it)
Understanding Harvard (how to cite; where to cite in
the text)
‘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)
Writing Difficulties
Referencing concerns of
students often
inseparable from other
writing difficulties
Referencing
(when/what/where
why & how)
Use of secondary
sources,
rather than
primary
Academic
V
Personal
Paraphrasing
& Summarising
Three perspectives on referencing:
Defensive
Altruistic
Creative
Why reference?
Arguably:
The ‘defensive’ perspective on referencing a
predominant one in the minds of many
students.
Students afraid to express views that
someone, somewhere, may have ‘published’
online or elsewhere.
The ‘authorial identity’ – ‘own voice’ - of a
student can be lost; submerged below the
references
Referencing difficulties of students
Student related
Wider, institutional issues
Wider, institutional, issues
•
•
•
•
‘Too many referencing styles’
Tutor inconsistencies
Defining plagiarism
How do we help and support
students to manage sources
in a more creative way?
Too many referencing styles? Do we need 14?
Author- Name styles
Consecutive
Numbering
British Standard (BS) BS: Footnote or
Name-date (Harvard) ‘Running Notes’ style
Recurrent
Numbering
BS: Numeric
Variants:
Variants:
Variants:
 APA
 MLA
 MHRA
 Chicago-Turabian
 Council of Science
Editors (CSE)
 MHRA
 Chicago -Turabian
 Oxford: Oscola
 Vancouver
 IEEE
 Council of Science
Editors (CSE)
Defining Plagiarism
• Exclude the item ‘ideas’ in our institutional
definitions of plagiarism, e.g. “The use of
the unacknowledged and/or unauthorised
ideas of another person’”
• Plagiarism should relate only to work in
the public domain
Not just bibliographies…
An ‘acknowledgements’
section or statement in
assignments.
May help to overcome
student anxieties about
plagiarising ideas
Finally….
What is your experience?
What are your comments?
Any questions?