Summary of Research Paper presented at the Referencing and Writing Symposium, University of Bradford 8th June 2009

1. Student Perspectives on Referencing
Colin Neville

2. 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

3. Referencing
A key purpose of
referencing in
academic writing is to
distinguish one’s own
work from the work of
others
In relation to the work
of others, referencing
facilitates the
transmission of
knowledge previously
admitted into the
public domain.

4. Internet
…but with the Internet, ‘knowledge’
can easily enter the public domain –
by-passing the ‘gatekeepers’.
This raises issues about the origins
and ‘ownership’ of ideas…
…which can increase levels of anxiety
among students about plagiarism -
and can inhibit their writing.

5. Methodology
12 Drop-in
workshops
at two
universities
during
2008/9
Questionnaire
“Have Your
Say”: online:
January to
March 2009

6. Numbers
278 students
participated in the
survey: (75%
undergraduate) from
14 UK/HE institutions
199 female (72%)
79 male (28%)
Workshops: 77 students
‘Have your say’: 201
comments sent

7. Most recurrent presenting issues at the workshops
(from tutornotes):
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)

8. 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%).

9. The most important ranked reasons forreferencing, 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%).

10. 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%

11. Tension in student writing
Conformity Own ideas

12. ‘Have yoursay’
• 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…”

13. ‘ Have yoursay’: specific problemareas
• 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)

14. ‘Have yoursay’: 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

15. Wider, institutional, issues
• ‘Too many referencing styles’
• Alleged tutor inconsistencies
• Plagiarism – and particularly
in relation to student concerns
about expressing their ‘own
ideas’

16. Staff Development: Fourconnected issues
• Roles of referencing
• Referencing styles
• Tutor inconsistencies
• How students learn to reference

17. 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

18. How can we encourage students to develop their‘own
voices’ in assignments?
Selecting and
managing
external
evidence
Own
interpretation
&
argument
Developing
own style of writing

19. Author- Name styles Consecutive
Numbering
Recurrent
Numbering
• Name-date
(Harvard)
• APA
• MLA
• MHRA
• Chicago-Turabian
• Council of Science
Editors (CSE)
• British Standard
(Running Notes)
• MHRA
• Chicago -Turabian
• Oxford: Oscola
• British Standard
(Numeric)
• Vancouver
• IEEE
• Council of Science
Editors (CSE)
Too many referencing styles? Do we really need 14?

20. 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

21. Effective learning /’study skills’: do we need a more
integrated workshop approach?
Referencing Note-making
Time management
For
example:

22. Referencing is important
“ It stops you spouting cow
dung”
(Undergraduate: Contemporary
Arts Practice)
But more emphasis needs to
be placed on the ‘why’ (the
principles underpinning
referencing), and less on the
‘how’ (: to do it)

23. Not just bibliographies…
Why not encourage
students to add an
‘acknowledgements’
section or statement
to all their
assignments?