Dear Colleagues
Colleagues interested in the referencing practice problems
faced by students - and institutions - may be interested in
the questions raised in the attached paper.
Three questions are raised:
1. To what extent is there agreement within an institution
and/or a discipline on WHY evidence is cited and referenced
in assignments in Britain, as the practice in Britain can
be very different to what happens in other countries;
2.Following from this, to what extent is there agreement
about WHEN sources should be cited - and when it is not
necessary to cite and reference information presented in
an assignment. This raises the thorny issue of what
constitutes 'common knowledge'.
3. The third area concerns what referencing styles should be
adopted by institutions. The issue for institutions is
should they adopt just one or two of these, to encourage
standardisation of practice, or allow the full range of
styles to flourish at the discretion of Schools or
Departments.
Colleagues may remember this latter point was the topic of
some lively discussion on this site about 18 months ago.
I am particularly interested in discussing the issues
raised in the paper with colleagues, who may like to
contact me direct, as I want to pursue the questions for
the 'LearnHigher' project over the next year.
Those of you attending the 'Opening the Gateway' symposium
in Liverpool next Tuesday, 26th, and who interested in
discussing the issues raised are cordially invited to the
'Challenge of referencing' workshop at the symposium.
Best regards
Colin Neville
University of Bradford,
School of Management, Effective Learning Service,
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C Neville
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