ScienƟfic Tool

Referencing: Principles, Practice and Problems

Colin Neville
University of Bradford, Bradford, UK

ABSTRACT
This paper explores a neglected aspect of academic writing, namely the principles and practice of referencing
sources. In recent years, plagiarism has been a dominant concern for higher education practitioners. However,
there can be a fine line between plagiarism and poor referencing practice, and higher education institutions report
that students often struggle to understand, not just the ‘how’, but the ‘when’ and ‘why’ aspects of referencing.
This paper will, however, assert that student difficulties can stem from the inconsistencies of institutional advice,
proliferation of referencing styles, and an over-emphasis by institutions on the technical presentation of sources,
rather than on the principles underpinning referencing. The author will argue that academic writers, particularly
students, should be encouraged by institutions to perceive referencing primarily as a tool for the development of
an authentic authorial voice, rather than just as a defensive shield against accusations of plagiarism.
Keywords: Referencing, citations, bibliographies, avoiding plagiarism, academic writing.

Received Date : 30-03-2012

INTRODUCTION and Neville4 has also identified a number of Revised Date : 30-04-2012
Accepted Date : 02-05-2012
Referencing is the practice of acknowledging particular technical concerns for students, DOI: XXX-XXX-XXXX
in an academic text the intellectual work of including the confusion caused by the Address for
correspondence
others; work that has been presented for- proliferation of referencing styles found Colin Neville
mally into the public domain and is still within higher education. For academic Trans:it Project-Science
(Resource Development)
accessible in some way. The term ‘citation’ practitioners, a particular area of concern University of Bradford
refers to the presentation of a source in the has been in relation to the number of School of Lifelong Education and
Development
body of the text; and the ‘references’ or inaccessible or ‘disappeared’ sites cited in University of Bradford
‘bibliography’ refers to the full list of pre- peer reviewed journals, leading to a loss of Bradford
sented sources at the end of the work. It is credibility for the academics in question; BD7 1DP, UK
E-mail: c.neville@bradford.ac.uk
expected that academic writers will cite and this will be explored later in this paper.
fully reference the sources of ideas, data Like many familiar practices, referencing can
and other evidence in written assignments. be taken for granted by academics experi-
However, this practice is not without its dif- enced in writing for professional purposes.
ficulties for academic writers, particularly Familiarity with the method can lead to a
students. Recent studies1,2 have highlighted situation where the principles that underpin
the difficulties students can have in under- practice are no longer reviewed, challenged,
standing the principles and practice of or even considered. The experienced aca-
referencing, including understanding when demic writer can also fail to appreciate why
it is necessary to reference and how to cite others less experienced struggle to master a
and reference sources in a way that avoids practice that may seem commonplace to the
plagiarism. writer concerned.
Pittam et al.3 has highlighted the difficulties The aim of this paper is to review the
students can experience in developing a principles that underpin the practice of
sense of authorship in academic writing, referencing and the problems that can www.rjps.in

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 Colin Neville: Referencing: Principles, Practice and Problems

occur, particularly for students. It will address the ‘why’, The accurate citation and referencing of sources, and in
‘what’ ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ of referencing. It will a consistent way, advances a writer’s credibility with his
also engage with the thorny issues of what constitutes or her peers, and facilitates others to identify the type of
common knowledge – which does not need referencing– source, originator, publisher, and the date of its origin.
and about the proliferation of referencing styles and This serves to comply with copyright agreements,
the confusion this can cause to students. A key point acknowledges the authors or originators of the work in
in the paper will be that referencing difficulties of question, and assists other academic writers with their
students, particularly those studying outside their home own research.
countries, are often inseparable from other the writing Despite the potentially broad role of referencing in
difficulties, and these arise largely from a lack of previous academic writing, Angelil-Carter7 found that under-
experience and knowledge of what is expected of them. graduate students in her South African study perceived
One desired outcome from this paper is that institutions its function largely in terms of satisfying institutional
of higher education allocate time in staff development guidelines, and quotes one student as viewing referencing
sessions to reviewing the way referencing is perceived, as a ‘damn nuisance’7 (p. 64), rather than as an aid to the
presented, and assessed. development of arguments. Angelil-Carter7 cites other
examples where referencing is seen as a strategy for
Why reference? merely displaying reading coverage or for mimicking the
So what is the point of referencing? It can be argued conventions of academic writing, rather than a means for
that the main purpose is to facilitate the collective students to develop their ‘own voices’ in assignments.7
development and transmission of academic knowledge. (p. 61) Neville8 too, has argued that the ‘moral panic’
This development and transmission is powered by around concerns of plagiarism in UK higher education
human endeavour and communication; referencing is has produced a situation where undue emphasis is
one element in this communication process, and can placed by institutions on the ‘when’ and ‘how’ aspects of
allow writers to separate their ideas from the work of referencing, rather than on the principles underpinning
others. It also helps other scholars trace the origins of referencing, particularly the development of authorial
ideas, thus build links across knowledge. identity in academic writing.
Secondly, all academic writers, whether students or Discussion about academic integrity in general, and
practitioners, are expected to become more critical of ideas plagiarism in particular, has gained momentum in higher
as they progress in their careers. This critical approach education over the last two decades, leading to policies
includes the intelligent selection, review, analysis and and statements emanating from within institutions
presentation of ideas in support of a chosen argument. warning students of the dire consequences of plagiarism
Referencing is a practical manifestation of this engagement to their academic careers. However, Levin9 and Neville8
with knowledge and crucial in the development of feel that these warnings have made academic writers,
authorial identity, particularly in the analysis, review and particularly students, anxious about expressing their
construction of arguments. own views in assignments. Both commentators8,9 argue
In this respect, Becker5 believes the construction of that concerns about plagiarism can lead some students
arguments is the predominant function of referencing. to adopt defensive forms of writing. This is where
In Becker’s view, referencing facilitates the communi- the identity or personality of the writer is submerged
cation of evidence to support a particular case, or to by the weight of citation and referencing in the text,
assess, compare, contrast or evaluate different sources. including the referencing of texts included merely for
Shahabudin,6 summarising work done by the ‘Critical ‘show’ purposes, but clearly not read by the students in
Thinking’ learning area of the Learn Higher Centre of question. This defensive form of referencing highlights
Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) network, a tension many academic writers appear to feel between
also suggests that mastery of the principles and prac- developing their own ideas, demonstrating their
tice of referencing is an important element for aca- commitment to the set reading, and avoiding accusations
demic writers in the development of critical thinking. of plagiarism.
Shahabudin6 sees referencing as a way to gain authority Abasi et al.2 for example, in their study of graduate
and authenticity in academic writing if it is used to students, found that: “The students relied heavily on citation
help to trace the origins of ideas, synthesize multiple and referencing to represent themselves as writers who had consulted
voices in any discussion, and build a web of connect- their sources.”2 (p. 10) They quoted a student who said:
ing ideas. “You don’t want to write or read a paper that is full of citations,
Thirdly, it can be argued that the standardisation of but you have to when you are a student”.2(p. 110)
referencing practice, in compliance with a particular Neville, in his study of students’ perceptions of
referencing style, supports this communication process. referencing, found students who described the process
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 Colin Neville: Referencing: Principles, Practice and Problems

of academic writing as akin to editing, rather than that 41 percent of students had submitted work that
authorship. He quotes two postgraduate students:8 (p. 28) exceeded this threshold, although on closer inspection
a number of these, for a variety of reasons, could not
The person is not able to bring out his own thoughts, in be regarded as plagiarism. However, over a quarter
the fear that this idea has already been quoted by previous (26 percent) of assignments was above the threshold,
authors. As this process of fear grows higher, the interest and these students were shown their work with the
to research and innovate is lost… as the reader analyses copied passages highlighted and given an opportunity
further almost every idea that [he] thinks is already quoted to resubmit it. On resubmission, the incidence of
by another…I am not against referencing, but with the plagiarism had dropped to 3 percent overall.
degree to which it is over-emphasized, I fear it will defeat the Pankhurst and Moore14 found that Turnitin, if used in a
objective of education – to train the minds to think formative way, was a ‘powerful tool’ in encouraging and
It is considered that if there are a lot of references helping health science students to paraphrase journal
[in the assignment] then the person has done more articles. The researchers suggested that plagiarism
research, which is not necessarily true. I think an assignment occurred because students were often ‘not comfortable’
must be more of your own work, and not an entire literature with their own writing ability: “To change or paraphrase was,
review. Your own ideas and words must be valued… to them, to risk inaccuracy.”14 (p. 126) This view is supported
by Neville who found that some students, particularly
This tension can lead to students writing in a way that
those studying outside their home countries, “… could
buries their writing style identity behind a crustacean layer
not always think of alternative words or ways of expressing
of referencing to the point where, as one experienced
ideas; and some admitted to only half understanding the meanings
higher education tutor has suggested:
in some passages, so had resorted to partial copying of the most
“Any rhythm that the resulting prose might have impenetrable sections of the text.” 4 (p. 32)
possessed had been destroyed through being referenced to
death.”10 (p. 54) When and what to reference
There is no referencing issue more capable of confusing
However, there have been interesting workshop
academic writers than this. In particular, as suggested
approaches within higher education institutions to
in the last section, students can experience a tension
encourage students to develop their own authorial
between expressing their own ideas and citing the work
identities and to use referencing as a tool for this purpose.
and ideas of others; separating the two can become
The University of Aberdeen, for example, has embedded
difficult, and students can become over-cautious or
academic writing workshops within its Science Masters
confused, about what should be cited.4,15–17
programmes. These workshops address questions, such
Higher education tutors in the same disciplines may not
as, ‘What is a piece of academic writing?’; ‘What is an
agree on when it is necessary to reference sources and,
argument?’ Feedback from students and staff has been
in particular, may disagree on what constitutes common
positive, with all commenting favourably on the increased
knowledge.7,18 As stated earlier, what is regarded as
understanding and application of the conventions of
common knowledge does not need citation or referencing.
academic writing.11 At London Metropolitan University
However, Angélil-Carter7 found inconsistencies among
and Liverpool Hope University, Writing Centres were
staff at one higher education institution on this issue;
established, and peer mentoring schemes introduced,
common knowledge to one tutor was not to another,
enabling successful post-graduate students to mentor
even in the same subject area, leading to student
new undergraduate and postgraduates in academic
confusion and insecurity.
writing generally, or for a particular discipline.12
So what is common knowledge? One definition is:
The use of plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin
and Ferret, can also be used, not just to deter plagiarism, … information that is presumed to be shared by members of
but in formative way to assist in the development of a specific “community” — an institution, a city, a national
academic writing. Barratt and Malcolm,13 for example, region, the nation itself … a particular race, ethnic group,
report on a study involving 182 mainly postgraduate religion, academic discipline, professional association, or other
International Masters students on Computer Science, such classification.19
Automotive Engineering and Electronics courses. The
students were asked to summarise a number of research Common knowledge, in a referencing context, has
papers in an essay, and their assignments were submitted two main elements. First, there is knowledge ‘shared’
to Turnitin and Ferret, with a view to giving feedback on in the public domain. These are generally undisputed
how original their words appeared to be. A threshold of facts circulating freely and publicly in any largely
15 percent of matching text was used, but it was found uncensored society. It would also include general and
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 Colin Neville: Referencing: Principles, Practice and Problems

factual descriptions of folklore and traditions, although formula, or some other piece of information; secondly,
specific author comment on these would be referenced. to recognise similar findings, theories, ideas or opinions;
It also covers commonplace observations or aphorisms; thirdly, to recognise contradictory or different findings;
for example, that the dreary days of winter can have a and fourthly, to support a point not well-known or not
depressing impact on our moods, although if specific universally accepted by readers. He argues too, that
evidence was mentioned, this would be cited. It would references may also be needed for the following purposes:
also cover descriptive historical summaries of past (1.) to support a conceptual point or assertion; (2.) to
events or periods taken from general reference sources, justify the use of a method, technique, or instrument
where most commentators agreed on what happened. (e.g., its reliability, validity, or appropriateness); and (3.) to
However, disagreements among commentators on support the importance or viability of a research topic,
causal factors of these events would be noted and duly research question, or purpose/objective of a study.
referenced. Drawing on Campion’s work, which was written for an
Second, there is common knowledge within a subject. academic practitioner readership, Neville21 additionally
Every subject has its own set of commonly agreed proposes a more pragmatic six element framework for
assumptions, jargon, and symbols into which the scholar students on when to reference sources:
becomes drawn and which do not have to be continually
explained or referenced. 1. To give the reader the source of tables, figures,
At undergraduate degree level, it is assumed that students photos, statistics, and diagrams included in a text.
starting on many courses where there are particular These may be items directly copied or which
subject prerequisite, for example, sciences, mathematics, have been a source of collation for the writer.
and English literature, will have already have some 2. When describing or discussing a definition,
knowledge of these.19 However, as suggested earlier, not theory, model, or practice associated with a
everyone within the same discipline may agree on what is particular writer. This would include the names
common knowledge and navigation of this arena often of authors who coined words to label particular
requires explicit and early negotiation between students phenomena or situations.
and individual tutors on any course.17 3. To emphasise the wider context of a personal
Angélil-Carter7 has also drawn attention to difficulties reflection or personal experience, or to add
older students can encounter when they attempt to weight to the writer’s own arguments or
integrate their own experiences into an assignment. perspectives.
In the social science disciplines, for example, students 4. When giving emphasis to a particular idea that
who have lived through significant periods of history has found a measure of agreement and support
may assume their own perspectives on past events are amongst commentators.
commonly held by others. They may take the position, 5. To inform the reader of sources of direct
therefore, that their own perspectives do not need the quotations or definitions used.
support of citation and reference to an ‘expert’. Many
6. When paraphrasing another person’s idea that
tutors would agree with this stance - but not all - and it
the writer feels is particularly significant or
is this inconsistency of tutor approach to referencing
likely to be a subject of debate.
that can contribute to inequalities in the marking and
feedback of assignments.
Another factor in this discussion of common knowledge Quality issues
is in relation to shared knowledge common to one The increase in readily available online information
cultural group, but not others. Students, for example, has raised quality issues for students and for academic
may present unreferenced material in assignments in practitioners. For students, an issue of concern regards
the belief that the ideas would be regarded as publicly the validity of sources presented in assignments; and
recognised and undisputed in their culture; but some for practitioners, as suggested earlier, an important issue
tutors may not agree - and may criticise the student for is about errors of citation and referencing found in
not producing ‘evidence’ to support claims made. So academic writing, including peer reviewed journals.
when should sources, outside of common knowledge, In relation to validity of sources, Campion20 (p. 166) asserts
be cited? that preference should be given to original articles that
Campion20 proposes a set of ‘rules for references’ based are: “seminal in an area of research; methodologically or
on the comments of 300 reviewers of four academic conceptually rigorous; and most recent”. Campion had
journals. He asserts that referencing is essential in the his own discipline, Psychology, in mind and, as regards
following situations. Firstly, to acknowledge the source ‘most recent’, but we can find a division of opinion
of a finding, theory, definition, technique, instrument, between subject areas on this point. In science disciplines,
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 Colin Neville: Referencing: Principles, Practice and Problems

the ‘most recent’ evidence rule is likely to apply. But even

in these disciplines past work can be the foundation for The ‘how’ of referencing: referencing styles
exploring how contemporary ideas have built on earlier The ‘how’, or technical presentation of sources, is governed
ideas, models, and practices. With other disciplines, such by the referencing style adopted by either the subject
as philosophy, English, religious study, law, or accounting, discipline; or by a single institution e.g., UK Coventry
the ‘most recent’ can be less applicable, as more emphasis University with the name-date (Harvard) as their chosen
can be placed on seminal work in these disciplines. institutional style; or at the discretion of a department
Campion also asserts that ‘the following reportage within an institution. Neville4 found 14 referencing
secondary sources are not considered [to offer] strong styles in operation in UK higher education institutions,
support’ as evidence in assignments: references to mere each with their own sets of advisory or prescriptive
statements made in research articles that are not findings; guidelines.
textbooks; professional or trade journals, and similar Why so many styles? Particular referencing styles can
sources; newspapers and other popular press sources. be adopted because of an affiliation to a style guide
However, he also notes that, on occasions, even these produced by an organisation representing the interests of
identified ‘weak’ sources might well offer ‘strong a professional group or subject discipline, e.g., American
support’, depending on the credibility of the authors Psychological Association (APA) style with Psychology
and context in which they are used: and related subjects. But other reasons for the adoption
of a particular style include gradual change over time;
… the quality of a reference depends on the context within departments imitating departments across institutions;
which it is being used. If it is appropriate to the context, then it an arbitrary past decision by someone influential in a
is a good quality reference (e.g., popular press references may be department; or institutional or departmental decisions
appropriate to show public awareness of an issue).20 (p. 166) in an attempt to standardise practice for students. Also,
Another area of concern expressed by practitioners some referencing styles have benchmark guides that are
in recent years has been in relation to inaccessible or regularly updated and offer clear and detailed instruction
‘disappeared’ sites that are cited in peer reviewed journals. on how to reference a wide range of sources, including
For example, Crichlow et al.22 found that nine percent of electronic, which prove attractive to their adopters,
sites cited in medical journals were inaccessible within e.g., APA. This can offer security in their very prescription
three months of publication; and, even more dramatically, and currency, which other more advisory referencing
Aronsky et al.23 found that 12 percent of sites cited in benchmarks do not offer. For example, the Harvard
biomedical publications were inaccessible within two style is derived from the following: (1.) British Standard
days of publication! Other studies have raised concerns Institution (BS) guidelines: 5605: 1990: Recommendations
about the lack of attention to referencing detail by some for citing and referencing published material; (2.) BS 1629:1989:
researchers. For example, Buchan et al.24 investigated Recommendation for references to published materials; (3.) BS
the frequency of citation and quotation errors in 100 5261-1:2000: Copy preparation and proof correction – part 1:
papers published in ten ophthalmic journals. Their design and layout of documents; (4.) BS ISO-690-3: 2009:
analysis of 200 references found 35 errors in recording Information and documentation – Guidelines for bibliographic
sources and 30 quotation inaccuracies. Similarly, Gosling references and citations to information resources. These are
et al.25 in a study of reference and quotation accuracy advisory guidelines only and Neville found that the
in four peer-reviewed Manual Therapy journals, found practitioners within institutions charged with interpreting
nearly 36 percent errors in referencing sources and and communicating the guidelines could be inconsistent
12 percent of errors in quotations. Harzing26 feels in their interpretation of BS recommendations. This led
that errors of this type can undermine a field of to differences in the way the Harvard style formatting
knowledge: “When practitioners discover that academics fail to of sources was presented to students, even within the
do a rigorous job [and] that they resort to carelessly repeating same institution.21
what others have said…they are unlikely to value the academic’s Gibaldi27 has argued too, that referencing styles adopted
advice.” 26 (p. 145) Harzing26 makes a connection between by institutions and departments can be shaped by the
careless referencing and increasing workloads in higher kinds of research and scholarship undertaken. For
education: example, the numerical related styles of referencing
are often favoured by visual disciplines, such as art and
Unfortunately, increasing pressures on professors to publish, design and architecture, because they are more subtle,
combined with increased student/faculty ratios that demand less intrusive and pleasing aesthetically on the page,
more of professors’ potential research time for teaching, are compared to the relative ‘clutter’ produced by the
probably exacerbating this type of ineffective behavior.26 citation name-date Harvard, APA or Modern Languages
(p. 144) Association (MLA) styles.
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Neville8 found students critical of the number of to look at footnotes or endnotes, as is the case with
referencing styles within UK higher educations. He concurrent referencing styles (Table 1).
quotes one undergraduate science student: The Harvard style is, however, less versatile when citing
and referencing sources without authors, and complex
I wish there weren’t so many styles of referencing and [there when citing secondary sources, and Neville’s survey
was] one standard referencing style for all courses.8 (p. 17) of the referencing difficulties of undergraduate and
Students on some combined studies courses might be postgraduate home and international students4 found
faced with two or more referencing studies to learn the difficulties of secondary referencing high on the list
and manage within the same semester and Neville also of concerns of both cohorts (Table 2).
found students critical of the inconsistencies among Formatting
teaching staff on the advice being offered to students
about referencing detail. This was particularly true of the As seen in Table 2, the time it takes to format sources
Harvard style for the reasons stated earlier in this paper. correctly and in accordance to the referencing style in
Within the medical and pharmaceutical disciplines question is a recurring concern of students.4,8 And, as
two referencing styles tend to be predominant: the shown in the examples in Tables 3 and 4, there are often
‘Harvard style’ and a recurrent-number style, commonly small differences between styles.
referred to as the ‘Vancouver’ style, as outlined by the It can be seen in Tables 3 and 4 that the differences
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors between Harvard and Vancouver styles in the example
(ICMJE), in their guide International Committee of Medical shown are in relation to the order and punctuation
Journal Editors Uniform requirements for Manuscripts Submitted
to Biomedical Journals: Sample References. Table 2: Main referencing concerns of students
The Vancouver referencing style uses either a bracketed or in the UK
superscript number in the text, which connects with list Home Students (all) International Students (all)
of references at the end of the work. The same number 1. Secondary referencing 1. Paraphrasing and
can be repeated, for example, if a source is mentioned summarising
more than once in the same text. A number in the 2. How to integrate own 2. How to integrate own
text will, therefore, connect with the same number ideas and experiences into ideas and experiences into
assignments assignments
in the final list of references. The advantage of this 3. Paraphrasing and 3. Secondary referencing
referencing style generally is that only one number is summarising
used per source or note, so the same number can be used 4. How to format and organise 4. Plagiarism concerns
bibliographic lists
for recurring references to the same source (Table 1). 5. Plagiarism concerns 5. Referencing the spoken word
The basic idea of the Harvard style is to use citations
(a partial reference) in the main body of a text by citing
the family name of the author(s), or organisational Table 3: Book chapter: comparison of Harvard and
name, and the year of publication; and then to list all Vancouver referencing styles
references in full and in alphabetical order at the end of Harvard Vancouver
a work. The name used in the citation always connects
with the name used to start the full reference entry. The Ballinger, A., Clark, M. (2001). Ballinger A, Clark M. Nutrition,
Nutrition, appetite control and appetite control and
Harvard referencing style is the one most familiar to disease. Ch. 13 in J. Payne- disease. In: Payne-James
writers from the style adopted by many academic books James, G. Grimble, and J, Grimble G, Silk D, (eds).
and journals and there is no distraction from the text D. Silk (eds). Artificial nutrition Artificial nutrition support
support in clinical practice. in clinical practice. 2nd ed.
2nd edn. London: Greenwich London: Greenwich Medical;
Medical, pp.225–39. 2001. p. 225–39.
Table 1: Summary of major differences between Harvard
and Vancouver referencing styles
Name-Date (Harvard) Style Vancouver Style
Table 4: Journal article: comparison of Harvard and
This style involves giving This style uses bracketed Vancouver referencing styles
(or citing) the name(s) of (or superscript) numbers
Harvard Vancouver
author(s) or organisation(s) in the text that connect
in the text along with with a list of references Powell, C.E. and Slater, I.H. Powell CE, Slater IH. Blocking
the year of publication. at the end of the chapter/ (1958). Blocking of inhibitory of inhibitory adrenergic
All sources are listed assignment. The same adrenergic receptors by receptors by a dichloro-
alphabetically at the end number can recur, e.g., if a a dichloro-analogue of analogue of isopreoterenol.
of an assignment and source is mentioned more isopreoterenol. J Pharmacol J Pharma Exp Ther.
labelled as ‘References’. than once in the text. Exp Ther 122: 480–488. 1958;122:480–88.

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of items. However, as stated earlier, the standardisation even at a discounted price, and academic writers must
and consistency element of referencing is an important decide if the cost is justified in terms of the use they
element in the communication process with other will make of it. It also takes time, effort and practice
researchers and in the establishment of credibility for before the software can be used proficiently. However,
any academic writer. the available evidence suggests that the effort to learn
can be repaid by the consistent and detailed referencing
Bibliographic software entry that is given.30–32
As the formatting of references is a tedious and time-
consuming process, academic writers, including students, CONCLUSION
are increasingly using bibliographic software to help
them manage the formatting of sources. In addition Referencing, whilst an important element in academic
to the referencing management system built into more writing, is a neglected area of research, although concerns
recent additions of MS Word, there is now a wide range about plagiarism, and interest in helping students develop
of referencing management software systems, including a sense of their authorship in academic writing, has
free download software, for example, Zotero,28 designed brought the topic to the forefront in recent years. Students
to help writers manage referencing. Many universities can find referencing difficult and confusing, and this can
provide their adopted software free for students to use add to the difficulties they may be experiencing in writing
within the institution, or enable students to purchase in a way that conforms to institutional expectations.
the software themselves, often at a discounted price. Institutions of higher education may compound these
Features of this software include: difficulties by failing to address and resolve the difficulties
students experience, or by not regulating the number of
1. Searching the Internet for references and referencing styles across departments.
importing to a database. Providing opportunities for teaching staff and admin-
2. ‘Cite while you write’ features, which includes istrators to discuss referencing practice and principles
organising information retrieved into a particular could prove to be useful to staff and students alike.
referencing style. Discussion, leading to the formulation of institutional
3. Linking text citation with the full reference, policies and guidelines, could include key but
along with a facility for ensuring that any neglected issues relating to the principles underpinning
citation featured in the text corresponds with referencing, including: ‘why’ and ‘when’ to reference;
a full reference entry. what constitutes common knowledge in any discipline;
how will referencing be presented to students, including
4. Editing features: easy addition to references
when should this happen, and who will be involved; what
already entered.
advice is offered to students on the selection of sources,
5. Keyword sorting alphabetically of references. particularly those from the Internet; and, importantly,
There are obvious time and efficiency advantages for the rationale for the adoption of a particular referencing
students in using this software, in both information style or styles within a faculty or institution.
retrieval and in organising the citation and full referencing
in any text. However, all software does have its limitations, REFERENCES
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London: Continuum, 2008.
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and easy transfer of information into citation and full of identities, and the complex issue of plagiarism: ESL students writing
reference forms. With some systems, for example, the in graduate school. J Second Lang Writ 2006;15:102–117.
3. Pittam G, Elander J, Lusher et al. Student beliefs and attitudes about
search facility may be limited; with others there may be authorial identity in academic writing. Stud High Educ 2009;34:153–170.
particular problems, such as confusion in distinguishing 4. Neville C. International students writing and referencing. Univ Bradford
Learner Dev Unit. Paper: International Students, Writing and Referencing
between primary and secondary authors, or problems Symposium, Univ Bradford 9 June 2010.
with referencing certain types of uncommon source.29 5. Becker HS. Writing for social scientists. Chicago: Univ Chicago Press,
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