Referencing code of practice for staff

Why do we need a code of practice for referencing?

The ability to construct references is a key academic skill. It is necessary for all staff and students in all subjects. 

Accurate and consistent use of referencing is an important part of assessments. It allows students to demonstrate a good understanding of academic practice. 

Good referencing also demonstrates a professional approach to the use of information. 

This Code of Practice sets out guidance and useful information for staff in assessing referencing and effective selection of resources. It therefore aims to ensure that referencing is consistently applied and assessed across the University. 

What resources should be used to support referencing?

There are three types of resources available to support with referencing:

• Official style guides
• Reference support guides
• Reference management software

The style guides are maintained by the official bodies for each referencing system. 

The referencing styles used at the University of Dundee include:

• APA (American Psychological Association)
• Chicago
• Harvard (Cite Them Right)
• IEEE
• MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association)
• MLA (Modern Language Association)
• OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities)
• Vancouver

Reference support guides explain the proper use of referencing styles.

The official reference support guide preferred by the University of Dundee is Cite Them Right Online. 

There are other guides available, however, there is no guarantee that they will be accurate. Some guides incorporate local style variations not supported by the University. The only guide that should be recommended to students is Cite Them Right Online. 

Reference management software can help gather references together and correctly format them. 

The reference management software preferred by the University of Dundee is EndNote. It is available through AppsAnywhere.

There are other online referencing tools available, however, some require a paid subscription. Also, most word processing programmes only support integration with one referencing tool. EndNote is fully supported by the University and therefore should be the tool recommended to students.

The Library has a supporting guide for EndNote and can produce additional supporting guidance as part of sessions for modules.

How should Schools support students in learning referencing?

There are a number of actions that Schools can take to support students in learning referencing.

1. Identify a single referencing style for all modules and assessments.
2. Ensure that referencing is taught, supported, and assessed consistently.
3. Set the expectation that students need only learn and use the official referencing system for their modules.

Each module leader should make clear the preferred system for students to use. The guide for each module should include guidance on referencing. It should clearly identify the chosen style for that module. It may be sensible to permit more than one style of referencing, depending on the academic background of the students. However, where possible, students should only be required to learn one system of referencing. 

Schools should make students aware of the assessment criteria for referencing. Referencing should be weighted, and marked consistently across all assessments. Greater weighting may be applied at higher levels of study. 

Module leaders should make clear to students that marks will be awarded on the general quality of their referencing, rather than subtracted for occasional small errors. 

All modules or degree programmes should include sessions on:

• The appropriate use of information in academic study and research
• Referencing and copyright issues and how they affect you

The Academic Librarian team can provide sessions and support on the creation of references and use of guides and tools is available. This support is available to both staff and students. 

The Academic Skills Centre can provide sessions and support to students on where and when to reference in their written work.