Assessment and referencing
The emphasis in assessments should focus on building an understanding of referencing skills and develop student confidence about the principles of referencing rather than creating anxiety around plagiarism.
As stated in the Learning, Teaching & Assessment Framework the University has adopted the Harvard referencing style as the standard for all academic writing. All courses should use the Harvard referencing style unless a different referencing style is considered to be the convention for that particular subject area. In such cases, the referencing style to be used should be agreed at validation and clearly stated in the course handbook. All courses will follow the standardised version of their referencing style as set out on the Cite Them Right website.
The following guiding principles are intended to ensure a clear and consistent learning experience for students across all Schools:
- The primary focus of teaching, learning and assessment regarding referencing will be on students’ understanding of when and why to reference, a skill that grows and develops throughout their degree.
- A clear and consistent marking policy for each module should underline this approach, supporting students’ understanding and application of the principles of referencing, not stylistic accuracy, during the early levels of study. Marking guidance should be specific about the weighting given to marking referencing, and marking feedback should be specific about how particular referencing issues might be improved.
- Course and module handbooks should clearly state the referencing style which is used by that School.
- To avoid confusion, Schools should avoid variants of the agreed referencing styles or any bespoke referencing guidelines. Students should always be directed to the Library and Learning Services referencing webpages, citethemrightonline.com and the latest edition of Cite Them Right.
- Consistency of approach, as supported by the Library and Learning Services referencing webpages and Cite Them Right, is essential for students to get clear and accurate advice, and to enable independent learning.
- Centralised support for the University referencing styles will be provided by Library and Learning Support webpages, the Cite Them Right book and online portal and workshops. This includes guidance on reference management tools.
- Course Leads will have ongoing responsibility for communicating these guiding principles to their School. This guidance should be brought to the attention of new external examiners. The Deans of School will have ongoing responsibility for ensuring that these guiding principles are enacted and adhered to within their School.