Referencing: student choice or student voice?

Abstract

Lillis (2001: 53) calls referencing an ‘institutional practice of mystery’, a frequent cause of student anxiety and complaint. It is an area in which a vast perceptional gulf exists between academics and students, one in which academic support staff can see both sides. Students, not wanting to look ‘stupid’ in front of academic staff, will often express their concerns only to librarians and other support staff, so academics do not see the full range of anxieties. This paper reflects on this problem and reports on a successful project to alleviate student fears by decreasing the number of official referencing styles at the University of Bradford.