Referencing Error Factor

Introduction

The "Referencing Error Factor" (REF-EF) was first proposed in 1989 by Dr. Lindsay B. Carey, MAppSc, PhD, a former academic within the Behavioural Health Sciences Department at the Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (which subsequently merged with La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1991). Carey, lectured health science students from various disciplines (e.g., nursing, physiotherapy, speech language pathology, occupational therapy, prosthetics/orthotics, ophthalmology, public health, ergonomics, palliative care, pastoral care, etc.), each discipline having their own preferred referencing system and style for writing reports, assignments etcetera. The variation in referencing styles made assessment of referencing difficult across disciplines but was considered important given the need to ensure fairness and that students were recording references accurately, avoiding plagiarism and to reinforce the importance of being pedantic with regard to detail. Associate Professor Carey, subsequently developed the REF-EF.

Referencing Error Factor (REF-EF)

Carey's Referencing Error Factor (REF-EF) is simply a 'percentage of errors' according to the determined referencing style (e.g., APA, Chicago, etc.) based on the number of in-text reference errors [I-TX Refs] incorrectly cited plus the total number of references listed incorrectly in the reference list/bibliography [BIB-Refs], divided by the total number [N] of references listed/cited in the final reference list/bibliography [N-BIB-Refs]. It is important to note that while one reference may have multiple errors (within that one reference), only one error is counted per reference.

REF-EF Calculation

Total of [I-TX Ref errors] plus [BIB Ref errors] divided by [N-BIB Refs] = Referencing Error Factor (percentage) [REF-EF %]

Example

An essay had 5 in-text [I-TX] references with errors (some with multiple inaccuracies; e.g., incorrect dates, misspelling of author's name) and 3 references with errors in the bibliography / reference list [BIB Ref errors] (all with multiple inaccuracies; e.g., author's name incorrect, missing title, missing volume/issue number, missing page numbers or no/inaccurate web page link). The total number of referencing errors is therefore eight. The total number of references listed in the bibliography / reference list was ten [N-BIB Refs]. Thus the total reference error factor is 80% reference error factor.

Example REF-EF Calculation

[I-TX Ref errors = 5] plus [BIB Ref errors = 3] divided by [N-BIB Refs = 10] equals 80% Referencing Error Factor [80% REF-EF]. 

REF-EF Penalty

A student within a certain range of REF-EF percentage could be penalised (depending on the subject specifications for assessment) or asked to re-submit their assignment with references corrected (refer Table 1).

Table 1:	Example of Carey's REF-EF Penalties
* 0 - 10% REF-EF:	No penalty
* 11 - 20% REF-EF:	Loss of equal percentage or one grade (e.g., A to B grade -or equivalent)
* 21% - 30% REF-EF:	Loss of equal percentage or two grades (e.g., B to C grade - or equivalent)
* 31% - 40% REF-EF:	Loss of equal percentage or three grades (e.g., C to D grade - or equivalent)
* 41% to 50% REF-EF:	Loss of equal percentage or four grades (e.g., D grade possibly fail)
* Over 50% REF-EF:	Fail or complete resubmission

Any student with 50% or more REF-EF should not be entitled to a pass but failed or asked to resubmit. Generally speaking students with a high Reference Error Factor often have an associated plagiarism issue - so it is also recommended to test for plagiarism (e.g., using 'Turn-It-In' or other program that can check originality). Carey's preference was for students with a high REF-EF (i.e., REF-EF > 50%, or any REF-EF penalty that led to a fail), to resubmit so that students / practitioners would benefit from the opportunity of additional reference-learning and avoidance of plagiarism. Of course, even if the resubmission had perfect referencing, there is still no substitute for a well structured/well written submission that provides a logical argument substantiated by empirical evidence that is also referenced accurately.

Issues

The most common concern with Carey's REF-EF assessment, is the determination of What constitutes a referencing error? It is important therefore to ensure that the chosen referencing method (either predetermined by the examiner or the students' choice; e.g., APA, Harvard, Chicago, etc.) is clearly declared (preferably) prior to, or at the time of assignment submission (and the chosen referencing system then used as the gauge for assessing errors), and secondly, that only one error is calculated per in-text reference error and one error per bibliography reference error (i.e., there may be multiple errors within any one reference, but once there is one error the whole reference is calculated as faulty and therefore should not be calculated as multiple errors but as one single referencing error). Another issue concerns Carey's REF-EF penalties for poor referencing which could be considered quite harsh (e.g., a student who received 90% [Grade A / Hons 1], based on assignment content, could be reduced to 40% given considerable referencing faults). While it is questionable whether a student should be given such a high grade being also found to have a high REF-EF, nevertheless Carey's REF-EF penalties may need to be modified according to the criteria / goals of assignments/subjects. Yet whatever idiosyncratic modifications maybe necessary, it would seem worthwhile for lecturers/ examiners to test whether utilising Carey's REF-EF does help students and other authors to consider / focus more carefully upon the accuracy of their referencing, particularly given a potential penalty/consequence for referencing lethargy.

Reference

Carey, L.B. (1989). Measuring referencing errors: A systematic method irrespective of style. Sociology of Health and Illness (BH101) Introductory Tutorial, Semester 1, 06-12 March. Carlton, Melbourne: Department of Behavioural Health Sciences, Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences.

Referencing Error Factor. (2015, February 15). San Francisco, CA: Wikiversity, Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 21:48, February 15, 2015 from http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Referencing_Error_Factor&oldid=1292940.