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Update for Teaching and Support Services Staff: February 2011 |
The following important information relates to changes in the 2011 release of QUT cite|write.
Background
In mid-2009, the American Psychological Association released the 6th edition of the APA Style Manual (published with errors and reprinted). In 2010, amendments to Chicago Manual of Style and the National Library of Medicine (NLA) numbered style were released. These changes are reflected in the 2011 release of QUT cite|write.
Major style amendments
Changes to the 2011 style of |
reflect all amendments released by |
Inclusion of Digital Object Identifier (DOI) |
Changes to format - publisher/location |
Changes to format - multiple authors |
QUT APA |
American Psychological Association, APA 6th | X | X | X |
QUT Harvard |
University of Chicago, Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) 16th | X | X | X |
QUT Numbered |
U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), last update Oct 2009 | X |
NB: QUT Legal 2011 is an alternate title for the QUT School of Law Written Assessment in the Law School, as endorsed by QUT School of Law. Updates and amendments are thus the responsibility of the School.
QUT APA: Significant amendments
These key changes may impact directly on students' work and staff marking:
CHANGE TO |
NEW RULE |
|---|---|
Location information for electronic resources |
Use the the DOI (Digital Object identifier) in place of resource URL and/or retrieval dates. The DOI appears on the article citation where available. When not available, APA 6th stipulates that the URL of the journal's homepage should be used in place of the DOI in most cases. In cases where the journal's homepage is not available or accessible, the URL must link to the publisher homepage. The DOI replaces database names and retrieval statements and the use of URLs which directly link to an article, resource or database. |
Retrieval dates for electronic resources |
Include retrieval date in circumstances where a resource is continually updated (e.g. wikis, some medical resources). |
Publisher location |
For Australian and U.S., use "city, state" postal abbreviation (eg: Brisbane, Qld; Cambridge, MA). For all other locations, use "city, country" (eg: London, UK or Paris, France). The "well-known city" rule is no longer applied. |
New technologies |
Additional examples types available (e.g. blogs, message boards, Twitter, etc.) |
QUT Harvard: Significant amendments
These key changes may impact directly on students' work and staff marking:
CHANGE TO |
NEW RULE |
|---|---|
Author names |
The fuller forms of authors’ names are included. To assist alphabetisation, middle initials should be given wherever known. For example, ‘Miller, Harry M and Michael Barry’, rather than ‘Miller, H.M. and M. Barry’. |
Organisational authors |
To allow for shorter in-text citations, organisational author names may be abbreviated. Reference list entries should be abbreviated and spelt out in full, and then aplphabetised under the abbreviation. For example, '(BSI 1985)' would appear as an in-text citation and BSI '(British Standards Institution)...' would appear in the reference list, before 'ISO (International Organization for Standardization)' and so forth. |
Editor/translator in addition to author |
Where there is an editor, translator, etc, in addition to an author, do not abbreviate their role in the reference list e.g. use ‘edited by’ or ‘Translated by.’ |
Secondary citations |
One author quoted in the work of another – in-text citations should include the words, “quoted in” as per the example for ‘Author(s) quoted in another work’. This is instead of “cited in”. |
Smaller works |
Double quotation marks are used around titles of smaller works e.g. chapter titles (books), article titles (print and online newspaper and journal articles, and internet and informally published materials), and scores from edited anthologies. |
Retrieval dates for electronic resources |
Access dates are only required when online source material is not dated. Access dates are written before a URL or DOI, instead of after the full facts of publication. A ‘revision’ or ‘last modified’ date should be included if it is presented as the de facto date of publication or it is otherwise the only date available. |
Location information for electronic resources |
Addition of DOI following the full facts of publication for journal articles. If no DOI can be found, use the URL of webpage where the full-text article was found. |
Key considerations
- Alignment with the new APA 6th, CMoS 16th and NLA 2009 will challenge common and/or pre-existing referencing and citing knowledge and practices, particularly relating to differences in referencing online information sources, authors and publishing details.
- There may be a period of “mismatch” in and between student practice and staff expectations. Commencing students are most likely to replicate the new standards, while continuing students may apply more familiar rules of referencing and citing; however, they may also adapt their practice if they refer to the new guides on the cite|write website. Academic staff unfamiliar with or unaware of style changes may perceive these differences as student error, a situation which may then impact on marking and grades.
- Continuing students and staff may require a reasonable period of time and practice to familiarise themselves with these differences, and for the latter to modify course/study documents and resources.
Impact & risk management
The impact on practice and assessment will vary according to levels of staff and student awareness of changes, the year level of the student, and the degree of flexibility in academic expectations and grading practices. The amendments may warrant the following actions by teaching and support services staff to offset negative impacts on students and their results. It is likely that it will take a significant period of time for the amendments to become established practice, during which some degree of amnesty may be warranted.
Changes to |
Impact on 2011 commencing students |
Impact on 2010+ continuing students |
Action or intervention required to offset the risk to students |
By faculty teaching staff and peer-peer support teams |
By professional teaching staff and central support teams |
|
QUT APA QUT Harvard |
Negligible | Extensive | Explicit awareness raising of changes to styles, and implications for academic practice |
Extensive | Extensive | |
| Reskilling and/or supplementary teaching and learning intervention and learning resources | Moderate | Minimal | ||||
| QUT Numbered | Moderate | Explicit explanation of assessment requirements and supplemental guidance | Moderate-extensive | Moderate | ||
| Modifications to assessment documentation, CRA, marking practices and moderation. | Moderate-extensive | Minimal | ||||
Communication and support strategies
This communiqué forms part of an extensive Communication Plans targeting:
- academic fulltime and sessional teaching staff, and in particular course and unit coordinators;
- students 2010+ intakes; and
- key support services, committees, planning and governance groups.
The following strategies will further assist smooth transition to the revised styles:
Agency responsibilities |
|||
Strategies |
TILS/QUT Library (Service Owner) |
Faculty teaching and administrative staff |
Other central support services and teams |
| 1. email messaging to commencing and continuing students | initiate | continue | continue |
| 2. updates and information dissemination to all faculty and support services | initiate | continue | continue |
| 3. distribution of marketing collateral during Orientation, at events and information booths | initiate | enact | enact |
| 4. presentation resources and slides for general and Faculty Orientation events | initiate | enact | enact |
| 5. verbal direction and information in lectures, tutorials, course/unit resources and Blackboard sites | support | initiate | support |
| 6. supplemental guidance in generic classes and workshops, faculty tutorials and/or dropin sessions | enact | enact | enact |
| 7. 1-1 guidance and information via help desks, PASS/peer programs, and student appointment and consultation services | enact | enact | enact |
| 8. institutional announcements such as QV, Blackboard and newsletters | initiate | reinforce | reinforce |
Contact and further information:
The QUT cite|write Editorial Team would like to recommend this as a positive opportunity for us all to reinforce good principles of academic acknowledgement over and above the precise replication of the mechanics of each style, and to encourage students to continually strive to enact these principles in their practice. While major infringements are never acceptable, minor errors in application might be considered as a student’s good faith attempt to behave ethically. In such cases, punitive restraint will mostly likely bring about a more positive and productive outcome for everyone concerned.
Questions and concerns to:
Judith Peacock: Learning & Study Support Coordinator, QUT Library (and Convenor of the QUT cite|write Editorial Team)
p: +61 7 3138 2893
