Some distance learning courses require
students to research additional sources of
information outside the basic course.
Therefore, it's important that you reference
this research correctly when you send in your
unit assessments/assignments. Although you
will not be expected to provide references in
the same way you might if you were studying at
university level, it’s still important that
the information you give leads the tutor to
the source directly.
One of the reasons that you need to
reference accurately is so that, if necessary,
your tutor can read the text from any
documents you have sourced and ensure that you
have not copied them word for word. You should
always provide information you have sourced in
your own words because if the information you
choose to use is subject to copyright (which
most will be) then you may be accused of
‘plagiarism’. This word means copying written
text from the author without permission and
passing it off as your own work.
Although, it is often reasonable to copy a
phrase or sentence from someone else’s work if
it helps to support what you are saying in
your assignment - but you must ensure you give
the author credit for the text by adding
quotation marks and giving their name in
brackets directly after the phrase or
sentence. You should then provide all your
references at the end of the assignment in
full.
The type of details your tutor will need
are the same details that you would need if
you wanted to locate some specific information
yourself. For example, is your source from a
book, magazine, or perhaps a website? What is
the publication called and what is the page
number or website link/page?
Once you have supplied these details you
should feel confident that you have referenced
your work appropriately, and you will
hopefully have impressed your tutor !
