Practical resources for academics, librarians, academic skills teams, supervisors, markers and support staff who help users develop stronger referencing practice.
Learning Hub
Referencing support is not only about correcting errors. It is also about helping learners understand how evidence, attribution and source traceability work in academic, research and professional writing.
This page offers simple ways to use Ref-Check results and the Learning Hub as part of teaching, feedback, academic skills support, supervision, editorial review and reference integrity conversations.
Ref-Check findings can be useful starting points for discussion. They should be interpreted in context and used to support understanding, not as automatic judgements about academic quality or integrity.
Good referencing support helps students understand the relationship between the point they are making, the source they have used, and the full details needed for a reader to find that source.
The Learning Hub is designed to be shared before submission, during tutorials, after feedback, or as part of wider academic skills and integrity support. It explains key ideas in plain language while keeping the tone professional and respectful.
Ref-Check can help make common referencing issues visible. The most useful conversations often begin by asking what the result may be showing and what the user should check next.
A report can help focus support on specific areas, such as missing reference-list entries, unused references, formatting issues, DOI or URL problems, or sources that need closer review.
This can make feedback more specific and easier for students to act on.
A flagged issue is a prompt to check. It is not, by itself, evidence of poor academic practice, misconduct or source fabrication.
The user may need to compare the source details, check the required style, review local guidance, or ask for specialist support.
These patterns can help guide teaching, feedback and support. They may also show where a cohort, module or publication workflow would benefit from clearer guidance.
Repeated missing citations or unused references may suggest that users need help understanding how citations and reference lists work together.
Recurring formatting or alphabetical-order issues may suggest that users need clearer examples of the required referencing style.
DOI, URL and verification issues may suggest that users need support checking source details, publisher pages, library records or trusted databases.
These pages can be used flexibly, depending on whether the user is learning the basics, reviewing a report, or preparing work for submission or publication.
Share Referencing basics and Student guidance as pre-submission support, especially where students are preparing essays, reports, dissertations or manuscripts.
Use Common referencing problems to explain what specific issues mean and what the user should check next.
Direct users to Understanding your results so they can read their report calmly and use the findings as prompts for review.
Use recurring patterns to inform workshops, guidance notes, module resources, library teaching, editorial processes or local reference integrity discussions.
Neutral wording can reduce anxiety and help users focus on what to do next.
Try: “This result suggests that the citation and reference-list entry may not be matching. Check the author name, year and full source details.”
Try: “This source could not be confidently verified using the metadata sources checked. It may need manual review through a library catalogue, publisher page or trusted search.”
Ref-Check supports academic and professional judgement. It does not replace marking, supervision, library guidance, academic skills teaching, editorial review or local assessment policy.
Ref-Check can support teaching, feedback, academic skills work, editorial review and quality processes by making common referencing issues easier to see and explain.
The Learning Hub gives users a place to learn the principles behind the checks, helping them move from identifying an issue to understanding and improving their practice.