Prepare students
Share referencing basics, student guidance and the Foundations videos before essays, reports, dissertations or manuscripts are submitted.
Student guidance →Academic support resources
Use referencing checks to support learning.
A practical route for academics, librarians, supervisors, markers and support teams.
This page helps staff use Ref-Check results and the Learning Hub as prompts for teaching, feedback, academic skills support, supervision, editorial review and reference integrity conversations.
Teach clearly
Interpret in context
Support judgement
Support-first approach
Make the issue visible, then interpret it carefully
Ref-Check findings work best when they open a useful conversation rather than close one down.
Use results as prompts
A flagged issue can help focus attention, but it still needs context, local guidance and professional judgement.
How to use it
Suggested uses in teaching and support
The Learning Hub can be shared before submission, during tutorials, after feedback, or as part of academic skills and integrity support.
Explain issues calmly
Use common referencing problems to explain what a result may mean and what the student should check next.
Common problems →Support interpretation
Direct users to guidance that helps them read Ref-Check feedback as advisory prompts rather than automatic decisions.
Understanding your results →Teaching route
From result to learning conversation
A structured conversation can reduce anxiety and make the next step clearer.
🔎
Notice
Identify what the report has highlighted.
💬
Discuss
Explore possible reasons before judging the issue.
📘
Guide
Point to style guidance, examples or local support.
✅
Review
Help the user decide what needs checking or improving.
Teaching prompt
Use results to start a conversation
Make feedback specific
A report can help focus support on missing entries, unused references, formatting, DOI or URL issues and sources needing review.
Look for patterns
Repeated issues across a cohort may suggest a teaching need, clearer examples or additional support resources.
Important reminder
Keep interpretation in context
A flagged issue is a prompt to check. It is not, by itself, evidence of poor academic practice, misconduct or source fabrication.
Professional judgement matters
Consider source type, referencing style, local policy, assessment context and whether the user needs specialist support.
Supportive wording
Neutral phrases that reduce anxiety
Careful wording helps users focus on the next action rather than feeling blamed.
Citation and reference may not match
“This result suggests that the citation and reference-list entry may not be matching. Check the author name, year and full source details.”
Source may need manual review
“This source could not be confidently verified using the metadata sources checked. It may need manual review through a catalogue, publisher page or trusted search.”
Check before deciding
“Use this as a prompt to check the source details and required style before deciding whether anything needs changing.”