When is referencing required? When not?
In a dinner with my previous students, I came across the following issue: one Master Degree student told me that her course assignments require clear referencing while another Master Degree student in a different programme stated that her assignments do not require clear referencing. Both students express the value of doing and not doing so. Thus, we have a question with no obvious answers. Is it good practice for Master Degree students to have clear referencing in their assignment works?
I think the endorsed practices on referncing by a specific study programme reflects a specific worldview on the education programme design in terms of the ideas of CATWOE in soft systems thinking.
For the one that endorses the position of clear referencing is more academic in orientation [position 1]; while the one that holds of the view of referencing being a trivial matter is more practical in orientation [position 2]. Let me give an illustration: if you read an academic article, clear referencing is a must; now, when you examine an article in harvard business review, you do not see clear referencing.
The next question is: which one is more "valuable" to part-time post-graduate students in management studies? I am afraid my answer is quite biased: as an academic, I very much support position 1. Position 1 is especially useful for works that are to be read by academicians. Position 2 is more akin to the orientation of Management Consulting practices, more capable to produce works that are easier to comprehend by busy practising managers. However, for the long-term effective development of professional competence and the cultivation of intellectual value to part-time Master Degree students, I still favour position 2.
I think the endorsed practices on referncing by a specific study programme reflects a specific worldview on the education programme design in terms of the ideas of CATWOE in soft systems thinking.
For the one that endorses the position of clear referencing is more academic in orientation [position 1]; while the one that holds of the view of referencing being a trivial matter is more practical in orientation [position 2]. Let me give an illustration: if you read an academic article, clear referencing is a must; now, when you examine an article in harvard business review, you do not see clear referencing.
The next question is: which one is more "valuable" to part-time post-graduate students in management studies? I am afraid my answer is quite biased: as an academic, I very much support position 1. Position 1 is especially useful for works that are to be read by academicians. Position 2 is more akin to the orientation of Management Consulting practices, more capable to produce works that are easier to comprehend by busy practising managers. However, for the long-term effective development of professional competence and the cultivation of intellectual value to part-time Master Degree students, I still favour position 2.
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