This paper presents an overview of the Open University (OU) referencing style, which broadly applies across all academic papers for students at this institution. The OU referencing style is also known as the OU Harvard style, as this is an institution-specific variation of the widely used Harvard style of referencing. Any student of the OU should be familiar with this style of referencing in order to meet the requirements of in-text citations, reference list generation and formatting required by the institution. This is true within philosophy courses, where Harvard referencing is commonly used, and where students of the OU need to apply the appropriate formatting to ensure consistency. This paper aims to provide a background to the OU referencing style, highlighting the key requirements and formatting features applied in-text and within the reference list.
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To ensure that the OU referencing style is accurately applied, it is important that the student is familiar with the Harvard referencing approach. The Harvard style is an ‘author-date’ referencing style, where the last name of the author and the date of the publication are included in parentheses within the main body of the text (Smith, 2020). The author’s last name and date may be included within parentheses at the end of a clause of sentence, as illustrated in the last sentence, or the author’s name may be included within the text and the date inserted in parentheses as described by Clauss, Müller, and Codron (2013). A combination of these approaches may be favoured to improve the readability of the text and to show skill in structuring academic writing. It is important to note that recent guidance from the OU on this style maintains the inclusion of the names of all authors where there are three or fewer, while the first author’s name is included along with ‘et al.’ where there are three or more authors in a publication. This convention assists in reducing the length of in-text citations, where listing many authors may detract from the actual text being discussed (Saliya, 2023). When multiple sources are presented to support the same point, a semi-colon is used to separate author-date groups within parentheses. This may be a particularly useful strategy to ensuring that complex sentences or ideas are fully supported by all relevant literature. The following paragraph provides an illustration of the use of this in-text citation style when considering the philosophical underpinnings of research design.
Research philosophies within natural sciences and other disciplines have tended to be divided along the lines of positivism, interpretivism and realism (Utley, Henry and Smith, 2018). While these approaches have specific advantages and disadvantages when considered at a purely theoretical level, their use is typically justified when considered within the context of a specific research question or problem. For instance, positivism reflects a reality that can be understood through objective observation and analysis and may therefore be optimally applied when engaging in quantitative research data collection (Park, Konge and Artino, 2020). In contrast, the use of realist or interpretivist philosophical positions may be better applied to understanding phenomena that may not be amenable to objective observation, where knowledge can be considered dependent on the characteristics of the observer and the context of the situation (Brinkmann, 2018). Qualitative research may benefit from these underpinnings, as they reflect subjective experiences or phenomena, allowing for contextualisation of data relative to the interpretation of reality (Saliya, 2023).
While the distinction between these three philosophical paradigms has been discussed widely in the literature (Khatri, 2020; Demos, 2022), it should be noted that contemporary philosophical approaches to research may be underpinned by newer, more nuanced, appreciations of how knowledge is generated, and reality understood. Specifically, attempts to move beyond positivism have been advocated, reflecting the challenges in generating knowledge which is absolutely objective in nature (Khatri, 2020). Post-positivist approaches have been identified that overcome limitations of positivism, adding complexity and nuance to how data are interpreted (Langford and May, 1994; Khatri, 2020). As noted by Hackfort and Schinke (2020), post-positivist philosophical positions now dominate many disciplines, reflecting their benefits in providing objective answers to questions, while taking into consideration the biases inherent in the research process.
The above paragraphs illustrate how to apply the OU referencing style for in-text citations, providing a range of uses of author-date pairings within a standard academic format. In addition to the in-text citations used in the OU referencing style, it is important that the reference list is appropriately formatted and adheres to the broader principles of Harvard referencing. The OU Harvard style typically adopts a standard approach to the Harvard reference list formulation, with the OU approach now reflecting a standardised version of the Harvard referencing format often termed ‘Cite them right’ Harvard (Smith, 2020). This approach to formatting ensures clarity and consistency in the way that sources are presented within the reference list; some of the main features will be considered here, including areas where mistakes may be commonly made.
The reference list should contain a list of all works cited within the main body of the text, listed alphabetically according to the author’s last name (Neville, 2007). Author last names should be listed for all authors, where possible, and initials should be provided for first names separated by full stops. The following template should be applied for all journal articles referenced within the work:
Author Surname, Author Initial. (Year Published) 'Title', Publication Title, Volume number (Issue number), p. Pages Used. doi: DOI Number
As noted in the above template, it is vital that not only the order of information is presented correctly but that specific formatting requirements are applied to the reference list. For instance, the ‘Cite them right’ guidance requires that the title of the paper enclosed within single quotation marks, with the publication title italicised. The convention is also to include the volume number and issue number (if available) and the pages of the text. This information should be readily available within the online page of the journal publication, or within an online database (e.g. PubMed). All of the information above should be included and should be checked for accuracy, even if using an online reference generator or other tool that automates this process. Inaccuracies in referencing can leave the writer open to accusations of poor-quality academic work, or even plagiarism, emphasising the importance of ensuring all details are included, as needed (Williams and Davis, 2017).
Importantly, as most scientific journals are now almost exclusively accessed online, there is a need to provide an online source for that journal. The inclusion of the source of the online text is also preferred within this style of referencing, where the digital object identifier (doi) address or website address may be listed at the end of the reference. This provides a clear trail for other authors to identify the text, increasing the transparency of the referencing process (Ghisoni and Murphy, 2020). However, access dates are not mandatory in this referencing style, as they may not provide any beneficial information to the reader or promote transparency (Smith, 2020). Ultimately, inclusion of the doi address should be sufficient to promote access to the correct source for other readers, even if a website name is inaccurate or changes over time; the doi is therefore preferred to a website address in this referencing style. For online sources without a doi, inclusion of the website should be considered essential for transparency (Pears and Shields, 2022). For an illustration of a formatted reference list in this style, please see the end of this article.
For non-journals entries in the reference list, the formatting requirements can vary, depending on the type of source used (Smith, 2020). For instance, books often need to include the city of publication and the publisher, often with the pages used for that particular section or quotation referred to in the text. Other sources are also increasingly used in academic writing, including online videos, blogs, and other media, which may require additional referencing considerations to ensure accurate information and a research trail that allows others to accurately identify and access that source. Appropriate guidance should be consulted to ensure that the specific formatting requirements are followed for these types of sources, with the OU referencing style consistent with the 10th edition of ‘Cite them right’ (Smith, 2020).
In conclusion, this paper provides a detailed description of the OU referencing style, while providing an illustration of how this style may be applied in academic writing. The OU referencing style is consistent with the Harvard referencing style and increasingly there is a drive towards the ‘Cite them right’ formatting of Harvard references within OU assignments. Key elements of this style to consider are the inclusion of author last names and dates of publication within the main body of the text, as well as the specific order of information and formatting of references within a complete reference list. As with all referencing styles, periodic updates may occur, reflecting new styles and conventions, and students should ensure that they utilise the most up-to-date version of the referencing style to meet institutional requirements.
References
Brinkmann, S. (2018) Philosophies of qualitative research. New York, Ny: Oxford University Press.
Clauss, M., Müller, D.W.H. and Codron, D. (2013) ‘Source References and the Scientist’s Mind-Map: Harvard vs. Vancouver Style’, Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 44(3), pp. 274–282. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3138/jsp.44.3.005
Demos, R. (2022) ‘Aspects of Positivism’, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 13(3), p. 377. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/2103939.
Ghisoni, M. and Murphy, P. (2020) Study skills : for nursing, health and social care. Banbury: Lantern.
Hackfort, D. and Schinke, R.J. (2020) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise psychology. Volume 1, Theoretical and Methodological Concepts. London: Routledge.
Khatri, K.K. (2020) ‘Research Paradigm: a Philosophy of Educational Research’, International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(5), pp. 1435–1440. Available at: https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels.55.15.
Langford, I. and May, T. (1994) ‘Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process.’, The Statistician, 43(3), p. 463. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/2348595.
Neville, C. (2007) The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.
Park, Y.S., Konge, L. and Artino, A.R. (2020) ‘The Positivism Paradigm of Research’, Academic Medicine, 95(5), pp. 690–694. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000003093.
Pears, R. and Shields, G.J. (2022) Cite them right : the essential referencing guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Saliya, C.A. (2023) Research Philosophy: Paradigms, World Views, Perspectives, and Theories, Social Research Methodology and Publishing Results: A Guide to Non-Native English Speakers. Available at: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/research-philosophy/320209.
Smith, O. (2020) Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right), www5.open.ac.uk. Available at: https://www5.open.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-plagiarism/quick-guide-to-harvard-referencing-cite-them-right#:~:text=month%2C%20Page%20reference.-.
Utley, R., Henry, K. and Smith, L. (2018) Frameworks for Advanced Nursing Practice and Research Philosophies, Theories, Models, and Taxonomies. Springer Publishing Company.
Williams, K. and Davis, M. (2017) Referencing & understanding plagiarism. London: Macmillan Education.
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