An attempt to quantify the quality of student bibliographies
Abstract
Purpose
To provide a possible methodology by which the quality of student bibliographies can be measured.
Design/methodology/approach
The citations in some undergraduate business student bibliographies were categorised by resource type which were designated as either “scholarly” or “non‐scholarly”. A ratio of scholarly/non‐scholarly references – the “scholarly index”, was calculated for each bibliography as an indication of its quality.
Findings
The scholarly index did allow differences in bibliography quality to be detected between the different module assignments that were examined.
Research limitations/implications
There are a number of variables affecting the quality of student bibliographies including the library. As a measurement of library impact student bibliography quality has a limited value unless library factors can be isolated from other variables.
Originality/value
This methodology and the scholarly index, could be employed where it is required to assess or compare the quality of student bibliographies.
Keywords
Citation
Middleton, A. (2005), "An attempt to quantify the quality of student bibliographies", Performance Measurement and Metrics, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/14678040510588553
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited