uni questions

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post

by pedropony_101

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

It depends on what you mean by "use a website". Use a web site to spell check your essay? Use a web site to write you essay? Reference a web site as a source in your essay?

Reply 2

Kingston Zhi En

Official Rep

Original post

by pedropony_101

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

Hi there @pedropony_101 , although it is usually not recommended, you may use some websites to source for images, forums, online articles (primary research) to support your academic text. It also depends on your lecturer's preference and the assignment brief 🙂 I hope this answers your question

Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)

Reply 3

Coventry University Student Ambassadors

Official Rep

Original post

by pedropony_101

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

Hi there,

Plagarism can be tricky to understand so if in doubt always check YOUR uni guidelines and ask your module leader for help or confirmation.
If you just mean can you reference a website in your paper instead of just academic texts - usually you can if it is a reputable source and makes sense in the context. However i would always make sure that not every single reference was a website instead of a paper.

Hope this helps
Amber
Coventry Uni student Ambassador

Reply 4

LHU-Daisy

Official Rep

Hi there,

As many have said above, it does depend on the reason why and your lecturers preference.
In my experience, whilst many try to discourage the use of websites they will often accept a couple of references her or there especially if the website is linked to a news webpage such as the BBC, The Guardian etc. If its an online webpage linking to an academic source, so something you may have found via Google Scholar then that is also usually acceptable as long as in the reference list at the bottom it is clearly stated as an online resource.

It really is dependant on the university/ course. I would recommend asking your tutor, just for your peace of mind more than anything. But as also said above, when using a website source make sure to reference it properly so there isn't a question of plagiarism.

I hope this helps,
Daisy- Graduate Advocate :smile:

Reply 5

UoL Students

Official Rep

Original post

by pedropony_101

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

Hello,

The general advice is usually to stay away from websites unless they are authoritative. However, this can depend on the degree subject because if you are doing something like Criminology or Journalism you may need to refer to different news websites.

For subjects such as law, you are usually expected to refer to primary and secondary research materials such as legislation, case law, authoritative textbooks, monologues and journal articles to name a few. Journal articles in particular are very useful and can be the difference between a first-class and a high second class.

Whether it would bring your marks down really depends on the context as well as the assignment itself.

If you have any further questions please do let me know.

Charlie
Law LLB Student

Reply 6

pedropony_101

Original post

by DataVenia

It depends on what you mean by "use a website". Use a web site to spell check your essay? Use a web site to write you essay? Reference a web site as a source in your essay?

I was talking about using a websites for a statistics. For example, how many people in the uk use social media? i do use all academic sources tho.

Reply 7

WrexhamUniReps

Official Rep

Original post

by pedropony_101

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

Hi

I would check with your University's academic guidelines, to ensure that you wouldn't be breaking any academic integrity.

I would reach out to your module leader to gain clarification on this.

I hope your assignment goes well!

Matt
Wrexham University Reps

Reply 8

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post

by pedropony_101

I was talking about using a websites for a statistics. For example, how many people in the uk use social media? i do use all academic sources tho.

Understood. The first thing I'd check is if the web site identifies the original source of that information, as I'd it does you could reference the original source rather than the web site itself.

If they don't, then consider whether or not the source is authoritative and/or reputable. If you're referencing the web site of the Office of National Statistics, then you're probably fine. If you're referencing www.random-trivia-for-you.com, then you're probably not.

Finally, citing a journal article or formal research is generally preferred, so you should limit your references to web site sources to those cases where you simply can't source the data from elsewhere.

Reply 9

martin7

Original post

by pedropony_101

I was talking about using a websites for a statistics. For example, how many people in the uk use social media? i do use all academic sources tho.

I agree with what @DataVenia wrote. If you can identify where the web site got its data from, then go back to that source. On top of that, make sure that you evaluate the data yourself -- it's not unusual to find that journalists have been lazy/sloppy in their interpretation of the data.

Reply 10

YSJstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by pedropony_101

hey i just want to ask uni students are we allowed to use a website in our essays? would that bring down my marks?
thanks :smile:

Hi!

If you mean using a website as a reference in an assignment it depends on the website and nature of the assignment. Generally, (in my experience) it is best to avoid using websites, however in some circumstances it is useful. For example, referencing a statistic from the government or NHS website. I would speak to your lecturer or academic tutor for more course/assignment specific advice.

Hope this helps! Faye 🙂