{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T23:47:11Z","timestamp":1777592831188,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Portland Press Ltd.","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765497600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":11,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["portlandpress.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Many students struggle with the mechanical process of academic referencing when they transition into higher education. Previous research has typically utilised questionnaires and\/or interviews to gain retrospective insight into students\u2019 cognitions while referencing. The think-aloud method, which asks participants to verbalise their thoughts while performing a task, was utilised while 30 undergraduate participants completed a referencing exercise, followed by semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of transcripts identified that students could articulate why referencing was important, although they struggled with the mechanical process of referencing, often experiencing nervousness and a dislike of referencing. As a generation of information consumers, participants held little regard for the nuance of academic referencing, instead placing importance on finding sources via search engines using minimal information such as first author and article title. The referencing exercise used in this study received positive feedback and could be incorporated into taught sessions to better support students\u2019 development of this core academic skill.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1042\/etls20253027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T15:42:41Z","timestamp":1765554161000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1042\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["\u201cI need to learn how to cite without the website\u201d: using think alouds to understand students\u2019 struggles with academic referencing"],"prefix":"10.1042","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2170-7617","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jayne L.","family":"Dennis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, U.K"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"288","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026032006013967500_ETLS-2025-3027C1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"567","DOI":"10.1080\/03075070802373040","article-title":"\u2018A real rollercoaster of confidence and emotions\u2019: learning to be a university student","volume":"33","author":"Christie","year":"2008","journal-title":"Studies in Higher Education"},{"key":"2026032006013967500_ETLS-2025-3027C2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"634285","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.634285","article-title":"Bridging the gap: exploring the unique transition from home, school or college into university","volume":"9","author":"Worsley","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. 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