Q. How do I reference a school policy? (Using an Appendix)

An appendix is a separate section at the end of your work which presents supporting or supplementary information. This information might include raw research data or interview transcripts. In the context of classroom-based or education research, appendices might include relevant, anonymised extracts of a school policy, or classroom-related documents, such as anonymised children's work.

An appendix is for supporting or supplementary information. An appendix is not to be used for information which is required for understanding the main content of your work, such as substantive data analysis, quotes from literature sources, or discussion of the literature. An appendix is not used as a means to reduce the word count in the main essay. If this is an issue, you should consider whether you can paraphrase more in your writing, and aim to write clearly and more concisely. 

If needed, you can anonymise the information in your appendix by removing any identifying details such as school names or pupil names. In your writing, you could state (see Appendix 1) instead of referencing the work in the usual way. 

Key points:

• It is not necessary to include a whole policy or document, particularly if it is long. Try to include only the extract(s) which are relevant to your discussion.
• Your appendix (or appendices if more than one) should be given a title e.g. Appendix 1, School A: Behaviour management policy. 
• The appendix usually appears after the reference list, but ask your tutors if you are unsure.
• If you are including an anonymised policy extract as an appendix, it does not usually need to appear in your reference list.
• Words in the title pages, reference list and appendices are not normally included in the final word count. See the University Assessment Policy, section 5, for further information.

If in doubt about using an appendix, or anonymising the contents of an appendix, check with your tutors for guidance specific to your course.