← VCE Data Analysis

Acknowledging primary data and personal communications

In-text citation for your own interview. Describe your own survey in your text. Personal communications are cited in-text only and are not added to the reference list.

Part of: VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 63

Understanding Acknowledging primary data and personal communications in VCE Data Analysis

What it does: The sentence describes who was surveyed, when and about what. This is how you acknowledge your own survey data. The citation sits in the sentence and names the interviewee, the words personal communication and the date, so no reference list entry is needed. Personal communications are not published or recoverable, so there is no source for readers to look up. That is why they are cited in-text only. It should read (A. Nguyen, personal communication, 3 June 2025) so the reader knows it came from your own interview.

Common mistakes: An in-text citation for an interview goes in round brackets, not square brackets. It should be (J. Smith, personal communication, 3 May 2025). Your own survey is primary data. You describe it in your text and do not list it in the reference list. The line should be 'Describe it in your text'.

Class: _____________________ · Name: _____________________ · Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 56–67) and word search (Modules 56–80).

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Learning

Duo

You interviewed your coach for your report. How do you cite the interview in-text?

(J. Smith, personal communication, 12 March 2025)(Smith, interview, 2025, p. 4)

Matches

Nguyen, A. (2025). Personal interview. Reference list

↓

A personal communication was added to the reference list. It should only be cited in-text as (A. Nguyen, personal communication, date).

Applying

Meanings

Term

(J. Smith, personal communication, date)

Meaning

In-text citation for your own interview. Describe your own survey in your text. Personal communications are cited in-text only and are not added to the reference list.

Practice

I surveyed 30 Year 11 students about screen time.

Testing

Gaps

(J. Smith, , date)

Check Answer

Spots

2runs the school's IT help desk

3[J. Smith, personal

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Quick Questions

1. You interviewed your coach for your report. How do you cite the interview in-text?

A. (J. Smith, personal communication, 12 March 2025) ✓

B. (Smith, interview, 2025, p. 4)

An interview you conducted yourself is cited in-text as a personal communication, with the person's initial and surname, the words 'personal communication' and the date.

2. Your interview with J. Smith is cited in-text. Where else does it appear?

A. Nowhere else. It is not listed in the reference list ✓

B. As an entry in the reference list

Personal communications cannot be found by your readers, so they are cited in-text only and are not added to the reference list.

3. You ran your own survey of 40 Year 10 students. How do you acknowledge this primary data?

A. Add the survey to the reference list as a dataset

B. Describe the survey in your text (who, how many, when, how) ✓

Your own survey is primary data. You describe it in the body of your text instead of giving it a reference list entry.

4. Which in-text citation is correct for your own interview?

A. (Nguyen, L., 2025, personal communication)

B. (L. Nguyen, personal communication, 5 May 2025) ✓

The format is (Initial. Surname, personal communication, date). The order matters and the full date is included.

5. True or false: A reference list entry is required for every personal communication.

A. False ✓

B. True

Personal communications such as your own interviews are cited in-text only. They are not added to the reference list.

Match the Pairs

(J. Smith, personal communication, 12 May 2025) → An in-text citation for an interview you ran yourself, giving the person's name and the date it took place.

Reference list: no entry for J. Smith → Personal communications are cited in the text only, so the interview is not added to the reference list.

Your own survey is primary data, so you describe it in your text instead of giving it a reference. → I surveyed 30 Year 10 students in March 2025 about their screen time.

An interview you conducted is acknowledged in-text as a personal communication. → Screen time is rising (A. Nguyen, personal communication, 3 June 2025).

Nguyen, A. (2025). Personal interview. Reference list → A personal communication was added to the reference list. It should only be cited in-text as (A. Nguyen, personal communication, date).

Students said they sleep less (A. Nguyen, 2025). → The citation is missing the words personal communication and the exact date, so it looks like a published source.

Key Term

(J. Smith, personal communication, date)

In-text citation for your own interview. Describe your own survey in your text. Personal communications are cited in-text only and are not added to the reference list.

Fill in the Blanks

1. (J. Smith, personal communication, date)

Hint: Type the label that tells the reader this citation is for your own interview.

2. Reference list entry for interview: none

Hint: Type the word describing how many reference list entries an interview needs.

3. Describe your own survey in your text

Hint: Type the kind of primary data collection that you describe in your own words.

4. (J. Smith, personal communication, date)

Hint: Type the last item of the citation, which shows when the conversation happened.

5. Not added to the reference list

Hint: Type the section at the end of a document where personal communications are left out.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A I interviewed my teacher, who

B runs the school's IT help desk

C [J. Smith, personal

D communication, 3 May 2025).

Line C — An in-text citation for an interview goes in round brackets, not square brackets. It should be (J. Smith, personal communication, 3 May 2025).

Question 2

A Own survey of 40 students:

B List it in your reference list

C Do not add it to references

Line B — Your own survey is primary data. You describe it in your text and do not list it in the reference list. The line should be 'Describe it in your text'.

Question 3

A Primary data I collected:

B an interview with a coach

C Cite as a dataset reference

D In-text only, no reference list

Line C — An interview you conducted is cited as a personal communication, not as a dataset. It should be 'Cite as personal communication'.

Question 4

A (Nguyen A., personal

B communication, 12 June 2025)

C This citation appears in text

D Reference list entry: none

Line A — In a personal communication citation the initial comes before the surname. It should be (A. Nguyen, personal communication, 12 June 2025).

Question 5

A I interviewed the club captain

B about training. I cite her as

C (S. Brown, personal

D communication).

Line D — A personal communication citation must include the date of the interview. It should be communication, 9 May 2025).

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