Acknowledging primary data and personal communications

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

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)

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

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)

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)

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

A False

B True

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1(J. Smith, personal communication, 12 May 2025)		AScreen time is rising (A. Nguyen, personal communication, 3 June 2025).
2Reference list: no entry for J. Smith		BI surveyed 30 Year 10 students in March 2025 about their screen time.
3Your own survey is primary data, so you describe it in your text instead of giving it a reference.		CA personal communication was added to the reference list. It should only be cited in-text as (A. Nguyen, personal communication, date).
4An interview you conducted is acknowledged in-text as a personal communication.		DThe citation is missing the words personal communication and the exact date, so it looks like a published source.
5Nguyen, A. (2025). Personal interview. Reference list		EAn in-text citation for an interview you ran yourself, giving the person's name and the date it took place.
6Students said they sleep less (A. Nguyen, 2025).		FPersonal communications are cited in the text only, so the interview is not added to the reference list.

Definitions

(J. Smith, personal communication, date)

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

(J. Smith, ______________________, date)

Reference list entry for interview: ____

Describe your own ______ in your text

(J. Smith, personal communication, ____)

Not added to the ______________

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an 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).

Question 2

A Own survey of 40 students:

B List it in your reference list

C Do not add it to references

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

Question 4

A (Nguyen A., personal

B communication, 12 June 2025)

C This citation appears in text

D Reference list entry: none

Question 5

A I interviewed the club captain

B about training. I cite her as

C (S. Brown, personal

D communication).

Answer Key

Acknowledging primary data and personal communications

Section A: Quick Questions

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

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

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

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

A — False

Section B: 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.

Section C: Definitions

(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.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

(J. Smith, personal communication, date)

Reference list entry for interview: none

Describe your own survey in your text

(J. Smith, personal communication, date)

Not added to the reference list

Section E: Spot the Error

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).

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'.

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

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

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