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In this question, it seems that most people think it is acceptable for candidates to see their references. I find this very strange, as in the vast majority of case I have come across it is expected or required that all references are confidential.

What is the point of having a reference that the candidate is able to see?

The person reading such a reference has no way of telling whether any praise is genuine or simply included to please the candidate. Likewise, the chances of negative points being included are minimal, even if they are very important. Thus the reference becomes little more than a vague sign of support. I understand that in business that is generally sufficient, but in my experience academic references are relied on much more heavily to discriminate between candidates.

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Jessica B
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    See, e.g., this question and my related answer. Maybe it could be a possible duplicate. – Massimo Ortolano Sep 05 '16 at 13:19
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    Other answers on this site have suggested there are significant cultural differences around the world in how letters work. In the US, letters a major determining factor for employers / admission committees. In some other parts of the world, they are not; and in some cases they are only expected to be a pro forma "Yes this person did work here" sort of thing. The difference could be correlated with whether or not letters are confidential. – Nate Eldredge Sep 05 '16 at 14:00
  • And as with many things, people on both sides tend to get used to their own culture's approach, and think that the other way is bizarre or unworkable. Kind of like the question as to whether retail prices should be quoted including or excluding tax. – Nate Eldredge Sep 05 '16 at 14:07
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    @NateEldredge About the cultural difference, one thing that neither me nor my other colleagues understand is why one's chances of being hired should depend on someone else's capacity for writing good recommendation letters. – Massimo Ortolano Sep 05 '16 at 14:35
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    I would actually ask the opposite question: "what is the point of a fully confidential reference letter?" because I am genuinely curious to understand why on Earth is that important to hide your opinions about someone once you agreed to be a reference. – gented Sep 05 '16 at 16:19
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    @GennaroTedesco The most significant argument in favor of confidential letters is that they allow direct comparisons with other students/faculty. I can understand the view that I should be open with you about my opinion of you; it's harder to argue that I should be open with you about my opinion of someone else. – JeffE Sep 05 '16 at 16:50
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    @GennaroTedesco Whether you hide anything or not isn't really the point. The person reading the reference needs to know whether you are hiding anything. – Jessica B Sep 05 '16 at 17:56
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    @JeffE That's a very weak argument given that probably many applicants come from different universities, and personal comparisons with other students or faculties would be pointless. Could you please expand on that? – Massimo Ortolano Sep 05 '16 at 18:26
  • @JessicaB Either I want to give someone the greatest possible chance to be hired, and then I would hide every possible negative impression or refuse to write a recommendation letter if I cannot be positive in any way, or I want to give someone the least possible chance, and then I would give my negative impressions, whether they can read them or not. – Massimo Ortolano Sep 05 '16 at 18:31
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    @MassimoOrtolano I write several letters for undergraduates applying to graduate school, PhDs applying for academic jobs, and current faculty applying for tenure, every year. The undergraduates are all from my department; they typically know each other and (more importantly) students I have worked with recently. My letters usually include direct comparisons with those former students. ("This student reminds me of X, who is now in the PhD program at MIT and just published their third Annals paper.") (1/2) – JeffE Sep 05 '16 at 19:20
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    Faculty letters are written mostly for people not from my own institution, but they all know each other professionally, because they've all published at the same venues, and everything is on the Web. My letters for faculty candidates include direct comparisons both with other people on the job market and with other recently hired assistant professors in the same field. Likewise with promotion letters. Having served many years on admissions, hiring, and tenure committees, I find these direct comparisons immensely valuable in the letters I read. (2/2) – JeffE Sep 05 '16 at 19:21
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    @JeffE I understand your point. In my case, given that in my country recommendation letters are generally not required in applications (and thus ignored, because otherwise the committee would risk an appeal, see e.g. this answer), or when required they should be from external people, the only recommendation letters I write are for people who applies abroad, frequently in fields different from mine. So what you say would not be applicable to my experience. – Massimo Ortolano Sep 05 '16 at 19:48
  • @MassimoOrtolano: "why one's chances of being hired should depend on someone else's capacity for writing good recommendation letters" - while I agree with your sentiment, to be fair, the same can be argued about most forms of external evaluation that involve reports in prose form, either as a final result or in between. – O. R. Mapper Sep 06 '16 at 05:25
  • @NateEldredge It also seems that apart from cultural differences between the US and Europe here, it is also a matter of differences between fields. All positions I have applied for in math have asked either for letters of recommendation or for names of recommenders who would be asked directly for such letters if the candidate got to a later part of the process. But looking at the rules for applying for various grants not aimed at math, it is clear that math is more or less unique in this. – Tobias Kildetoft Sep 07 '16 at 11:25
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    In Australia, letters are mainly used to catch mistakes when a decision has almost been made, or to distinguish between the top two candidates when it is close. They are often called for after final interviews, and mainly used to gauge the enthusiasm of people who have worked with the candidate. I was recently asked to write a letter for a student applying for a position in the US and was surprised that the sort of thing I was asked about was the sort of thing candidates would be asked to write about themselves in Australia (e.g. has she demonstrated that she can do this or that?). – Significance Sep 15 '16 at 02:08
  • @JeffE Does your comparison sometimes say things like "X is a much stronger candidate than Y, who is now a PhD student at Z"? I have no experience with writing reference letters, so I'm simply curious. I always assumed that comparisons don't tend to put someone else in a bad light, and that if the student is stronger than others it would be stated along the lines of "X is the strongest student I have supervised". – Pandora Sep 15 '16 at 09:18

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From the perspective of UK higher education, the 'point' of a non-confidential reference letter is that there is no such thing as a confidential one; any data held on that student (such as references) can be disclosed by the institution holding it.

How does the old saying go? Dance like no-one's watching, writing an email like it's being read aloud in a deposition.

References are a tricky grey area, and I do preach caution in case a student ends up seeing what you have written - which can be embarrassing, or even libelous if you can't prove statements that purport to be truth.

I do not think that this undermines the referencing process, however; if you can make true statements about a candidate, including your opinions about them, then, in my opinion, you are within your right to do so. After all, your student has asked you to do this.

Deleuze
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    Well, the US has a similar disclosure law for student records, but we work around it. When a student first applies to an institution (before letters are submitted), they are given the option to waive their legal right to see their letters. Then the reference writer is told (usually by the institution) whether or not the student has chosen the waiver. If the student didn't choose the waiver, the writer can decline to submit a letter at all. So in practice, letters are confidential after all. Is this not possible under UK law? – Nate Eldredge Sep 05 '16 at 14:04
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    The thing about using the DPA to see your references is that there is nothing stopping the institution you are making the request against from telling the author of the reference that you've done it. I suspect anyone pulling this trick would find it hard to get anyone to write a reference for them in the future. – MJeffryes Sep 05 '16 at 14:26
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    @NateEldredge No, it is not possible to waive your rights under data protection act. – MJeffryes Sep 05 '16 at 14:27
  • @MJeffryes if I'm not mistaken the thing stopping them telling the referee that a request to see the reference has been made would be... the Data Protection Act. – Deleuze Sep 05 '16 at 14:30
  • @Deleuze You might be right about that. But even if it is unlawful, it could make its way back by the grapevine regardless. – MJeffryes Sep 05 '16 at 14:40
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    I don't see it as a problem that the receiver of a reference can release its contents, because they are the ones interested in knowing that they have not been released. If they want the reference to stay confidential, they can do so. – Jessica B Sep 05 '16 at 15:21
  • @NateEldredge IANAL but if your "DPA" stands for the UK's Data Protection Act then I am not sure your most recent comment is phrased correctly: e.g. https://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/imps/DataProtection/DataProtectionGuidelines/Writingreferences/imps-d-p-references-dp.aspx (Although the details seem to bear out the general thrust of your comment) – Yemon Choi Sep 06 '16 at 02:56
  • @YemonChoi: Thanks, I misunderstood previous comments. Removed mine. In that case, I'm with JessicaB in that I don't see how the law is relevant here. Even in the US, when we send confidential references, we don't expect to be able to legally enforce confidentiality; we rely on the ethics and professionalism of the recipient. So wouldn't this be the same in the UK? – Nate Eldredge Sep 06 '16 at 12:28
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Regarding the point of non-confidentiality eliminating negative comments: even when references are confidential, from the reference writer's perspective, if one can't write a positive letter one shouldn't agree to write a letter at all.

What can possibly be the point of a confidential negative reference letter besides career sabotage?

The other part of it is that it's useful for the candidate to see the letter to have a better sense of what impression they leave on the people they work with/for.

trutheality
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