LESSON
6: ETHICAL ISSUES IN ONLINE RESEARCH
Tutorial: Basic Principles
of MLA Style for a Bibliography
Model
Bibliography using MLA format
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
* To understand the proper role of sources in the research
process.
* To understand the necessity and importance of citing your sources in academic writing.
* To know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
* To know what a documentation style is.
LESSON
6 TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. The Role of Sources
in Research
2. Citing Your Sources
3. Plagiarism
4. Documentation Styles
5. Key Points to Remember
1.
THE ROLE OF SOURCES IN RESEARCH
You have nearly
completed LSCI 100 and have learned how to locate and evaluate the 3 main types
of information sources: books, periodicals, websites. But before beginning our
discussion of ethical issues in research, let’s begin by reviewing the
proper role of sources in research. Why must sources be used in the first
place?
Many students believe that sources have to be used simply because the teacher requires them. So they collect facts and quotes from different books, magazines, and Websites and write a paper that ends up being a sort of collage. But this would be merely superficial research.
Teachers require you to use sources because they know the crucial role they play in genuine research –- i.e. research in which you present your own informed opinion on a unique research question. But in order to have an informed opinion, you must have sources to support -- and even challenge or contradict -- your view.
Sources, therefore, are used in research because:
Sources provide context.
You are not the first person to research your topic. In fact, it is very likely
that many others before you have written about your topic. In order to fully
understand your topic, therefore, you must be aware of the historical,
theoretical, and/or technical context in which your topic has evolved. Who are
the major thinkers in this area? What experiments have been done? What are the
major theories? How have issues, events, etc. been interpreted in the past, and
how are they interpreted today? How has research in this area evolved and
changed over time?
Sources offer you ideas,
perspectives, and interpretations that you may have never thought of before.
Genuine research is a deliberate attempt to gather and compare different views
on an issue or problem. These fresh insights enrich and expand your own
thinking and help you reach your own informed conclusion.
Sources help you avoid
black and white thinking.
It is a mistake to believe that there are only two sides to every issue –
the right side and the wrong side. Good research helps you see that there are
many ways of looking at an issue, and finding the “truth” may be
not be as straightforward as one first thought.
Sources strengthen and reinforce your writing.
Your writing becomes much more credible if you are able to support your
position with facts, evidence, and arguments from experts. Show your reader
that you have done your homework!
2.
CITING YOUR SOURCES
A research paper, by
definition, includes ideas and facts gathered from other sources. As you write
your paper, you will summarize, paraphrase, or quote directly from these
sources. To let your reader know that you have taken information from someplace
else, you must give credit to your sources through proper documentation, i.e.
you must cite your sources. The process of acknowledging the sources you use is
also known as documenting your sources.
Why do you have to cite your sources?
* To enable your reader to find a source you used and read it for themselves by giving them all the bibliographic information they need to find it. This information is known as a citation, and must include author, title, and publication information.
* To make it absolutely
clear to your reader which words and ideas are your own, and which come from
your sources.
If you incorporate
information into your research paper and don’t carefully and fully cite
your sources, you are guilty of plagiarism.
3.
PLAGIARISM
To borrow words or
ideas from others without proper acknowledgement is called plagiarism.
Plagiarism occurs anytime you pretend that someone else’s words or ideas
are your own. The following are all examples of plagiarism:
* Copying text word for word
without using quotation marks and citing the source.
* Paraphrasing or
summarizing information without citing the source.
* Paraphrasing that merely
rearranges the author’s words or sentence structure is plagiarism, even
if you’ve cited the source.
* Copying and pasting a
sentence or paragraph from a website (or article from a database) into your
research paper, without citing the source.
* Buying a paper online, or
from a fellow student, and pretending it is your work.
The consequences of being
found guilty of plagiarism are usually severe, ranging from failing the course
to expulsion from school. Many students, however, plagiarize simply because
they do not understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Often they lack
confidence in their own research and writing skills. But the worst reason many
students have for allowing themselves to plagiarize is the belief that that
everyone does it.
So it is worth asking: why
is plagiarism considered such a crime?
* It shows complete
disrespect for a major standard of conduct in the academic and professional
world.
* Stated bluntly, plagiarism
is stealing and lying. A person who plagiarizes shows himself/herself to be a
person who lacks integrity – i.e. a person who cannot be trusted to tell
the truth.
* Plagiarism robs you of the
opportunity to develop your own research, writing, and thinking skills. Such
skills are highly valued in all professions and occupations.
* A college education is an
opportunity to gain new skills and knowledge. Plagiarism casts doubt on your
willingness and ability to learn and master information on your own. Think of
it this way: would you want to be operated on by a surgeon who cheated his way
thorough medical school?
The best way to avoid
plagiarism is to simply remember to cite the source of every idea or piece of
information that is not your own. Every time you quote, paraphrase, or
summarize someone else’s words or ideas, give them credit. The only
exception to this rule is when you are using information thought to be common
knowledge, i.e. information most educated people already know, or
information widely available in reference sources. For example, you would not
cite your source for the dates of the American Civil War or the names of the
first men on the moon.
4.
DOCUMENTATION STYLES
When citing your sources,
you must follow a prescribed format known as a documentation style (sometimes called a citation style). Many documentation styles exist,
varying according to academic discipline. The two most common documentation
styles are:
• MLA style (Modern Language Association)
• APA style (American Psychological Association)
MLA style is commonly used for
research papers in English and humanities courses, while APA style is often
used in psychology and the social sciences. Some instructors specify which
style to follow, while other teachers leave it up to the student to decide.
The precise format (i.e. punctuation
rules) for citing sources (along with other information about the mechanics of
writing and presenting your research paper) is described in books called style manuals. For example, the Modern Language
Association style manual is entitled the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers.
Every style manual will tell
you how to cite a source within the body of your paper (either through a
parenthetical reference or a footnote), and how to cite them in a bibliography
at the end of your paper. (A
bibliography is an alphabetical list of all of the sources cited in your paper
or simply an alphabetical list of selected sources on a specific topic.) Style manuals are available as separately
published books, and summaries of documentation styles are available on the
Internet.
5. KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
* Sources are used
in research not because your teacher requires them, but because they provide
context, offer ideas you may have never thought of before, help you avoid back
and white thinking, and strengthen your writing.
* The process of
acknowledging the sources you use is known as citing (or documenting)
your sources. This is done to make it clear to your reader which words and
ideas are your own, and which come from your sources.
* To borrow words or ideas
from others without proper acknowledgement is plagiarism.
* Many students plagiarize because
they do not understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. The worst reason
many students have for allowing themselves to plagiarize is the belief that
that everyone does it.
* Plagiarism is a serious
offense because it shows disrespect for a major standard of conduct in the
academic and professional world, and reveals the plagiarizer as one who cannot
be counted on to tell the truth.
* Plagiarism robs you of the
opportunity to develop your own research, writing, and thinking skills. It also
casts doubt on your willingness and ability to learn material through your own
efforts.
* The best way to avoid
plagiarism is to cite the source of every idea or piece of information that is
not your own. The only exception to this rule is when you are using information
thought to be common knowledge.
* When citing your sources,
you must follow a prescribed format known as a documentation style
(sometimes called a citation style).
* The precise punctuation,
capitalization, and formatting rules that a documentation style requires you to
follow are described in books called style manuals.
last revised:
11-13-06 by
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