Plagiarism
Plagiarism, passing off someone else's work as your own, is a serious error that must be avoided. Before grading your report, I will submit it to my account at Turnitin.com where it will be checked against a database of sources. Any plagiarized report will receive a zero for the assignment. Many people do not realize that copying even a few words or a distinctive phrase from a source is considered plagiarism. Look over a plagiarism example submitted to me by a student who didn't realize that he was doing anything wrong by clicking here. Developing good research methods and carefully documenting your information can prevent you from unintentionally plagiarizing your sources.
Working Efficiently
Locating appropriate information for your research is time consuming, but you can learn to work more efficiently, spending your time with sources that will help you rather than wasting it on sources that will not. Learn to use the research aids that are available in Tomlinson Library: on-line catalogs, indices, and bibliographies. Don't forget the human resources of librarians, professors, and local experts in the field you are researching. They can frequently direct you the most productive source material.
General works and even encyclopedias are not bad sources with which to start a research project. They can provide you with an overview that will help you limit and focus your topic. They also often contain bibliographies that can lead you to more specialized sources.
When you locate sources examine the adjacent shelves. You may discover another source that you missed in the catalog. Before you check books out of the library examine their table of contents, indices, and publication date to eliminate those that do not address your topic or are out of date.
You should read source material efficiently. Use the table of contents or the index to locate the parts of the text that are relevant; then, use headings to skim to the passages that are most helpful.
Taking Notes
When you have located a passage in a text that is relevant to your research, take notes that will still be useful to you days or weeks later when you finally need to use them. Most important, you should not merely copy large portions of the text material into your notes. Doing so wastes your time and postpones the inevitable task of digesting the information you are reading; moreover, such mindless copying increases the danger of unintentional plagiarism. Try to translate information into your own words as you take notes. When a particular wording is sufficiently significant to warrant direct quotation, be sure that you clearly distinguish the direct quotation from your paraphrase. Using double chevrons << quote >> around a quotation can make this difference clear later. Every card or page of notes should include something to identify the source and the page on which the information appears.
Remember to write down the complete publication information for each source before you begin taking notes. This should include the author, editor, edition, publisher, place of publication, date of publication, and the inclusive pages for an article that is part of a larger volume. If you use Internet sources, be sure to copy down all of the information you will need when citing the source in your paper: the author or authoring organization, the title of the page, the title of site of which the page is a part, the date on which you accessed the page, the page complete URL (its Internet address).
When to document information
There are three types of information that should always be documented:
1. direct quotations. A word, phrase, or passage that is quoted directly from a source should be enclosed by quotation marks and cited.
The poet Claude McKay has been called "a fascinatingly paradoxical figure" (Barksdale 489) and "a prophet as well as a poet" (Kinnamon 213).
2. information that is not commonly available. Facts or information that, although not unique to your source, is not readily available should be cited. You might have to look up the capital of South Dakota, but you should not document the source of such commonly available information.
At the time of his birth, McKay's hometown of Sunny Ville, Jamaica had a population of under 1,000 (Barret 243).
3. opinions or ideas that seem particular or original with the author. When you refer to the opinion expressed by an author rather than factual information, you should cite your source.
James Brentano believes that McKay's poetry never lived up to the promise exhibited in "If We Must Die" (251).
Documentation Styles
Writers use many different documentation styles. For this assignment I want you to use the Modern Language Association documentation style .MLA style uses in-text, parenthetical citations that typically include the authorís name and the page number. The citation should follow the referenced information and be enclosed in parentheses. At the end of the paper an alphabetized Works Cited list includes the full information for each source.
An Example of MLA Style
"Advertising is the matter of getting the prospect to pay attention to the message you are attempting to present" (Caples 78). One way manufacturers advertise successfully is by segmenting products to offer different ingredients and features.
Although all modern laundry detergents do pretty much the same thing, remove dirt and odor from people's clothing, each detergent brand is developed to fill an individual consumer need or want. (Hafer, "Strategic" 34).
Oxydol--bleaches as it washes, Dreft--the detergent for baby's laundry, Tide--America's favorite, Dash--low suds concentrate and Cheer--all temperature Cheer are all segment product examples. Product endorsement by celebrities is also an extremely popular method of advertising. Companies spend large amounts of money to have public figure promote their product. Marking support for Alpo Catfood that used Garfield the cartoon cat totaled $70 million (Bernstein 22). Gene Grabowski, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, stated recently that the marketing alliance between TCI Media, Kraft Foods, and its agency Grey Advertising is an example of companies segmenting markets by interests instead of trying to reach everybody with national advertising (TCI). Changes in marketing ideas also help agencies promote products. For example, Jack Lowry, owner of Picwood Cinema in Russellville, Arkansas believes that the Motion Picture Association's new NC-17 film rating, which means no children under 17 will be admitted to the theater, will be more likely to be advertised on TV stations and newspapers as opposed to the X-rated films. In any effective advertisement creative writing is a necessity. The 1972 advertising message of Kellogg's Raisin Bran cereal heralded the "Two Scoops" story in a song. "For raisin lovers the theme provided a dramatic memory device for communicating a good cereal content" (Hafer, Advertising 113).
Bernstein, Rudolf X "The Increasing Cost of Advertising."Modern Management 2.8 (1990): 18-26.
Caples, Catherine. "Imaginative Advertising." Approaches to the Marketplace. Ed. Joseph Jukester. Cleveland: Fordyce Press, 1989. 62-81.
Hafer, Albert. Advertising. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984.
--. "Strategic Marketing." Advertising World 8 Oct. 1984: 31-38.
Lowry, Jack. Owner Picwood Cinema. Personal Interview. Russellville, Arkansas, 4 Oct. 1990.
http://www.tcimediaservices.com/cat.net/tjisix.html.
Books
Single author Snark, Fred. Field Guild to North American Snails. New York: ASA Press, 1958.
Two authors Biggles, Robert and Barry Cazlov. Egg Production in Iowa. Iowa City: Jacobs, 1988
Four or more authors Lawrence, David, et al. Mastering Pascal. Chicago: Wheatland, 1990
Author(s) not named Repairing Your Own Automobile. Boston: Carruth, 1984.
Two books with the same author Nixon, Emily. Laser Technology. Atlanta: Chiggers, 1990 --. Emerging Technologies. Atlanta: Chiggers, 1991.
Book with an editor Merryville, Mary, ed. Analyzing Nursery Rhymes. Louisville: Sunset, 1987.
A source quoted in a separate source Barrymore, Leon. Martian Landscapes. New York: Spielberg, 1989, p. 143, as cited in Alex Dragon, Our Universe. Boston: Friedrich, 1991.
A source from anthology Able, Fred. "Shiloh." The Civil War. Ed. Shelby Foote. Memphis: Memphis State, 1988. 153-191.
Periodicals
A magazine article Marney, Everett, "Nine Ways to Skin a Cat." Taxidermy 18 May 1982: 14-23.
An article in a journal with new pagination each issue Threader, Betty. "Office Management." Journal of Management 21.2 (1988): 6-9.
An article in a journal with continuous pagination Walters, Luther. "Episcopalians in Crisis." Church Review 18 (1990): 378-390/
A newspaper article Newman, Norman. "Computer Use at Arkansas Tech Increases." Courier-Democrat 15 July 1990, sec. B: 4.
Other Sources
A reference work "Lasers." Dictionary of Science. 1989 ed.
A personal interview Brucker, Carl. Head of Department of English and Foreign Languages. Personal Interview. Russellville, Arkansas, 14 May 1990.
A lecture Lake, Paul "New Formalism." Lecture at Arkansas Tech University. Russellville, 15 April 1989.
An article from an online journal Banning, E. B. "Herders or Homesteaders? A Neolithic farm in Wadi Ziqlab, Jordan." Biblical Archeologist 58.1 (March 1995). 9 Apr 1997 http://scholar.cc.emory.edu/scripts/ASOR/BA/Banning,.html
An article or page from a World Wide Web site "Allied Planes Strike Belgrade."CNN Interactive. 28 May 1999. Cable News Network. 28 May 1999. http://www.cnn.com/world/yugo/planes.html.
A World Wide Web site The History Channel Online. 1999. History Channel. 8 June 1999.
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updated: September 25, 2007 |