Chapter 10-Research Writing
Depending upon the objectives of your course, this may either be the first or the last chapter you read. Many students are intimidated by research, and it can be challenging; however, learning strategies and developing a plan for research can make the process much more manageable.
Research is a big topic, so this chapter will be split into multiple sections:
- Academic integrity
- Evaluating resources
- Academic style
- Paraphrasing and summarizing
- Strategies for research
I. Academic Integrity
Academic integrity issues often arise when students are writing. There is a right and a wrong way to incorporate sources and use technology. It is so important that you know the difference between the two; otherwise, dire consequences can occur.
Let’s start with a few definitions:
According to Lumen Learning, “Academic honesty means demonstrating and upholding the highest integrity and honesty in all the academic work that you do.” Basically, this means that you do your own work, and do not cheat. You also must give credit when you use resources. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, it means that buying a paper, using a friend’s homework answers, reusing an essay from another class, getting excess “help” from a family member, or asking technology, such as a translator or AI, to do your work for you, is dishonest–it is cheating and should be avoided at all costs!
Each instructor and university has their own policy concerning the consequences for academic dishonesty, but none of them are positive! Consequences may include receiving an F on the assignment or in the class or being expelled from the program or university.
Keep in mind–incidents of academic dishonesty are documented and often shared among pertinent instructors in a department. You don’t want to get a reputation as a cheater!!
Finally, and most importantly, academic dishonesty impedes the learning process. If you aren’t doing the work yourself, you aren’t learning.
Plagiarism is a term often heard in academic circles and is a specific type of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as “The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own” (Dictionary).
Plagiarism can occur intentionally or unintentionally. You might wonder how this is possible. Well, intentional plagiarism would include copying and pasting a paper or parts of a paper (or any assignment) from a source, such as a book or the Internet. Unintentional plagiarism means that a student forgot to cite a source OR failed to cite the source correctly. Keep in mind–there are consequences for unintentional plagiarism, so it’s really important to learn to cite properly.
II. Evaluating Sources
We all know that the Internet is full of information—not all of it factual. A simple Google search is rarely acceptable when writing academically. Therefore, it is important that you learn to evaluate the sources you plan to use for an assignment to ensure their reliability. A popular