Using and Managing Sources of Information

1. Using and Managing Sources of Information Making information your own, legally

2. 2. Summarize the information. • As soon as you finish reading a piece (article, report, even an abstract), summarize it in your own words. • the contents • the relevance (or not) to your project • Summarizing makes a manageable paragraph out of a much bigger work. • Save your summaries in a Word file. You can use them in documents you write because those are your words.

3. To manage sources, make a table summarizing the work of other researchers.

4. Then add a column summarizing what that contribution means for your work/project.

5. Integrate source material into your own work. • “Extensive laboratory studies suggest that enhanced bioremediation might be applicable to stranded oil on the beaches of Prince William Sound.” • Describing information in your own words helps you integrate it into your own documents without worrying about plagiarism. • Be sure to differentiate between conclusions of fact and inference.

6. Important question: • If you cite the source of the words, can you then use the same words without quotation marks? • Answer: no, not if a reader might think that those descriptive words were your words.

7. What about quoting, paraphrasing, or citing engineeringwriting? • Do the same plagiarism rules apply? • Don’t technical concepts and descriptions have to be worded very precisely? So, how can we paraphrase? • Isn’t the author of technical work unimportant? (After all, we don’t use “I” very often.)

8. How to use information from sources: All 3 of these uses require an in-text citation to the source and a complete Reference List at end of document. • Quote in full, using quotation marks. • Use part quotation and part paraphrase. • Paraphrase.

9. Exact wording from a website An alternative to the common drain field is the Seepage Pit (Dry Well). In this type, liquid flows to a pre-cast tank with sidewall holes, surrounded by gravel. (Older versions usually consist of a pit with open-jointed brick or stone walls.) Liquid seeps through the holes or joints to the surrounding soil.

10. Quote in full, with your own intro. As experts have noted, the drain field is not the only possible septic system. “An alternative to the common drain field is the Seepage Pit (Dry Well). In this type, liquid flows to a pre-cast tank with sidewall holes, surrounded by gravel. (Older versions usually consist of a pit with open-jointed brick or stone walls.) Liquid seeps through the holes or joints to the surrounding soil”(Miller 2004). Note the smooth introduction to the quotation.

11. Part paraphrase, part quotation • P. Miller describes the Seepage Pit (Dry Well) as an alternative to the drain field. “In this type, liquid flows to a pre-cast tank with sidewall holes, surrounded by gravel. (Older versions usually consist of a pit with open-jointed brick or stone walls.) Liquid seeps through the holes or joints to the surrounding soil” (2004). • First sentence is your paraphrase of first sentence of Miller’s description.

12. All paraphrase When you paraphrase, the author’s name can quite naturally become part of your sentence. P. Miller describes the Seepage Pit (Dry Well) as an alternative to the drain field (2004). In this drainage method, liquid seeps into the soil surrounding the pre-cast tank into which it has first flowed.

13. Plagiarism is a matter of accountability. • If you copy Miller’s description and don’t use quotation marks, you become responsible for the truth and accuracy of his statements. Even his statement in parentheses becomes your responsibility: • “(Older versions usually consist of a pit with open-jointed brick or stone walls.)” • If you just cite Miller’s work, we cannot be sure which specific ideas you got from him.

14. What if you use these words from the McDonald’s website without quotation marks? “McDonald's has a long-standing commitment to environmental protection. Our restaurants around the world have innovative programs for recycling, resource conservation, and waste reduction” (McDonald’s, accessed 2007). McDonald's has a long-standing commitment to environmental protection. Our restaurants around the world have innovative programs for recycling, resource conservation, and waste reduction.

15. In these paragraphs from the Introduction to a report . . . • Where are ideas or words obviously taken from somewhere other than the writer’s own brain? • Where do you have questions about the content because it’s not general knowledge and you might like to know more? • Where do you want to see evidence of the author’s credibility? – i.e., “How does he/she know that?”

16. Be careful about unintentionally plagiarizing. • If you copy words, you must do two things: • Document (cite) the source and • Use quotation marks • Remember: facts that are “established knowledge” don’t have to be cited and documented, but specialized information (exact figures and results from published studies) does. • If in doubt about whether to cite source, cite it! • Improper citation is way better than no citation.

17. Other Resources to Help You Avoid Plagiarism • UT’s Scholastic Dishonesty policy • PRiME Module on plagiarism • Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University • Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It

18. Document your sources as you do the research. • Collect information when you locate source. • Format documentation according to guidelines. • Collect these pieces of information: author, date, title of work, title of larger work, publication info. • For electronic sources, add this information: electronic address, date of access