Chapter 9 How Do We Use Sources Responsibly
Write With Integrity
- Scholars maintain their integrity by making a good faith effort not to "cheat" the authors whose words and ideas they borrow
- As a community of scholars, we must be able to trust each other's work and trust that our colleagues will use our work responsibly
- The credibility and integrity of our scholarly work is networked and interdependent, which is why we cite our sources
- Plagiarism - copying someone else's words or ideas without attribution (copying from others denies you the opportunity to learn)
- Unauthorized Collaboration - scholars rarely write alone, they usually discuss their ideas with others and ask colleagues to critique their writing (always ask your instructor in advance, about what kinds of collaboration she allows)
- Recycled Writing - handing in the same paper twice (violates the primary purpose of academic integrity policies: you can't learn something new if you don't do the work)
Ways To Avoid Plagiarism
- Know the honor code and school's academic policies
- Pay attention to how writers use their sources when reading
- Maintain careful notes as you read and conduct research
- Don't be tempted to write your paper and then go back to fill in the citations
- Don't procrastinate
Quote and Integrate Sources
- Paraphrase - make sure to be familiar with the intentions/meaning of the source before rephrasing it
- It's important for writers to frame their quotations with an introduction and an explanation so readers become familiarized with the identity of the source
- When we build sources into arguments, we clarify who our sources are and create linkages by telling readers why a quote is there, what it means, and how it's related to (or supports) our argument
Elaborate On Sources
- Interpret the source (offer some kind of explanation)
- Explain how the quotation relates to our argument
- Tell readers what makes the quotation significant
- Consider ways to make a source our own
Citing Sources
- Scholars value accurate citations because they illustrate the genealogy of our work (missing or incorrect citations can hinder other scholars' efforts to evaluate the credibility of an argument or to relocate a source
How Do We Know When To Cite Something?
- Always cite quotations and paraphrases
- Cite summaries
- Cite statistics, dates, and other details that are not common knowledge
Bibliographic Citations - includes everything that a reader would need to know to find the exact source that you used (author name, title, publication information)
In-Text Citations - appear right next to where you summarize, paraphrase, or quote from your source
Different Citation Styles
Basic Differences Between MLA and APA Citation| APA (used in sciences and social sciences) | MLA (used in the humanities) |
|---|---|
| Author's last name, date, and page number are included in the in-text citation | Author's last name and the page number are included in the in-text citation |
| Author's first names are not included on the Reference page (only last names and first initials) | Author's first and last names are listed on the Works Cited page |
| Book titles are not capitalized, except for the first letters of the title and the subtitle | Book titles are capitalized |
| Quotations that exceed 40 words begin on a new line and are indented five spaces | Quotations that exceed four lines begin on a new line and are indented two tabs |