The Research Process—Using and Citing Sources

Eduardo is discussing the Russian interference in the 2016 national election for his research paper. As he transitions to a discussion of the Mueller report, which phrase best signals his transition to information from the report?

According to The Mueller Report, officially titled Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, investigators found that ...

What is the correct revision of the following incorrect citation? David Beer, Roger Burrows. (Sept. 2007) Sociology and, of, and in Web 2.0.: Some Initial Considerations. Vol. 12 "Sociological Research Online," issue 5.

Beer, David and Roger Burrows. "Sociology and, of, and in Web 2.0: Some Initial Considerations." Sociological Research Online, vol. 12, issue 5, September 2007.

Read the passage below and answer the following questions about using sources appropriately. In the article, "The Loneliness of the Interconnected", Charles Seife argues that people are becoming more and more isolated in our increasingly interconnected world and, furthermore, that bits and pieces of our delicate mental structure are withered away as we increasingly rely on the internet as our source of information. According to Seife, this mental decay leaves us with some opinions "as firm as bedrock, and just as difficult to remove" (290). As an example of this phenomenon, Seife describes how, in the 1950s, psychologist Leon Festinger sought to research the point at which this crisis occurs. He contacted a woman by the name of Dorothy Martin who was the leader of a small cult in Chicago. Martin believed that she was writing letters under the command of Clarion, a distant planet. She had concrete belief that Chicago would be wiped out and that the United States would be submerged underwater from a great flood on the morning of December 21, 1955. Her salvation? A spaceman, assumed to be a Clarion, would visit Dorothy and her followers hours before the disaster, whisking them away on a spaceship to safety. This bizarre and radical belief was only strengthened when the calamity never arose. The cult members convinced themselves that the Clarions managed to stop the destruction from happening (Seife 290-91). This type of herd mentality and definition of self convinced people to drink poisoned Kool-Aid. Which of the following is an example of summary?

In the article, "The Loneliness of the Interconnected," Charles Seife argues that people are becoming more and more isolated in our increasingly interconnected world and, furthermore, that bits and pieces of our delicate mental structure are withered away as we increasingly rely on the internet as our source of information.

Identify the error in the following citation: Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press, 1999.

The word order of the author's name should be "Bolter, Jay David."

Read the passage below and answer the following questions about using sources appropriately. In the article, "The Loneliness of the Interconnected", Charles Seife argues that people are becoming more and more isolated in our increasingly interconnected world and, furthermore, that bits and pieces of our delicate mental structure are withered away as we increasingly rely on the internet as our source of information. According to Seife, this mental decay leaves us with some opinions "as firm as bedrock, and just as difficult to remove" (290). As an example of this phenomenon, Seife describes how, in the 1950s, psychologist Leon Festinger sought to research the point at which this crisis occurs. He contacted a woman by the name of Dorothy Martin who was the leader of a small cult in Chicago. Martin believed that she was writing letters under the command of Clarion, a distant planet. She had concrete belief that Chicago would be wiped out and that the United States would be submerged underwater from a great flood on the morning of December 21, 1955. Her salvation? A spaceman, assumed to be a Clarion, would visit Dorothy and her followers hours before the disaster, whisking them away on a spaceship to safety. This bizarre and radical belief was only strengthened when the calamity never arose. The cult members convinced themselves that the Clarions managed to stop the destruction from happening (Seife 290-91). This type of herd mentality and definition of self convinces people to drink poisoned Kool-Aid. Which of the following is an example of paraphrase?

a. As an example of this phenomenon, Seife describes how, in the 1950s, psychologist Leon Festinger sought to research the point at which this crisis occurs. He contacted a woman by the name of Dorothy Martin who was the leader of a small cult in Chicago. Martin believed that she was writing letters under the command of Clarion, a distant planet. She had concrete belief that Chicago would be wiped out and that the United States would be submerged underwater from a great flood on the morning of December 21, 1955. Her salvation? A spaceman, assumed to be a Clarion, would visit Dorothy and her followers hours before the disaster, whisking them away on a spaceship to safety. This bizarre and radical belief was only strengthened when the calamity never arose. The cult members convinced themselves that the Clarions managed to stop the destruction from happening (Seife 290-91).

Charlotte has drafted her Works Cited page. What advice would you give her?

a. Charlotte needs to use a hanging indent for the entry by Robert McMahon. She also should remove the bold from Works Cited.

Which of the following page layout features comply with MLA rules?

a. Everything, including the header, all quotations, and the Works Cited page, is double-spaced.

Sergei copy and pastes a passage from one of his sources into his essay. He does not use quotation marks, but he does provide a citation for the source in his references page at the end of the essay. Is this plagiarism and if so why?

a. This is plagiarism. The reader has no way of knowing that the passage in question comes from the source listed in the references page.

Dallon finds a useful data chart in an online article that's not on the same topic as his essay, but that fits well as evidence for one of his body paragraphs. He includes the chart in his paper and doesn't cite it. Is this an example of plagiarism?

a. Yes, because he included evidence (a chart) that wasn't of his own creation and didn't cite it.

What's the most effective advice for a student who has written the following passage? Not everyone thinks that school vouchers are a good idea. "These vouchers are the worst idea to ever come through this state. They will ruin the democratic process" (Smith 33). "Vouchers mean that school districts can no longer predict the flow of money and resources and that affects kids directly" (Garcias 199).

a. You need to provide context for your quotes so we know why you're including them.

Which of the following is NOT part of the goal in synthesis?

a. to research other ideas on a topic

Examine the following passage. Research indicates that multitasking in class has some surprisingly detrimental effects on student learning. One study, conducted at Massive State College, suggested that students who used their phone for non-class related activities scored one full grade below their peers on exams (Brown). Building on that finding, researchers at Little State College studied the effect of multitasking students on their non-multitasking peers. Interestingly, these non-multitasking students scored even worse on exams, averaging one and a half full grades worse than students in classes where no students were engaged in off-task multitasking (White). Given this research, I would argue that it is in all students' best interests for faculty to ask students to avoid multitasking during class.. Which of the following phrases in this passage does the work of synthesis?.

b. "Building on that finding"

Denise has the following as a citation in her Works Cited page: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/coreqenglish1/chapter/outcome-writing-ethically-3-3/. What advice would you give her about this citation?

b. Citing only a URL is never sufficient. The reader needs more information about the source to understand the credibility of the source.

Your peer says "There's no point in paraphrasing my sources." What can you tell her to help her write a stronger essay?

b. If you quote all the time, your paper will be choppy and hard to read.

Kat is writing an essay about the death of Trayvon Martin. As she has researched this event, Kat discovered that Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles when he was shot by George Zimmerman. Does Kat need a reference to a source for that information?

b. No, because the fact that Trayvon Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles is undisputed.

Your peer included this sentence in the middle of a body paragraph in his research paper. What is the most useful feedback you can give him to help him improve (if improvement is necessary)? Early in his career "Buffett started his own investment company, the Buffett Partnership, using $5000 of his own funds and collecting $100,000 from interested friends and family (Brown)."

b. The quotation mark at the end is in the wrong place. It should read: family" (Brown).

Below is a passage from a scholarly article and excerpts from two student papers that draw on this material. Analyze these student papers. Which one uses the source material more effectively and why? Original source Research shows that the incidence of colon cancer is higher in active smokers compared to those who have stopped smoking; hence, smoking cessation is important for those who wish to decrease their likelihood of developing colon cancer. Aspirin taken daily reduces not only the incidence of both colon polyps and colon cancer but of cancer of the stomach and esophagus as well. It is felt that one coated adult aspirin (325 mg) daily is adequate for the purpose of preventing colon cancer. Aspirin interferes in prostaglandin metabolism and this seems to be the mechanism for it preventing cancer as well as cardiovascular disease. - by David Marconi Student excerpt A According to Marconi, research has shown that colon cancer is higher in active smokers compared to those who have stopped smoking" (45). That means that if you want to not get polyps "smoking cessation is important for those who wish to decrease their likelihood of developing colon cancer" (45). Student excerpt B Research shows a strong connection between quitting smoking and a decreased risk for colon cancer. Marconi argues that a daily dose of aspirin can help decrease the risk of colon cancer and polyps, as well as of other cancers. He notes that aspirin seems to prevent prostaglandin metabolism, which is involved in both cancer and cardiovascular disease (Marconi 45).

c. B uses the material more effectively, and the paraphrase here is more thorough in describing the evidence discussed in the original passage.

Laisha has been doing so much reading about her research topic, and her note-taking skills have not always kept pace with her intellectual curiosity. As part of her work, she has discovered a great quotation that she really wants to include in her paper, but she doesn't remember where she found the quote. Laisha's intention is not to steal another person's words, so she decides to use the quotation and include the words in quotation marks but leave out the citation. What advice would you give Laisha?

c. Laisha can't use the quote without a citation. To do so would be plagiarism.

Read the following passage: Although most people are confident that they could not be fooled by a fake news article, research shows evidence to the contrary. Economists Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow conducted an experiment to see if people believed fake articles that the researchers had created themselves. Based on this passage, what can we expect the next sentence of this paragraph to do?

c. Quote, paraphrase, or summarize the findings of Allcott and Gentzkow.

Jacob is researching the effect of student loans on home ownership. One source (Fox) argues that student loans under $10,000 have no effect on home ownership for students 5-10 years out of college. Another researcher (Bear) presents data that indicates that any student loan has a negative overall effect on home ownership. Which of the following sentences represents the most effective way for Jason to synthesize these two sources?

c. Research on the subject of the effect of student loans on home ownership is somewhat inconclusive.

Which of the following passages demonstrates a more effective use of quoted material? "Since the 1950s," educational expert Dwayne Robison writes, "government spending on education has gone up 233%, while increases in test results have only gone up 15%. This is a worrying fact for anyone arguing that increasing government spending will help our kids" (98). Government spending on schools has gone up 233% since the 1950s and had very little positive effect, something that Dwayne Robison calls a "worrying fact" (98) for anyone trying to make the case that an increased government investment in education will improve student learning. His research shows that government spending is not the best way to improve American education.

d. B, because it uses evidence from Robinson to make an argument about how to improve education.

What is the main value of citing sources?

d. It helps your readers find the information quickly from the sources you cite.

Michael has drafted his Works Cited page. What advice would you give him?

d. Michael needs to alphabetize his entries. The first should be "The Contested Memory," the second should be Coppola, the third should be Herr.

Which of the following is true about quotes?

d. Too many quotes in your paper may make the reader wonder whether you have any point of your own to make.

If you find some key information from a source that you want to include in a paraphrase in your writing, you should

d. state that author's ideas in your own words.