A slideshow covering different kinds of sources students use in conducting research for essays. Also includes a brief discussion of plagiarism.

1. Understanding
Research
Accumulating knowledge

2. Types of sources
Sources of information can be divided into
two types: primary and secondary.
Primary sources provide information you
collect yourself.
Secondary sources make use of information
collected by others.

3. Primary Sources
Interviews and surveys you conduct: Allows
you to learn about a topic from experts, but
requires preparation and can have a long
lead time. You will need to schedule the
interview, do background research, formulate
questions, conduct the interview and
(possibly) follow up for clarification.

4. Primary Sources
Making Observations: Allows you to
experience the topic for yourself. Depending
on the topic it might be difficult to observe
some things. You need: a clear goal of what
you want to accomplish, permission to
observe people in areas that are not public,
and appropriate means to record your
observations.

5. Secondary Sources
Books: You will be using reference books
and nonfiction books. Reference books
(encyclopedias etc) cover many topics, but
are not detailed. Nonfiction books provide
depth, but you need to make sure they are
not out of date. Not all authors are
recognized authorities and their books will
not provide quality information.

6. Secondary Sources
Periodicals: These are magazines,
newspapers and journals. These provide the
most up-to-date information, but may not be
written by experts in the field. Additionally
journals can include technical language and
field-related jargon that can be difficult to
understand.

7. Secondary Sources
Web Sites: A favorite of students, the
Internet provides easy access to vast
amounts of information. However, the sheer
load of the information can be overwhelming,
some websites are unreliable at best and it’s
easy to get distracted while browsing the
Web.

8. Evaluating Sources
Experts and other primary sources: Consider
their education and work experience. What
qualifies them as an expert.
Books and periodicals: Do the authors have
the proper background. Are they current? Is
the information presented in a fair way.

9. Evaluating Sources
Broadcasts: If you are using sources from
television or radio, consider the show’s
intended audience, its sponsors and the
broadcaster’s approach. Not all “news”
programs are neutral and some work to
promote a certain ideology.

10. Evaluating Sources
Web Sites: Look for the site author and
check their credentials. Look at the type of
site (.gov, .edu) versus (.com, .biz). Make
sure the information is current and that it is
presented in a balanced manner.

11. Common types of plagiarism
Copying Text: Including text passages word
for word without giving the author credit. This
is lazy, unethical and unacceptable. Use your
own words or use “quotes” with proper
attribution.

12. Common types of plagiarism
Forgetting Quotation Marks: Including text
passages word for word with credit but no
quotes. Not as bad as straight copying, but
still wrong. If you use someone else’s words,
they must be in quotation marks.

13. Common types of plagiarism
Restating ideas with citing them. If you
restate someone else’s ideas in your own
words, you still have to give them credit. Until
you take the idea and build it into something
new of your own creation, you have to give
attribution.