Research: Possibilities, Plagiarism, and Problems

Deana Brown, Reference and Instruction Librarian

Peg Johnson, Library Director

A. In the Dark Ages of card catalogs and paper periodical indexes

B. In the Good Old Days of card catalogs and paper periodical indexes

C.It’s been so long I can’t remember.

D. I’ve never written one.

When was the last time YOU wrote a research paper?

A.Google, is there anything else now?

B.Wikipedia which we all find through Google.

C.Are you crazy? I tell them to ask the librarians.

D.It depends on what I’m looking for.

Where do you want your students doing their research?

A.Google

B.Wikipedia

C.Scholarly Articles

D.Print Books

E. I’ll take anything a student can find

What resources do you accept from your students?

• Determine research need (usually assigned paper).

• Develop a topic and a thesis statement.

• Develop a search strategy -- where to research, possible search terms, keywords, narrowing the topic, who can help.

• Find resources.

• Evaluate resources.

• Cite resources.

Steps in the Research Process

Plagiarism

Problems

A. No one plagiarized – it was too hard to type out all that stuff without making mistakes.

B. Oh how I wish there had been copy and paste.

C. We bought our papers from the grad student at the local coffee shop.

D. My roommate wrote them in exchange for beer (or something else).

E. Not even an option!

What was the story on plagiarism when you went to school?...be honest

A.Yes, it’s rampant.

B.There is some.

C.I’ve never seen it in my classes.

D.I wouldn’t recognize it if I saw it.

Do you see plagiarism in your classes?

A.They’re lazy.

B.They are pressed for time.

C.They don’t understand that they are plagiarizing.

D.Some or all of the above.

Why do students plagiarize?

Solutions and Tools

For Plagiarism

Acadia University Plagiarism Tutorial

How to make plagiarism-proof assignments

Article on flipping how students look at Wikipedia, http://www.good.is/post/for-a-growing-number-of-college-students-wikipedia-is-their-homework/

Make Wikipedia the assignment

What other problems do you see?

A. Inadequate resources

B.Procrastination

C.Improper citation

D.All or some of the above

E. Other

“Googling” something does NOT count as research

Solutions and Tools

For Poor Resources

Physical MaterialsBooksPaper periodicalsDVDSCDs

Electronic materialsReference materials (Credo Reference)Ebooks (ebrary)Journal articles, scholarly and popular (many databases)Streaming videos (Films on Demand)

Require Resources From the Library

Evaluating Resources Video

Library Instruction SessionWe love teaching! Whether here in the library, or in your classroom, we’ll show your students how easy it is to access quality resources.

You can place your request through the Library Tab in Jack

OR

Stop by the library and fill out a form in-person

Reque

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Solutions and Tools

For Procrastination

Assignment Calculator from University of Minnesota

Link from the Library tab >> Get Help with Resources >> Assignment Calculator

Assignment Calculator

Assignment Calculator

LibGuide on Research Process

Solutions and Tools

For Improper Citations

Use the citation tool built into Library databases.

MLA/ APA LibGuide

Or use the resources from the Library’s

website.

Citation Machine

What helpful tools could we provide for you?

What useful tools could we provide for your students?

How can we help you help students?

Discuss (Other?)Possibilities!

What do think of the material in this presentation?

A. Great, really helpful and useful.

B. Take it on the road.

C. Librarians rock.

D. All or some of the above.

E. Not so much…