Research & The Library Prepared for Political Science 100 Dr. Claudia Schaler September 26, 2013 Suzanne van den Hoogen, MLIS

Outline A Virtual Tour of the Library Website Finding Information Evaluating Information Plagiarism Paraphrasing Citation Sources Ask a Librarian!

Student ID = Library Card

Virtual Tour: Exploring the Library website library.stfx.ca

Subject Research Guides Find Books Find Articles Google Scholar Data & Gov Docs Writing & Citing Liaison Librarians Help

How to find the Library

Evaluating Information Accuracy Authority Currency Bias

HOW CAN I REMEMBER WHICH QUESTIONS TO ASK?

Currency How recent is the information? Can you locate a date when the resource was written/created/updated? Based on your topic, is this current enough? Why might the date matter for your topic? Reliability What kind of information is included in the resource? Is the content primarily opinion? Is the information balanced or biased? Does the author provide citations & references for data? Authority Can you determine who the author/creator is? What are their credentials (education, affiliation, experience)? Who is the publisher or sponsor of the work/site? Is this publisher/sponsor reputable? Purpose / Point of View What’s the intent of the article (to persuade you, to sell something)? For Web resources, what is the domain (.edu,.com, etc.)? How might that influence the purpose/point of view? Are there ads on the Web site? How do they relate to the topic? Is the author presenting fact or opinion? C A R P Based on the original CRAP TEST created by Librarian Molly Beestrum, Dominican University LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange) wiki (2008). The CRAP test. Retrieved from

Scholarly vs. Popular Sources Popular Magazines Written by journalists, students, popular authors, or no author listed Flashy covers Advertisements Brief articles Trade Journals: Business, Finance, Industry (Written by experts, but may not be peer reviewed) Newspapers Scholarly Journals Written by experts Evaluated by experts: “Peer Reviewed” Authoritative Source Usually include: – Credentials of the Author – Abstract – Bibliography – Specialized vocabulary – Reference List

What is Plagiarism? “Plagiarism is the use of someone else's words, ideas, or creative works without a proper citation. This misrepresentation of another's work as your own is an act of academic dishonesty, and as such is subject to academic discipline.” Angus L. Macdonald Library. Retrieved from on Septemer 15, 2013http://sites.stfx.ca/library/plagiarism

Examples of Plagiarism? Quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing text without proper acknowledgement Paraphrasing too closely (e.g., changing only a few words or simply rearranging the text) Downloading all or part of a paper, journal article, or book from the Web or a library database and presenting it as one's own work Plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty, including cheating, tampering, and falsification, are subject to academic discipline.

Paraphrasing Read the original text until you grasp its meaning; then set it aside. Using your memory, write down the main points or concepts. Do not copy the text verbatim. Change the structure of the text by varying the opening, changing the order of sentences, lengthening or shortening sentences, etc. Replace keywords within the sentences with synonyms or phrases with similar meanings. Check your notes against the original to ensure you have not accidentally plagiarized. StFX Step-by-Step Research Guide Retrieved from on September 12,

Citation Guides & Resources Z253 U LB2369 T8 2007

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Thank You! Suzanne van den Hoogen Liaison Librarian for: Aboriginal Studies Anthropology Political Science Psychology Sociology