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How to Research

Just getting started on a research paper or project? Don't know where to start? This is the guide for you!

Introduction

Use & Create

Avoid plagiarism by citing your information sources, consider copyright, and proofread your research assignment.

Video Tutorials:

Avoid Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's work, words, or ideas without giving proper credit or attribution to the original author or source. Work includes, but is not limited to text, art, music, videos, interviews, lectures, media, or data.

Why should you be concerned with plagiarism?

  • Plagiarism is dishonest and unethical.
  • Plagiarism violates Medicine Hat College’s “Academic Regulations and Policies” and can result in failure or expulsion. See the excerpts below taken from the Medicine Hat College Academic Calendar 2022/23

Academic Integrity and Violations

Student Academic Integrity

How to avoid plagiarism

  • Hand in your own work. Do not hand in another person’s work as your own.
  • Learn how to use the required citation style.  Most citation styles require TWO parts for proper citation: brief in-text citations in your paper with corresponding full citations at the end of your paper.
  • Properly cite and seek permission to reuse work submitted in a previous class.  Failure to cite your previous work and seek approval from your instructors is considered self-plagiarism.
  • Understand good paraphrasing.  Rearranging sentences or using synonyms to rephrase an author’s words is plagiarism.  Make sure to use your own words and style of writing when using information from sources AND cite the source.
  • Give credit for information that you have put into your own words.  Even though you have stated the information in your own words, you still must give credit to the source of the information.
  • Use quotation marks to indicate copied text.  When you repeat another’s exact words, you must use quotation marks to indicate that the information was copied directly from the source.
  • Cite as you write.  As you take notes or as you write your paper make sure to properly cite every time you use information from a source.  DO NOT LEAVE CITING FOR LATER, this practice will lead to mistakes, missing or inaccurate citations. Even though you did not intend to plagiarize, you are responsible for ensuring your work is accurate and complete.
  • Keep track of your sources.  The first time you borrow information from a source, record the necessary information from the source: author, title, copyright date, publisher, and any additional information that is required by the citation style.

Cite your sources: APA/MLA Style

When you research a topic you may use information from articles, books, or the Web to support your ideas. However, in order to avoid plagiarism, you must credit the original authors of these sources by citing them.

To cite means that you state where you found the information so that others can find the exact item again. In this way, we build upon the ideas and knowledge of other people.

Tips for researching and citing: 

  • Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific ideas. 
  • Write down the complete citation information for each item you use. 
  • Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words. 
  • Always credit original authors for their information and ideas. 

There are a number of different styles or formats for citations. The style you use depends upon the subject discipline you are working in. If you are uncertain about which style to use, ask your instructor.

MHC LIbraries maintains detailed guides for APA and MLA citation styles. They may be accessed here:

APA Style Guide

This style is often used in health studies, business, education, sciences and social sciences.

MLA Style Guide

This style is often used in English and the humanities (History, Fine Arts).

Each style includes the same basic parts of a citation. These parts may be organized differently for each style.

For a book:

For a journal article:

For a website:

 

Consider Copyright

A copyright is a set of legal rights that authors have over their work for a limited period of time. 

Copyright protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. It does not matter whether a poem is written on a napkin, saved on a computer hard-drive or engraved on a wooden plank, all formats are considered expressions and are protected by copyright, including objects on the Internet.

The author of a work is usually the copyright owner. Only the copyright owner has the right to reproduce, perform or publish a work.

Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and can be copied freely. 

These include: 

  • ideas, facts or news
  • an insubstantial part of any work
  • works where copyright has been waived 
  • titles, names, slogans and short word combinations

Fair Dealing is a user right in the Canadian Copyright Act. Fair Dealing involves making a single copy of an entire work, or a substantial part thereof, for the purpose of:

  • research
  • private study
  • criticism
  • review
  • news reporting

If you are unsure if your use of the work constitutes Fair Dealing, err on the side of caution and obtain copyright permission.

"Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that increases sharing and improves collaboration."

You can use their Creative Commons Search to help you find licensed works that you can share, remix, or reuse.

Proofread Your Work

Whether you are writing a research paper, essay, book report, or reflective journal, or creating slides for a presentation, the last step in the research process is to proofread your work.

Writing support is available in the Vera Bracken Library (Medicine Hat Campus). 

To learn more visit: Writing Support @ MHC

These tips will help you proofread your paper:

  • Read your work backwards, word by word.
  • Read your work out loud.
  • Proofread a printed copy of your work.
  • Ask someone else to read your work.

"spelling simtaks are embracing"

Spelling mistakes are embarrassing! Most word processors have a spell check, and some have a grammar check, but both are not foolproof. Here are things to consider when proofreading:

  • homonyms (e.g. accept and except)
  • apostrophes (e.g. its and it's, your and you're)
  • punctuation (extra commas, missing periods)
  • capitalization (first letter of a sentence, proper nouns)
  • pluralization (DVDs not DVD's)