1. Organizing Your Information
Having a plan for organizing your citations is easily one of the most important steps in the research process. In this step, you will explore different tools available to you and choose one that suits you best.
Instructions
Often, the most important step in citing sources and giving credit appropriately is organizing the information. It is a step that can easily be overlooked or skipped. Organizing information in a way that makes sense for you can save time and help you to find valuable patterns and insights in the resources you find and review. Please refer to this page from the PSU Libraries to learn about different ways to organize your resources and in particular look at the comparison chart to choose the most appropriate tool: http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/CitationStyles/Tools.
Citation Generators:
Citation generators are tools to create a citation one time. These generators are useful when you are unsure of the citation format for a resource you are using.
Citation Managers:
Citation managers are excellent at keeping a record of resources that you have found and use in your academic work. List the citation manager that you have chosen in the textbox below.
If you feel that you need help in determining which citation manager is best for you, please request a research consultation to set-up a consultation to go over the features of these citation managers: https://libraries.psu.edu/research-consultation-request.
In the textbox below, choose at least 1 of the citation generators (such as KnightCite or Tweet2Cite) that you feel would be most helpful for your organization of resources and list it. Include 1 sentence on why you selected that particular tool and how you think you will use it.
Also, list at least 1 citation manager (such as Mendeley or Zotero) and your reasons for picking it.
Your Response:
2. Citation Styles
Different disciplines of study use different citation styles, so it is important to identify the common styles used in your field. In this step, you will identify a citation style that will be useful to you in the future.
Instructions
Learning how to cite properly is essential to avoid plagiarism in your work and to give credit to ideas that you build upon. Yet using various citation styles for different fields can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Since we do not know what field or department you are in, it would be silly to expect you to learn ALL of the citation styles for one badge. Therefore, this step explains the most common citation styles and what fields they are typically in.
This list shows citations styles that are typically used in certain disciplines: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/resources_for_documenting_sources_in_the_disciplines/complete_discipline_listing.html
Use the list to find the citation style associated with your (intended) field of study. Then, use the textbox below to indicate which style will be most important to you and what your field of study is (or might be, if you are undecided).
Your Response:
3. Importance of Citing Sources to Avoid Plagiarism
This step is about the importance of citing all your sources in order to avoid plagiarism. You will be asked to read a relevant article. You also have the option of submitting a sample to be reviewed for accuracy.
Instructions
Please read the following article from the New York Times detailing what some call “generation plagiarism” to understand how this topic is central to all of your future research: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html, or here: http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2218334428?accountid=13158.
Next, use the textbox below to share your thoughts about:
Are you surprised by the level of organization of this type of cheating?
Have you seen this sort of thing before?
Have you ever felt pressure to plagiarize?
Your Response:
4. Understanding Plagiarism to Know When to Cite
Its not always necessary to cite every source, but knowing when and when not to do so is critical. In this step, you will be asked to review a tutorial and take a pre- and post-test, submitting the score and your thoughts as evidence.
Instructions
A crucial step in accurately citing is simply knowing when to cite and when it is not necessary. To help you understand this process, we have chosen an online tutorial originally made by Cornell University: https://plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu/tutorial/exercises.cfm.
Complete the test once and record your score. If you get below a 10/12, please retake the test and record your new score as well.
In the textbox below, enter your score(s). Also write several sentences commenting upon what you thought of this tutorial, if you feel you have learned from it, and how it improved your understanding of plagiarism and citations.
This step will not be approved until you score at least a 10/12.
Your Response:
5. Keeping Track of Resources
This step focuses on the important task of keeping track and managing your reference sources. Also, it asks you to reflect on your past practices and any new ideas you have learned.
Instructions
In this step, please consider how you have kept track of resources in the past. Then, read the following resource: http://lib.usm.edu/plagiarism_tutorial/resources.html.
In the textbox below, tell us about your previous practices and whether you may use any of the notetaking suggestions from the above resource to make your recordkeeping more appropriate and efficient.
Your Response:
6. Final Reflection
Youve come a long way! In this final step, you will reflect on what you have learned on this journey.
Instructions
We realize that citations are not always the most exciting part of creating a paper or research project, but they are absolutely essential for furthering knowledge, giving credit to other authors, and providing evidence for the strength of your new ideas. We will evaluate your work shortly and let you know if you have completed all of the steps necessary.
For your final step, please write a reflection comparing what you knew at the beginning of this exercise activity with what you have learned by the end of this exercise. This reflection should be approximately 5-10 sentences. Some topics to consider are:
What you knew about citations and plagiarism at the beginning of this activity and what you have gained in your knowledge by the end.
Have you found all of the activities important for your learning?
Is there any item or topic that you are still unclear about with regards to plagiarism and citations?
Would you feel comfortable teaching another student about plagiarism and the appropriate ways to cite sources and organize your information?
Do you feel that you have learned for your future work and research?
Your Response:
