Finding and Managing Sources of InformationSearch StrategiesSnowball (a) and Citation (b)Search ToolsMore Search ToolsMore Search StrategiesProblems with Researching (list those you encounter)Slide 81. Evaluate all Sources of Information2. Summarize the InformationSummarizingIntegrate information into your own work.3. Document your SourcesMost Important ReasonsDocumenting Sources and Avoiding PlagiarismPlagiarism is a problem for professional writers, not just students.Is 2nd paragraph a paraphrase of 1st?How to use information from sources:Exact wording from a websiteHow to “document:” Quote in fullPart paraphrase, part quotationAll paraphraseOther Resources to Help You Avoid PlagiarismDocument your sources as you do the research.4. Organize the InformationFor Wednesday, September 20Finding and Managing Sources of InformationMaking information your ownSearch StrategiesSubject searchuses keywordsSnowball searchmoves back in time – begins with recent publicationCitation searchmoves forward in time -- begins with key paperSnowball (a) and Citation (b)Douglas (2003)Physical Rev. Letters, MITNicol et al. (1998)Gaiver (1996)Phys. rev. LettersBardeen (1994)Haus (1975)IEEE JournalLugovoi (1976)OpticsHaus (1978)Internat’l J of ElectAuschnitt (1986)Applied Phys LettGlasser (1995)IEEE Trans(a)(b)Search ToolsScience Citation Indexa CD-ROM in the McKinney LibraryApplied Science and Technology IndexCovers trade and industrial publications as well as journals published by professional societies.Engineering Index also the Engineering Index Annual (abstracts)Dissertation AbstractsMore Search ToolsWeb of Science – links to cited articleson UT Library web siteSciFinder Scholar – download from ChE libraryIncludes conferences and dissertations, etc.Has elegant search engineOthers?More Search StrategiesStar searchlooks at “star” journals or institutionsComprehensive database searchneeds a search profileProblems with Researching(list those you encounter)On Web:Using other sources:1. Evaluate3. Document2. Summarize4. Organize1. Evaluate all Sources of Information1. Does the information answer important questions for your research? 2. Is the information current? Can you determine the date of publication?3. Are presented facts and figures from reliable sources?4. Can you detect any biases in the way that information is presented?5. Can you determine the author’s credentials and qualifications?6. Is the publisher/sponsor credible? (for WWW sources, check the domain).2. Summarize the InformationAs soon as you finish reading a piece (article, report, even an abstract), summarize it in your own words.summarize its contentssummarize its relevance (or not) to your projectsummarize its relative importance to your project – will you depend on it heavily?Summarizing makes a manageable paragraph out of a much bigger work – save your summaries in a word file.Summarizing1. Record bibliographic information.2. Skim for main topic. Write it down.3. Read carefully, marking as you go.4. Review marked information.5. Set source aside. Process 5-10 minutes.6. Quickly summarize: Problem, Thesis, Main Points, Conclusion.7. Compare to original.8. Add your own critique: how useful for you?Integrate information into your own work.Describing information in your own words helps you integrate it into your own documents.Be sure to differentiate between conclusions of fact and inference.“Extensive laboratory studies suggest that enhanced bioremediation might be applicable to stranded oil on the beaches of Prince William Sound.”3. Document your SourcesHelp yourself retrieve information later!Help others learn from your work.Establish your credibility as a technical professional.Show your work as part of a continuum of investigation.Even design projects very often have multiple designers and previous work to start from.Most Important ReasonsTo keep the distinction between what youyou said, developed, invented, discovered and what othersothers discovered/said.To protect the expression of ideas (yours and others’). PatentsGraphs/tables/figuresWritten expressions: parts of reports, proposals, technical descriptions, web sites, etc., etc.Documenting Sources and Avoiding PlagiarismDon’t plagiarize unintentionally – consider these writing strategies:Quotation, paraphrase, summaryIf in doubt about whether to cite source, cite it!Improper citation is way better than no citation.Plagiarism is a problem for professional writers, not just students.Stephen Ambrose“Over the weekend, the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes nailed Ambrose for heisting several passages of The Wild Blue, his recent best seller about World War II B-24 bomber crews, from historian Thomas Childers. Ambrose had footnoted Childers but still passed off Childers' elegant prose as his own.”David Plotz “The Plagiarist: Why Stephen Ambrose is a vampire.” http://slate.msn.com/?id=2060618Jan. 11, 2002.Doris Kearns Goodwin“Goodwin's "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys" borrowed with insufficient attribution from three earlier works by other authors.”Bo Crader “A Historian and Her Sources” http://slate.msn.com/?id=2061056 January 28, 2002Is 2nd paragraph a paraphrase of 1st?“On August 28, 1859, Custer returned to West Point. Cadet James Barroll Washington, a great-great-grandnephew of George Washington, entered that year. He remembered hearing the crowd shout, 'Here comes Custer!' The name meant nothing to him, but he turned, and saw a slim, immature lad with unmilitary figure, slightly rounded shoulders, and gangling walk." From Custer: The Life of General George Armstrong Custer by Jay Monaghan"When he returned to West Point, Cadet James B. Washington, a relative of George Washington, remembered hearing the crowd shout, 'Here comes Custer!' The name meant nothing to Washington, who was just entering the Academy, but he turned and saw a slim, immature lad with unmilitary figure, slightly rounded shoulders, and gangling walk, surrounded by back-slapping, laughing friends." From Crazy Horse and Custer by Stephen AmbroseHow to use information from sources:Quote in full, using quotation marks.Use part quotation and part paraphrase.Paraphrase.All 3 of these uses require both an in-text citation to the source and a complete Reference List at end of document. ReferencesMiller,