Integrating and Acknowledging Sources in Your Research Paper

ENGL 101-RDTN, University of South Dakota

In a way, it's simple. Any information that you present in your research paper which isn't based on your own experience or which isn't common knowledge should be cited. Otherwise, you may be guilty of PLAGIARISM (http://www.usd.edu/engl/evaluation.html/#plagiarism).

How do you cite a source?

Since you are using the MLA format for this paper, generally speaking, you'll simply put the author's last name and a page number in parentheses: (Smith 145). Here is an example: 
     One doctor claims that "People don't think they need to come in for a
     yearly physical.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it--that's their
     philosophy" (Smith 145).

Another way of doing this: 

     Dr. Jeffrey Smith claims that "People don't think they need to come in
     for a yearly physical.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it--that's their
     philosophy" (145).
Because the author's name is identified at the beginning of the sentence, all you need is the page number in parentheses.

Now, while this is the basic format, there are many other ways in which to cite a source. Your textbook and handbook provides some examples, but you can also check out info. on citing sources using the MLA format at http://www.usd.edu/engl/citingsources.html

Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Combined Quoting/Summarizing

I'll describe four ways in which you can present information from your sources: quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and combined quoting/summarizing.

Quoting

When you quote a source, you repeat your source's wording, word for word, exactly as it appeared in the original, and you put quotation marks around these words. For example:

ORIGINAL: 

     Every hundred years or so, Old Main tries to set itself on fire.
     --Torgeson, John. Personal interview. 11 Nov. 1997.

QUOTATION: 

     A USD professor was only joking when he said, "Every hundred years or
     so, Old Main tries to set itself on fire" (Torgeson 85). Possible,
     however, there is some truth in his statement.

If you want to leave out part of the quotation, you can use ellipsis dots. For example: 

   A USD professor was only joking when he said, "Every hundred years . . .
   Old Main tries to set itself on fire" (Torgeson 85).
Note that two words that were left out, "or so," were replaced by ellipsis dots (space period space period space period space).

When should you quote? You should quote when the source says something original or interesting, that is fairly short, or that couldn't be restated better in your own words.

Paraphrasing

To paraphrase is to state IN YOUR OWN WORDS what a source says, in roughly the same number of words, using a sentence structure that is different from the original. Paraphrasing can be tricky because you must change the sentence structure of the original source in order to avoid plagiarism.

ORIGINAL: 

     The Internet offers students a prime opportunity for doing research,
     but students must be selective. --Hill, James. "Using the Internet for
     Research." The Net and Education Jun. 1997: 24.

PARAPHRASE: 

     While writers who search on the Internet can find good sources of
     information, they should not accept what they find without question
     (Hill 24).

Here's an example of a BAD PARAPHRASE of the original statement: 

     The Net gives researchers a good option for finding sources of 
     information, but they should be choosy (Hill 24).
The above example is bad because, even while it uses different wording, the sentence structure is too close to the original.

ANOTHER BAD PARAPHRASE: 

     Writers who search on the Internet will find lots of excellent sources
     (Hill 24).

The paraphrase example above is bad because it distorts the meaning of the original statement, leaving out the words of caution.

When should you paraphrase? You should paraphrase when the source's words are not all that remarkable or interesting, or when they could be made clearer if you restated in your own words what the source said.

Summarizing:

Summarizing is stating briefly in your own words the words of a source; your summary should be shorter than the original, emphasizing the main idea(s) or key points of the original.

ORIGINAL: 

     The Internet offers students a prime opportunity for doing research,
     but students must be selective. Some web sites are not reputable
     sources of information. Other sites haven't been updated in a long
     time; this can be important when the information you require needs to
     be current. Finally, your source--whether electronic or print--should
     be relevant to your topic. No teacher is going to be impressed by your
     use of a source that has little or nothing to do with your topic.
     --Hill, James. "Using the Internet for Research." The Net and
     Education Jun. 1997: 24.

SUMMARY: 

     While students can find good Internet sources, they should avoid
     sites whose information seems questionable, that are not current, or
     that may not relate to their research topics (Hill 24).
Notice that this summary is considerably shorter than the original but states all of the main points of the original.

When should you summarize? You should summarize when the source is too long to be quoted or paraphrased.

Combined Quoting/Summarizing:

It is sometimes effective to combine a quotation and a summary. For example:: 

     While students can find good Internet sources, they should avoid
     sites whose information seems questionable, that "haven't been updated
     in a long time," or that may not relate to their research topics
     (Hill 24).
For more information about integrating sources, consult your handbook.