If you want a good grade, use high quality, credible, and authoritative sources. The sources you select for your works cited or reference page is a direct reflection of the quality of your paper. You cannot expect to get a good grade if you use Wikipedia, random websites, and opinion blogs. The World Wide Web can be a great place to accomplish research on many topics. But putting documents or pages on the web is easy, cheap or free, unregulated, and unmonitored. You need to evaluate the sources you use. Think of it this way, if you wanted to decide which Smartphone to purchase, would you use a random blog, the manufacturer's website, or Consumer Reports?
When making a decision that will cost you money, you would probably use Consumer Reports to get the best information to back up your decision. When writing a research paper you want to use the best sources because using anything less could cost you your grade!
Why Cite?
When to Cite?
Options for Citing:
Plagiarism is using your own or another person’s published or unpublished work by paraphrase or direct quotation without full and clear acknowledgement. Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic integrity, and is considered a breach of the Code of Student Conduct. The college expects that students will submit their original work, in their own words, representing their own ideas and judgments. Students will appropriately cite and document ideas, words and works used. Penalties for plagiarism will be determined by the instructor, the Dean for Student Engagement and/or the Student Conduct Board as the situation warrants.
Researching ethically is also researching efficiently.