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 Academic Misconduct: Statement on Academic Integrity
A basic mission of a university is to search for and to communicate the truth as it is honestly perceived. A genuine learning community cannot exist unless this demanding standard is a fundamental tenet of the intellectual life of the community. Students of Loyola University Chicago are expected to know, to respect, and to practice this standard of personal honesty.
Students are personally responsible to review the following general academic rules and regulations. If students have questions about particular regulations, they should contact their academic dean's office for clarification.
Researching ethically is also researching efficiently.
Why use sources?
Research is a conversation among people in a given academic field. Sources are a way for you to participate in a research conversation since you are acknowledging and responding to the work of others in the field.
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