Skunk Ape: Module 4
Module 4: Ethical Research

Introduction

Welcome to module four of FGCU Library's Search for the Skunk Ape interactive tutorials! In these tutorials, you will be guided through the research process, using the subject of the Skunk Ape, South Florida's version of the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon, reputed to be living in the Everglades. This module will provide you with some of the skills you need to conduct your research ethically.

After completing, Module 4: Ethical Research, you should be able to:

Define plagiarism and know how to avoid it
Read and understand a citation
Properly cite sources

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarize: "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the source: to commit literacy theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source."

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

These are all examples of plagiarism:

Copying text from a website and pasting it in your paper without using quotation marks and giving credit to the original source.

Buying or using someone's paper and saying it is your own

Rewording or rephrasing someone else's words without giving credit to the original source.

Watch this video for examples of how to avoid plagiarism by using citations.

Consequences of Plagiarism

The FGCU Student Code of Conduct states that plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty, which is considered prohibited conduct and is subject to disciplinary action. If you are caught plagiarizing, you could:

Fail the assignment

Fail the course

Face suspension from the University

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Your professors are good at spotting plagiarism. And if something looks suspicious, your professors can use Turnitin.com to compare passages in your paper to thousands of websites, articles, student papers, and other publications.

Think you know what plagarism is? Test yourself on these examples:

Toggle open/close quiz question

Avoiding Plagiarism

To avoid plagiarism you must always fully disclose any ideas that you borrow whether they are directly or indirectly used in your paper. You can do this by using one of the three methods below to express the borrowed ideas in your paper or presentation.

Summarize: Use your own words to compose a summary of the main ideas of another work, but cite the source material.

Paraphrase: Restate the source material in your own phrases and words, but cite the source material.

Quote: If you are unable to summarize or paraphrase then you can use quotations. Direct quotations are taken word for word from the original source and enclosed in quotation marks or in block quotes, followed by a citation of the source.

Citing Sources

How exactly do you cite sources? Your professor usually assigns one of the recognized citation styles to be used for all research papers written for the class. Two of the best known and widely used styles in college writing are APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association). Though each citation style is different, almost all require that you use in-text citations and a list of references or "works cited" at the end of your paper.

Example of a Works Cited page in MLA format:

works cited page MLA 2009 OWL.png

Example of an in-text citation in MLA format:

in-text citation example MLA 2009 OWL.png

Examples from OWL at Purdue, "MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide." http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Parts of a citation

Almost every citation style requires that you include the same elements to reference both books and articles.

For Books:	For Articles:
Author Title Editors (if edited volume) Chapter title (if edited volume) Date of publication Publisher Place of publication	Author Journal title (Publication title) Article title Date Volume and Issue Page numbers

Here are some examples of book and article citations, as they would appear in a reference list or "works cited" page in MLA style.

Article citation:

article citation MLA labeled.png

Book citation:

book citation MLA labelled.png

See if you can identify which sample is cited correctly, avoiding plagiarizing the original source material.

Original Source Material: A naïve mental model in the context of computer programming is that a computer is an intelligent system, and that giving directions to a computer is like giving directions to a human being.

Source: Merriënboer, J. J. van. (1997). Training complex cognitive skills. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Samples:

A) One kind of mental model for the computer is the naïve model. A naïve mental model in the context of computer programming is that a computer is an intelligent system. This model is naïve because giving directions to a computer is like giving directions to a human being.

References: Merriënboer, J. J. van. (1997). Training complex cognitive skills. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

B) One kind of mental model for the computer is the naïve model. According to van Merriënboer (1997), "A naïve mental model in the context of computer programming is that a computer is an intelligent system, and that giving directions to a computer is like giving directions to a human being" (p. 145).

References: Merriënboer, J. J. van. (1997). Training complex cognitive skills. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Toggle open/close quiz question

Frick, T. How to Recognize Plagiarism. 11 Mar. 2004. University of Indiana, School of Education. 11 Apr. 2004 <http://www.indiana.edu~istd/>.

Summary

This module has given you a definition of plagiarism and given you tools to use to avoid it. You've learned that properly citing your research sources keeps your work on the up and up and that there are elements of citations that are required in order to allow others to find your sources.

Make sure you're ready to be an ethical researcher by answering these questions:

Toggle open/close quiz question

Submit your scores (the last item on the bottom of the page) before leaving!

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