USP 144: Environmental And Preventive Health Issues: Tips for Reading a Scholarly Article & Avoiding Plagiarism

Tips for Reading the Scholarly "Stuff"

First, Read the Abstract and skim the Introduction and Discussion. This will tell you what the authors intended to prove, how they went about it, and what actually happened.

Next, read the Methods and Materials section and the Results. These are the most complex parts of the article, but from them you will learn the details of the authors' methodology and the results of their research.

Third, re-read and take notes. 

If you can answer the following questions about the article, then you have a pretty good understanding of it.

1. How does the research fit in with what was previously known?
2. What is the author's hypothesis?
3. How was the study designed?
4. What were the author's conclusions?
5. How is the study relevant?
6. Who does the author represent?
7. How was the study funded?

What is Plagiarism?

 Plagiarism can be unintentional or intentional when ideas, text, and creative work are used but not cited in academic, professional, and personal work.

Common forms of plagiarism can include:

• Passing off another’s ideas or work as your own

• Fabricating citations

• Copying, cutting and pasting without citing the original source

• Paraphrasing incorrectly

• Using media files, such as image, audio or video files, without citing them

How will you know if something is common knowledge? Consider:

1) Can it be found in many different places?

2) Is it widely known by a lot of different people?

Use your common sense — when in doubt, ask!

Tips to Avoid Plagiarism

Consider using tools to help organize your research and keep your information in one place. Try keeping track of what you're quoting or paraphrasing in a “research journal.” Some great suggestions for free, online options at:

http://mashable.com/2009/01/25/notetaking-alternatives/.

If you just want to track your citations (without notes), use online tools like RefWorks (http://refworks.com/).

• Cite your sources (direct quotes and paraphrasing) as you write your rough draft. Refer back to your research journal for accuracy

• Use style guides to cite in the correct format. Ask a librarian about how can save you time!

• When in doubt, cite it! Cite all outside sources except for common knowledge.

If you still have questions about when to cite, check with your instructor.

4 Steps to Successful Paraphrasing

          1.  Read the entire text, underlining key points and main ideas.

         2.  In your own words, write a sentence about the main idea of the text (i.e. summarize). Also, write key points in the text.

          3.  Highlight any words, phrases, or key passages that you would want to quote directly.

         4.  Combine the above into a new paraphrased paragraph, using your own words.

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